The influence of an electromagnetic field on adipose-derived stem/stromal cells’ growth factor secretion: modulation of FGF-2 production by in vitro exposure

Abstract

Adipose-derived stem/stromal cells (ASCs) have tremendous potential for use in regenerative medicine; their secretome is especially important for regenerative processes. We hypothesized that exposure of ASCs to an electromagnetic field (EMF) can influence the proregenerative potential of cells by influencing the secretion of growth factors (GFs) responsible for regenerative properties. We showed that the exposure of ASCs to an EMF (50 Hz; 1.5mT) affected the secretion of GFs as well as the cell cycle process. The most important observation was a statistically significant, 3-fold increase in FGF-2 concentration at 48 h, and a 2-fold decrease at 72 h when compared to the control group. This finding is very important for regenerative medicine, because with precisely adjusted parameters, an EMF can be used to stimulate the production of GFs, mainly of FGF-2, by ASCs, thereby increasing proregenerative properties. The ASC secretome after EMF treatment could be a method for easy, simple and cost-effective stem cell differentiation and therapy facilitation.