2010 Nicolas Andry Award: Multipotent adult stem cells from adipose tissue for musculoskeletal tissue engineering.

Evidence from laboratory and animal studies provides groundwork for understanding mechanisms and potential before human studies continue.

• Level A · Stronger Clinical Evidence
• Level B · Emerging clinical evidence with positive signals
• Level C · Early human research exploring benefits
• Level D · Scientific groundwork from lab and animal studies
• Emerging · Emerging topic under active research

Abstract (original English)

Background Cell-based therapies such as tissue engineering provide promising therapeutic possibilities to enhance the repair or regeneration of damaged or diseased tissues but are dependent on the availability and controlled manipulation of appropriate cell sources. Questions/purposes The goal of this study was to test the hypothesis that adult subcutaneous fat contains stem cells with multilineage potential and to determine the influence of specific soluble mediators and biomaterial scaffolds on their differentiation into musculoskeletal phenotypes. Methods We reviewed recent studies showing the stem-like characteristics and multipotency of adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs), and their potential application in cell-based therapies in orthopaedics. Results Under controlled conditions, ASCs show phenotypic characteristics of various cell types, including chondrocytes, osteoblasts, adipocytes, neuronal cells, or muscle cells. In particular, the chondrogenic differentiation of ASCs can be induced by low oxygen tension, growth factors such as bone morphogenetic protein-6 (BMP-6), or biomaterial scaffolds consisting of native tissue matrices derived from cartilage. Finally, focus is given to the development of a functional biomaterial scaffold that can provide ASC-based constructs with mechanical properties similar to native cartilage. Conclusions Adipose tissue contains an abundant

Evidence level

Evidence from laboratory and animal studies provides groundwork for understanding mechanisms and potential before human studies continue.

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