Expansion and characterization of adipose tissue-derived stromal cells cultured with low serum medium

Adipose tissue contains a population of cells that have extensive self-renewal capacity and the ability to differentiate along multiple lineages. In addition, adipose tissue-derived stromal cells (ATSCs) are able to differentiate into various cell types that may be useful for autologous cell transplantation for defects of bone, cartilage, adipose, and tendon, etc. Most protocols for in vitro cultures of ATSCs include fetal bovine serum (FBS) as a nutritional supplement. However, in some cell cultures, it involves multiple doses of FBS, which raises a concern over possible infections as well as immunological reactions that are caused by medium-derived FBS proteins, sialic acid, etc. In this study, we were able to expand mouse ATSCs using low mouse serum media containing collagen type I, heparin-carrying polystyrene, and fibroblast growth factor (FGF)-2. These expanded mouse ATSCs maintained their multilineage potential for differentiation into adipocytes, osteoblasts, and chondrocytes. Therefore, this method, which uses autologous cells and low serum media, may be able to be utilized for clinical cell therapies.