Isolation and characterisation of human adipose-derived stem cells

Abstract

Recently, adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs), obtained from fresh human lipoaspirate, have shown promise as immunomodulatory agents having demonstrated immunosuppressive functionality both in vitro and in vivo. A number of researchers have described the isolation of ASCs through the enzymatic digestion of fat samples, followed by a number of purification steps, involving centrifugation and filtration. Here, we utilize a standard isolation technique, with the added purification of putative ASCs by fluorescence activated cell sorting (FACS). ASCs are an extremely valuable resource in clinical applications, including reconstruction, regeneration, and investigations into immune activity. This method could be used to isolate and purify ASCs for such downstream applications.