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World J Stem Cells. Jan 26, 2015; 7(1): 165-173
Published online Jan 26, 2015. doi: 10.4252/wjsc.v7.i1.165
Obesity and weight loss could alter the properties of adipose stem cells?
Leandra S Baptista, Karina R Silva, Radovan Borojevic
Leandra S Baptista, Radovan Borojevic, Laboratório de bioengenharia de tecidos, Instituto Nacional de Metrologia, Qualidade e Tecnologia (Inmetro), Duque de Caxias 25250-020, Brazil
Leandra S Baptista, Núcleo Multidisciplinar de Pesquisa em Xerém (Numpex-Bio), Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Campus de Xerém, Rio de Janeiro 21941-590, Brazil
Karina R Silva, Radovan Borojevic, Programa de Pós-graduação em Clínica Médica, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Hospital Universitário Clementino Fraga Filho (HUCFF), Rio de Janeiro 21941-590, Brazil
Author contributions: Baptista LS and Borojevic R substantially contributed to the concept of the review and finalized the text; Baptista LS and Silva KR contributed to the text and designed the images.
Supported by Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (FAPERJ); Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq); Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Leandra S Baptista, PhD, Laboratório de bioengenharia de tecidos, Instituto Nacional de Metrologia, Qualidade e Tecnologia (Inmetro), Av. Nossa Senhora das Graças, 50 - Xerém, Duque de Caxias 25250-020, Brazil. leandra.baptista@gmail.com
Telephone: +55-21-26799834 Fax: +55-21-26799837
Received: July 26, 2014
Peer-review started: July 26, 2014
First decision: August 28, 2014
Revised: September 22, 2014
Accepted: October 23, 2014
Article in press: December 16, 2014
Published online: January 26, 2015
Processing time: 172 Days and 0.3 Hours
Abstract

The discovery that adipose tissue represents an interesting source of multipotent stem cells has led to many studies exploring the clinical potential of these cells in cell-based therapies. Recent advances in understanding the secretory capacity of adipose tissue and the role of adipokines in the development of obesity and associated disorders have added a new dimension to the study of adipose tissue biology in normal and diseased states. Subcutaneous adipose tissue forms the interface between the clinical application of regenerative medicine and the establishment of the pathological condition of obesity. These two facets of adipose tissue should be understood as potentially related phenomena. Because of the functional characteristics of adipose stem cells, these cells represent a fundamental tool for understanding how these two facets are interconnected and could be important for therapeutic applications. In fact, adipose tissue stem cells have multiple functions in obesity related to adipogenic, angiogenic and secretory capacities. In addition, we have also previously described a predominance of larger blood vessels and an adipogenic memory in the subcutaneous adipose tissue after massive weight loss subsequent to bariatric surgery (ex-obese patients). Understanding the reversibility of the behavior of adipose stem cells in obeses and in weight loss is relevant to both physiological studies and the potential use of these cells in regenerative medicine.

Keywords: Adipose stem cells; Subcutaneousadipose tissue; Obesity; Weight loss; Regenerative medicine

Core tip: In this mini-review, we summarize recent aspects regarding obese subcutaneous adipose tissue with a focus in adipogenic and secretory capacities of adipose stem cells. In particular, we discuss how the occurrence of obesity and weight loss could alter the properties of stem cells and the consequences of using adipose-derived stem cells in regenerative medicine. Our previous results reveal that, after massive weight loss subsequent to bariatric surgery, stem cells retain an adipogenic memory besides a predominance of larger blood vessels in subcutaneous adipose tissue. Inflammatory subcutaneous adipose tissue microenvironment found in obese patients and even the massive weight loss could alter adipose tissue-derived stem cells phenotype to a non-healthy state.