Detection of embryonic stem cell markers in adult human adipose tissue-derived stem cells

Bone marrow transplantation is already an established therapy, which is now widely used in medicine to treat leukemia, lymphoma, and several inherited blood disorders. The culture of multilineage cells from easily available adipose tissue is another source of multipotent mesenchymal stem cells, and is referred to as adipose tissue-derived stem cells (ADSCs). While ADSCs are being used to treat various conditions, some lacuna exists regarding the specific proteins in these. It was therefore decided to analyze the specific proteins of embryonic cells in ADSCs.

To analyze the specific protein of embryonic stem cells (ESCs) in ADSCs.

Adult human adipose tissue-derived stem cells (ADSCs) were harvested from 13 patients after obtaining patients' consent. The specific markers of ESCs included surface proteins CD10, CD13, CD44, CD59, CD105, and CD166, and further nucleostemin, (NS) NANOG, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gγ, collagen type 1 (Coll1), alkaline phosphate, (ALP) osteocalcin (OC), and core binding factor 1 (Cbfa1) were analyzed using by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction, (RT-PCR) immunofluorescence (IF), and western blot.

All the proteins were expressed distinctly, except CD13 and OC. CD13 was found individually with different expressions, and OC expression was discernable.

Although the ESC with its proven self-renewal capacity and pluripotency seems appropriate for clinical use, the recent work on ADSCs suggests that these adult stem cells would be a valuable source for future biotechnology, especially since there is a relative ease of procurement.