The role of adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells in muscle regeneration

The importance of stem cells in regenerating or repairing damaged or diseased tissues is well established, but at least two factors have to be considered in employing stem cells clinically. The first is how to harvest, handle, and multiply them non-invasively, easily, and effectively. From this standpoint, adipose derived stem cells are considered to be the best to work with among mesenchymal stem cells. Thanks to an optimized protocol of isolations, from a lipoaspirate sample of 5-10ml we are able to obtain a particular stem cell population, purified through passages and characterized by the expression of specific markers, such as CD105 (73.5%), CD44 (75%), CD73 (77.8%) and CD90 (85.12%). The multipotency of the cells obtained has been confirmed in vitro by differentiation assays (adipogenic, chondrogenic, osteogenic and myogenic differentiation protocols). We performed in vitro co-colture and in vivo experiments in order to evaluate the adipose derived stem cells (ADSCs) interaction and behaviour in a dystrophyc microenvironment. The preliminary results show how the presence of a degenerated muscle tissue influence the differentiation of ADSCs in an adipogenic direction, as happens in patients’ muscle, where tissue is gradually substituted by fat and fibrotic infiltrations. This correspondence between an in vitro evidence and the pathological manifestation is an important starting point to better understand the mechanisms and pathways undergoing this phenomenon in order to prevent or slow down the progression of the disease.