Early Transcriptional Changes of Adipose-Derived Stem Cells (ADSCs) in Cell Culture

Background and Objectives: While autologous fat grafting has been carried out in the clinical field for many years, the utilization of isolated and cultured adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) is highly restricted in many countries. However, ADSCs are under investigation currently and heavily researched in many cell-based therapy approaches in the field of regenerative medicine. Objective: For the utilization of future cell-based therapies with ADSCs, in vitro cell expansion might be necessary in many cases. Thus, the cellular characteristics of ADSCs may be altered though the process of being cultured. The aim of this study was to assess changes in the gene expression profile of ADSCs after cell expansion for 48 h. Materials and Methods: Isolated ADSCs from five different donors were used for in vitro expansion. For the evaluation of the gene expression profile, mRNA deep Next-Generation Sequencing was performed to evaluate the differences between cultured and freshly isolated cells. Results: Our study gives insight into transcriptional changes in ADSCs after a short cell cultivation period. This includes the most prominent upregulated genes such as PPL, PRR15, CCL11 and ABCA9, as well the most downregulated genes, which are FOSB, FOS, EGR1 and DUSP6. Furthermore, we showed different biological processes that changed during short-term cell expansion, which led to downregulation of fat-associated metabolism hormone processes and to an upregulation of extracellular matrix-associated genes. Conclusion: In conclusion, our study reveals a detailed insight into early changes in the gene expression profile of cultured ADSCs. Our results can be utilized in future experiments.