Ascorbic acid enhances adipogenesis of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stromal cells

A prerequisite to successfully engineer cell-based adipose tissue surrogates is the evaluation of in vitro culture conditions that facilitate expansion of primary precursor cells under retention of their adipogenic potential and that enable a large fraction of the heterogeneous cell pool to undergo adipogenesis upon respective stimuli. Ascorbic acid (AA) was reported to enhance differentiation of precursor cells into various mesenchymal cell types. Thus, the aim of the current study was to evaluate the influence of AA on hormonally induced adipogenesis of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (BMSCs) in vitro when supplemented during cell propagation and/or adipogenic differentiation. BMSCs were isolated from rat bone marrow, propagated, and hormonally induced to undergo adipogenesis. Supplementation of AA from the time of induction increased the fraction of BMSCs differentiating into adipocytes and glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase activity up to 2-fold. Furthermore, administration of AA already during propagation had an even larger effect with an up to 8-fold increase in adipogenic markers. Assessment of collagen accumulation suggested that the observed effects might be attributed to an enhanced collagen synthesis during propagation. The presented results demonstrate AA as a potent medium component able to enhance adipogenic conversion of BMSCs, especially when administered during cell propagation.