Basic Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2020. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Stem Cells. Dec 26, 2020; 12(12): 1640-1651
Published online Dec 26, 2020. doi: 10.4252/wjsc.v12.i12.1640
Influence of donor age on the differentiation and division capacity of human adipose-derived stem cells
Cintia DS Horinouchi, María Julia Barisón, Anny W Robert, Crisciele Kuligovski, Alessandra M Aguiar, Bruno Dallagiovanna
Cintia DS Horinouchi, María Julia Barisón, Anny W Robert, Crisciele Kuligovski, Alessandra M Aguiar, Bruno Dallagiovanna, Stem Cells Basic Biology Laboratory, Instituto Carlos Chagas, Curitiba 81350010, Paraná, Brazil
Author contributions: Horinouchi CDS, Barisón MJ and Robert AW contributed equally to this work; Horinouchi CDS, Barisón MJ, Robert AW, de Aguiar AM and Dallagiovanna B designed and coordinated the study; Horinouchi CDS, Barisón MJ, Robert AW and Kuligovski C performed the experiments and acquired and analyzed data; Horinouchi CDS, Barisón MJ, Robert AW, Kuligovski C, de Aguiar AM and Dallagiovanna B interpreted the data; Horinouchi CDS, Barisón MJ and Robert AW wrote the manuscript; de Aguiar AM and Dallagiovanna B critically reviewed the manuscript; and all authors approved the final version of the article.
Supported by the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico, No. 442353/2019-7 and No. 442375/2019-0.
Institutional review board statement: The study was reviewed and approved by the Institutional Review Board at Fundação Oswaldo Cruz.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
Data sharing statement: No additional data are available.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (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/
Corresponding author: Bruno Dallagiovanna, PhD, Research Scientist, Stem Cells Basic Biology Laboratory, Instituto Carlos Chagas, Rua Professor Algacyr Munhoz Mader, 3775, Curitiba 81350010, Paraná, Brazil. bruno.dallagiovanna@fiocruz.br
Received: July 16, 2020
Peer-review started: July 16, 2020
First decision: August 9, 2020
Revised: October 9, 2020
Accepted: November 5, 2020
Article in press: November 5, 2020
Published online: December 26, 2020
Processing time: 163 Days and 8.5 Hours
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
Research background

Mesenchymal stromal/stem cells (MSCs) are adult multipotent cells successfully used in clinical trials for several health conditions over the last decades. Human adipose-derived stromal/stem cells (hASCs) are MSCs easily and abundantly obtained from fat tissue. hASCs have been shown to be one of the most advantageous type of MSCs for clinical trials. One of the keys for successful application of these cells is the guarantee of the material quality. Many factors such as the harvesting system, donor characteristics and processing methods are responsible for the good viability, proliferation and multilineage differentiation abilities of these cells.

Research motivation

The aging process is well known to modify the microenvironment and consequently cells performance in the organism. However, it is not understood if donor age promotes intrinsic alterations in cell functions regardless of environmental stimuli. Contradictory evidence is described in the literature regarding the influence of donor age on hASCs functionating after isolation.

Research objectives

The main objective of the present study was to evaluate the growth and differentiation abilities of hASCs isolated from the lipoaspirates of elderly and young donors.

Research methods

hASCs were isolated from liposuctioned adipose tissue obtained from female donors and distributed into two groups according to age range: old hASCs (oASCs) (≥ 55 years) and young hASCs (yASCs) (≤ 35 years). For hASCs characterization, immunophenotypic markers were assessed by flow cytometry. Growth kinetics were assessed over seven days. Adipogenic and osteogenic differentiation was evaluated. For adipogenic potential evaluation, lipid deposits were assessed after 7 d, 14 d and 21 d of adipogenic induction. Osteogenic potential was verified by analyzing cell mineralization after 14 d, 21 d and 28 d of osteogenic induction. mRNA expression of PPARγ2, CEBPA and Runx2 were detected by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction.

Research results

No differences were observed in morphology or performance between cells from young (26.33 ± 4.66 years old) and old donors (64.78 ± 4.58 years old) during cultivation and maintenance of these cells. Both groups showed classical immunophenotypic characteristics of mesenchymal stem/stromal cells. The potential for cell division did not significantly differ between yASCs and oASCs. Regarding differentiation potential, yASCs and oASCs were able to efficiently differentiate after adipogenic and osteogenic induction. No differences were observed in the adipogenesis or osteogenesis effectiveness between yASCs and oASCs.

Research conclusions

hASCs isolated from lipoaspirate material obtained from young or elderly female patients were not different in terms of in vitro performance considering cell growth and adipogenic and osteogenic differentiation potentiality.

Research perspectives

Donor age does not seem to interfere with the intrinsic characteristics of hASCs isolated from lipoaspirates. Therefore, donor age should not interfere in guaranteeing the quality of these cells.