Non-Enzymatic Fat Processing Boosts Stem Cell Potential
Margherita Maioli, Salvatore Rinaldi, Sara Santaniello, Alessandro Castagna, Gianfranco Pigliaru, Alessandro Delitala, Francesca Bianchi, Carlo Tremolada, Vania Fontani, Carlo Ventura · Cell Transplantation · 2013
Lab Study Shows Lipogems® Cells Respond Better to Activation
Researchers compared two ways to harvest stem cells from human fat tissue. The first method used the Lipogems® device, which processes fat through gentle mechanical action. The second used traditional enzyme-based processing. Both methods yielded stem cells, but the Lipogems® approach preserved cells in a more natural state. This made them better candidates for further enhancement in the laboratory.
Radio Electric Fields Activate Multiple Cell Pathways
The research team exposed harvested stem cells to a special device called REAC. This technology uses very low-power radio electric fields to stimulate cells. Think of it like a gentle electronic signal that encourages cells to "wake up" their natural abilities. The REAC device delivered these fields directly into the culture medium where cells were growing.
Lipogems® Cells Show Stronger Response Than Enzyme-Processed Cells
When exposed to the radio electric fields, Lipogems®-derived stem cells showed significantly stronger activation compared to enzyme-processed cells. The gentle mechanical processing of Lipogems® appears to preserve the cells' natural responsiveness. Enzyme processing, while effective, may damage some of the cellular structures that help cells respond to activation signals.
Cells Showed Signs of Becoming Heart, Blood Vessel, and Nerve Tissue
After exposure to the radio electric fields, researchers measured gene activity in the stem cells. They found increased activity in genes associated with:
Heart tissue development (GATA-4 and Nkx-2.5 genes)
Blood vessel formation (VEGF, HGF, and vWF genes)
Nerve cell development (neurogenin-1 gene)
Muscle tissue formation (myoD gene)
This multi-pathway activation suggests the cells retained strong "multipotency." This means they kept their ability to potentially develop into many different tissue types.
Stemness Genes Remained Active During Differentiation
A key finding involved genes that keep stem cells in their undeveloped, flexible state. These "stemness" genes—Nanog, Sox-2, and Oct-4—showed carefully balanced activity. The cells maintained their stem cell identity while also preparing for potential tissue development. This balance is important because cells that lose their stemness too quickly may not work well in treatments.
What This Means for Patients Considering Regenerative Treatment
This laboratory study provides scientific support for the Lipogems® processing method. The research suggests that the gentle, non-enzymatic approach preserves stem cell quality better than traditional enzyme processing.
Key takeaways for patients:
Lipogems® uses your own fat tissue, avoiding donor material
The mechanical processing method appears to keep cells healthier
Preserved cells may respond better when placed in your body
No genetic manipulation or viral vectors are needed
Important context: This was a laboratory study using cells in culture dishes. The researchers did not treat patients or measure clinical outcomes. The findings help explain why Lipogems®-processed tissue may work well, but they don't directly prove treatment effectiveness in humans.
The study adds to growing evidence that how stem cells are harvested matters. Gentle processing methods like Lipogems® may give cells a better starting point for regenerative applications. This research supports the broader goal of optimizing stem cell therapies without complex genetic engineering or synthetic chemicals.
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Source: Maioli et al., Cell Transplantation, 2013.
Original Publication
Radio Electric Asymmetric Conveyed Fields and Human Adipose-Derived Stem Cells Obtained with a Non-Enzymatic Method and Device
Margherita Maioli, Salvatore Rinaldi, Sara Santaniello, Alessandro Castagna, Gianfranco Pigliaru, Alessandro Delitala, Francesca Bianchi, Carlo Tremolada, Vania Fontani, Carlo Ventura · Cell Transplantation · 2013
Human adipose derived stem cells (hASCs) have been recently proposed as a suitable tool for regenerative therapies for their simple isolation procedure, and high proliferative capability in culture. Although hASCs can be committed into different lineages in vitro, the differentiation is a low-yield and often incomplete process. We have recently developed a novel non-enzymatic method and device, named Lipogems, to obtain a fat tissue derivative highly enriched in pericytes/mesenchymal stem cells by mild mechanical forces from human lipoaspirates. When compared to enzymatically dissociated cells, Lipogems-derived hASCs exhibited enhanced transcription of vasculogenic genes in response to pro-vasculogenic molecules, suggesting that these cells may be amenable for further optimization of their multipotency. Here, we exposed Lipogems-derived hASCs to a Radio Electric Asymmetric Conveyer (REAC), an innovative device asymmetrically conveying radio electric fields, affording both enhanced differentiating profiles in mouse embryonic stem cells, and efficient direct multi-lineage reprogramming in human skin fibroblasts. We show that specific REAC exposure remarkably enhanced the transcription of prodynorphin, GATA-4, Nkx-2.5, VEGF, HGF, vWF, neurogenin-1 and myoD, indicating the commitment towards cardiac, vascular, neuronal and skeletal muscle lineages, as inferred by the overexpression of a program of targeted marker proteins. REAC exposure also finely tuned the expression of stemness related genes, including Nanog, Sox-2, and Oct-4. Noteworthy, the REAC induced responses were fashioned at a significantly higher extent in Lipogems-derived than in enzymatically-dissociated hASCs. Therefore, REAC-mediated interplay between radio electric asymmetrically conveyed fields and Lipogems-derived hASCs appears to involve the generation of an ideal 'milieu' to optimize multipotency expression from human adult stem cells in view of potential improvement of future cell therapy efforts.