Comparison of human and porcine mesenchymal stem cells from adipose tissue (ASCs) and their growth in the presence of different sera

Bone tissue engineering aims to restore or repair musculoskeletal disorders through the development of bio-substitutes that require the use of cells and scaffolds which need to be tested in a preclinical setting. We analyzed mesenchymal stem cells isolated from subcutaneous adipose tissue of different animal species (ASCs). In particular, comparing porcine and human, the yield of both minipig (mp) and pig ASCs (p) is lower than the one of human ASCs (h). However, the animal cells proliferate faster than the human ones (doubling time of 76, 90 and 109 h for mpASCs, pASCs and hASCs, respectively) and they produce a high number of colonies (porcine 19%, human 3%). With the idea of a future clinical application we cultured these cells in a self and not self conditions. hASCs grow regularly in 5% autologous and heterologous sera, and when cultured in 10% autologous serum their proliferation increased compared to 10% fetal bovine serum (FBS). In contrast, pASCs grow better in 10% FBS without any benefits from the swine supplements. We conclude that growing hASCs in the presence of human sera could become a feasible procedure to ameliorate a future cellular therapy. Regarding ASCs differentiation potential, both human and porcine ASCs, osteo-differentiated for 14 days, similarly increased the expression of collagen and extracellular calcified matrix. Experiments to evaluate if ASCs are able to osteodifferentiate in presence of autologous serum as in 10% FBS are in progress.