Characterization and comparison of adipose tissue-derived cells from human subcutaneous and omental adipose tissues

Different fat depots contribute differently to disease and function. These differences may be due to the regional variation in cell types and inherent properties of fat cell progenitors. To address the differences of cell types in the adipose tissue from different depots, the phenotypes of freshly isolated adipose tissue-derived cells (ATDCs) from subcutaneous (SC) and omental (OM) adipose tissues were compared using flow cytometry. Our results showed that CD31(-)CD34(+)CD45(-)CD90(-)CD105(-)CD146(+) population, containing vascular smooth muscle cells and pericytes, was specifically defined in the SC adipose tissue while no such population was observed in OM adipose tissue. On the other hand, CD31(-)CD34(+)CD45(-)CD90(-)CD105(-)CD146(-) population, which is an undefined cell population, were found solely in OM adipose tissue. Overall, the SC adipose tissue contained more ATDCs than OM adipose tissue, while OM adipose tissue contained more blood-derived cells. Regarding to the inherent properties of fat cell progenitors from the two depots, adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) from SC had higher capacity to differentiate into both adipogenic and osteogenic lineages than those from OM, regardless of that the proliferation rates of ADSCs from both depots were similar. The higher differentiation capacity of ADSCs from SC adipose tissue suggests that SC tissue is more suitable cell source for regenerative medicine than OM adipose tissue.