Characteristics and Potentiality of Human Adipose-Derived Stem Cells (hASCs) Obtained from Enzymatic Digestion of Fat Graft

Human adipose-derived stem cells localize in the stromal-vascular portion, and can be ex vivo isolated using a combination of washing steps and enzymatic digestion. For this study, we undertook a histological evaluation of traditional fat graft compared with fat graft enriched with stromal vascular fraction cells isolated by the Celution™ system to assess the interactions between cells and adipose tissue before the breast injection. In addition, we reported on histological analyses of biopsies derived from fat grafted (traditional or enriched with SVFs) in the breast in order to assess the quality of the adipose tissue, fibrosis and vessels. The hASCs derived from enzymatic digestion were systematically characterized for growth features, phenotype and multi-potent differentiation potential. They fulfill the definition of mesenchymal stem cells, albeit with a higher neural phenotype profile. These cells also express genes that constitute the core circuitry of self-renewal such as OCT4, SOX2, NANOG and neurogenic lineage genes such as NEUROD1, PAX6 and SOX3. Such findings support the hypothesis that hASCs may have a potential usefulness in neurodegenerative conditions. These data can be helpful for the development of new therapeutic approaches in personalized medicine to assess safety and efficacy of the breast reconstruction.