CT-1004 Accepted 08/17/2013 for publication in “Cell Transplantation” RADIO ELECTRIC ASYMMETRIC CONVEYED FIELDS AND HUMAN ADIPOSE-DERIVED STEM CELLS OBTAINED WITH A NON -ENZYMATIC METHOD AND DEVICE: A NOVEL APPROACH TO MULTIPOTENCY - Lipogems

Abstract

Human adipose derived stem cells (hASCs) have been recently proposed as a suitable tool for regenerative therapies for their simple isolation procedure, and high proliferative capability in culture. Although hASCs can be committed into different lineages in vitro, the differentiation is a low-yield and often incomplete process. We have recently developed a novel non-enzymatic method and device, named Lipogems, to obtain a fat tissue derivative highly enriched in pericytes/mesenchymal stem cells by mild mechanical forces from human lipoaspirates. When compared to enzymatically dissociated cells, Lipogems-derived hASCs exhibited enhanced transcription of vasculogenic genes in response to pro-vasculogenic molecules, suggesting that these cells may be amenable for further optimization of their multipotency. Here, we exposed Lipogems-derived hASCs to a Radio Electric Asymmetric Conveyer (REAC), an innovative device asymmetrically conveying radio electric fields, affording both enhanced differentiating profiles in mouse embryonic stem cells, and efficient direct multi-lineage reprogramming in human skin fibroblasts. We show that specific REAC exposure remarkably enhanced the transcription of prodynorphin, GATA-4, Nkx-2.5, VEGF, HGF, vWF, neurogenin-1 and myoD, indicating the commitment towards cardiac, vascular, neuronal and skeletal muscle lineages, as inferred by the overexpression of a program of targeted marker proteins. REAC exposure also finely tuned the expression of stemness related genes, including Nanog, Sox-2, and Oct-4. Noteworthy, the REAC induced responses were fashioned at a significantly higher …