A Preliminary Study of the Effects of Liposuction Technique on Adipose-Derived Stem Cell Viability and Abundance

The clinical use of stem cells provides undeniable advantages as they can substitute for injured cells, tissues, and potentially organs in the human body. Recent studies using adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) have shown promise for adult stem cells as a rich, clinically- relevant population. The method of lipoplasty and its effects on pluripotency of the stem cells is an important experimental question. In this study we demonstrate that harvesting ADSCs using water-jet assisted liposuction (Body Jet) in combination with the laser assisted liposuction (SmartLipo) technique yields higher quantities of viable ADSCs compared to BodyJet liposuction alone. The ability of cells derived from cryostored lipoaspirate to differentiate along the chondrocyte and osteoblast lineages was also examined. Cells isolated from cryopreserved lipoaspirate collected by Body Jet or Body Jet in combination with SmartLipo were compared to a human, mesenchymal ADSC cell-line (PCS-500-011). Utilizing confocal microscopy, we demonstrate that following isolation from frozen lipoaspirate, ADSCs could differentiate along chondrocyte and osteoblast lineages. This innovative study provides the first data to demonstrate differences in ADSC populations retrieved based on lipoplasty technique utilized. Potential implications include better informed clinician choice of lipoplasty technique for those intending to further utilize ADSCs for additional clinical applications.