Ultrasound-assisted liposuction provides a source for functional adipose-derived stromal cells

Regenerative medicine employs human mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) for their multi-lineage plasticity and their pro-regenerative cytokine secretome. Adipose-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (ASCs) are concentrated in fat tissue, and the ease of harvest via liposuction makes them a particularly interesting cell source. However, there are various liposuction methods, and few have been assessed regarding their impact on ASC functionality. Here we study the impact of the two most popular ultrasound-assisted liposuction (UAL) devices currently in clinical use, VASER (Solta Medical) and Lysonix 3000 (Mentor) on ASCs.

After lipoaspirate harvest and processing, we sorted for ASCs using fluorescent-assisted cell sorting based on an established surface marker profile (CD34⁺CD31^-CD45^-). ASC yield, viability, osteogenic and adipogenic differentiation capacity and in vivo regenerative performance were assessed.

Both UAL samples demonstrated equivalent ASC yield and viability. VASER UAL ASCs showed higher osteogenic and adipogenic marker expression, but a comparable differentiation capacity was observed. Soft tissue healing and neovascularization were significantly enhanced via both UAL-derived ASCs in vivo, and there was no significant difference between the cell therapy groups.

Taken together, our data suggest that UAL allows safe and efficient harvesting of the mesenchymal stromal cellular fraction of adipose tissue and that cells harvested via this approach are suitable for cell therapy and tissue engineering applications.