Engineered adipose tissue for treatment and drug screening [05.03.18]
In vitro engineered adipose tissue is in great demand to treat lost or damaged soft tissue or to screen for new drugs, among other applications. However, today most attempts depend on the use of animal-derived sera. To pave the way for the application of adipose tissue–engineered products in clinical trials or as reliable and robust in vitro test systems, sera should be completely excluded from the production process. A Hohenheim-Reutlingen research tandem has developed an in vitro system that can maintain its functionality long term without the addition of sera.
[Translate to English:] White adipose tissue
Original Study in Cytotherapy, March 2018:
Completely serum-free and chemically defined adipocyte development and maintenance
1 Reutlingen Research Institute, Reutlingen University, Reutlingen Germany
2 University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany
3 Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB, Stuttgart, Germany
Methods
Human adipose tissue–derived stem cells were expanded and characterized in a xeno- and serum-free environment. Adipogenic differentiation was induced using a completely defined medium. Developed adipocytes were maintained in a completely defined maturation medium for additional 28 days. In addition to cell viability and adherence, adipocyte-specific markers such as perilipin A expression or leptin release were evaluated.
Results
The defined differentiation medium enhanced cell adherence and lipid accumulation at a significant level compared with the corresponding negative control. The defined maturation medium also significantly supported cell adherence and functional adipocyte maturation during the long-term culture period.
Conclusions
The process described here enables functional adipocyte generation and maintenance without the addition of unknown or animal-derived constituents, achieving an important milestone in the introduction of adipose tissue–engineered products into clinical trials or in vitro screening.
![[Translate to English:] White adipose tissue](/typo3temp/_processed_/csm_adipose-Tissue_01_c5e10e2901.png "[Translate to English:] White adipose tissue")