Adipose Tissue Engineering by Human Adipose-Derived Stromal Cells

Tissue engineering has emerged as a promising alternative approach to current clinical treatments for restoration of soft tissue defects. The purpose of this study was to investigate adipose tissue formation in vitro and in vivo by using human adipose-derived stromal cells (ADSCs) utilizing a gelatin sponge (Gelform®) as a scaffold. Adipogenic potentials of human ADSCs were demonstrated by Oil-O-red staining and cellular morphology. After seeding human ADSCs in a density of 3 × 10⁶ cells/ml on three-dimensional gelatin sponges, tissue-engineered constructs were exposed to adipogenic differentiation medium for in vitro studies and implanted in the backs of severe combined immunodeficient (SCID) mice for in vivo adipose regeneration. Adipogenesis of ADSC-seeded gelatin sponges was confirmed by Oil-O-red staining after 4 weeks of in vitro incubation. The optical density of the elution from Oil-O-red staining of adipogenic constructs is significantly higher than that of the control group (p < 0.05, n = 4). With short-term in vitro differentiation, adipogenic constructs turned into fat tissue 4 weeks after in vivo implantation, confirmed by biochemical and immunohistochemical examination. No adipogenic-morphological change or fat formation was observed in in vitro or in vivo studies when ADSCs were exposed to a control medium without adipogenic stimulation. These results indicate that engineered adipose tissue can be achieved using human ADSCs and biocompatible and degradable gelatin sponges.