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DOI: 10.1055/s-2006-947904
A New Molecular Marker to Isolate Stem Cells from Fat for Bio-Engineering Vascularized Tissues
Recently, adipose tissue has been described as an abundant reservoir of stem cells capable of differentiation into fat, cartilage, bone, and other tissues. However, the identity of the stem cell in adipose tissue has hitherto eluded identification.
The authors described a means of sorting putative stem-cell populations from adipose tissue on the basis of expression of known bone marrow mesenchymal stem-cell markers. These cells, termed lipoaspirate derived progenitor cells (LAPCs), were capable of extensive in vitro proliferation and both in vitro and in vivo multipotentiality. They discussed the utility of these cells as potential sources of stem cells for the tissue engineering of vascularized connective tissues for the correction of soft-tissue defects, such as in hemifacial microsomia or following oncologic resection.