Adipose-tissue-derived therapeutic cells in their natural environment as an autologous cell therapy strategy: the microtissue-stromal vascular fraction
1 Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Experimental and Clinical Traumatology, AUVA Research Centre, Linz/Vienna, Austria
2 Austrian Cluster for Tissue Regeneration, Vienna, Austria
3 Liporegena GmbH, Breitenfurt, Austria
4 Department of Orthopedics and Trauma-Surgery, Division of Trauma-Surgery, Medical University of Vienna,Vienna, Austria
5 School of Medical Engineering and Applied Social Sciences, University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria, Linz, Austria
6 Red Cross Blood Transfusion Service of Upper Austria, Linz, Austria
§ These authors equally contributed to this paper
Abstract
The prerequisite for a successful clinical use of autologous adipose-tissue-derived cells is the highest possible regenerative potential of the applied cell population, the stromal vascular fraction (SVF). Current isolation methods depend on high enzyme concentration, lysis buffer, long incubation steps and mechanical stress, resulting in single cell dissociation. The aim of the study was to limit cell manipulation and obtain a derivative comprising therapeutic cells (microtissue-SVF) without dissociation from their natural extracellular matrix, by employing a gentle good manufacturing practice (GMP)-grade isolation. The microtissue-SVF yielded larger numbers of viable cells as compared to the improved standard-SVF, both with low enzyme concentration and minimal dead cell content. It comprised stromal tissue compounds (collagen, glycosaminoglycans, fibroblasts), capillaries and vessel structures (CD31+, smooth muscle actin+). A broad range of cell types was identified by surface-marker characterisation, including mesenchymal, haematopoietic, pericytic, blood and lymphatic vascular and epithelial cells. Subpopulations such as supra-adventitial adipose-derived stromal/stem cells and endothelial progenitor cells were significantly more abundant in the microtissue-SVF, corroborated by significantly higher potency for angiogenic tube-like structure formationin vitro. The microtissue-SVF showed the characteristic phenotype and tri-lineage mesenchymal differentiation potentialin vitroand an immunomodulatory and pro-angiogenic secretome.In vivoimplantation of the microtissue-SVF combined with fat demonstrated successful graft integration in nude mice. The present study demonstrated a fast and gentle isolation by minor manipulation of liposuction material, achieving a therapeutically relevant cell population with high vascularisation potential and immunomodulatory properties still embedded in a fraction of its original matrix.
Graphical Abstract

Keywords
- Stromal vascular fraction
- extracellular matrix
- adipose-derived stromal/stem cells
- endothelial progenitor cells
- angiogenesis
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