Adipose-Derived Stem Cell Conditioned Medium and Wound Healing: A Systematic Review

Area of Science:

• Regenerative Medicine
• Tissue Engineering
• Wound Healing

Background:

• Adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) show therapeutic potential but face limitations due to viability, function, and safety concerns.
• The therapeutic effects of ASCs are largely attributed to paracrine factors in their conditioned medium (CM).
• ASC-CM offers a cell-free alternative, potentially overcoming challenges associated with direct stem cell transplantation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically review the effects of ASC-CM on wound healing.
• To analyze both in vitro and in vivo studies investigating ASC-CM's efficacy.
• To identify factors influencing ASC-CM's therapeutic potential.

Main Methods:

• Systematic literature search of PubMed/MEDLINE for ASC-CM and wound healing studies.
• Inclusion of in vitro (dermal fibroblasts, keratinocytes) and in vivo (full-thickness wound models) research.
• Extraction and synthesis of data on CM preparation, application, and outcomes.

Main Results:

• A total of 36 articles (19 in vitro, 17 in vivo) were included after screening 121 publications.
• ASC-CM demonstrated largely positive effects on wound healing in both in vitro and in vivo models.
• Optimizing ASC culture conditions (hypoxia, substrates, supplementation, genetic modification) enhanced ASC-CM's effects.

Conclusions:

• ASC-CM represents a promising cell-free therapeutic strategy for wound healing in regenerative medicine.
• Variability in CM preparation methods is a key limitation requiring standardization.
• ASC-CM holds potential for treating inflammatory and ischemic diseases beyond wound healing.