The Paracrine Activity and Differentiation Potential of Human Adipose-Derived Stem Cells Can Be Influenced by Age.

Stem cell therapy has been increasingly used as a therapeutic option in the treatment of numerous diseases, including many inflammatory and vascular diseases.  

The primary sources of stem cells are bone marrow (BM), dental tissue, adipose tissue, and umbilical cord blood; BM is considered the primary source of multipotent stem cells. While BM is an important source of stem cells for clinical cellular therapy, BM cell culture is an invasive procedure that presents both a potential risk and burden to patients. 

Considering this, researchers have conducted numerous studies to investigate adipose tissue as an alternative to BM. Findings indicate that adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) can be expanded ex vivo and possess characteristics similar to those found in BM. However, the quality of ADSCs have been found to be affected by age, underlying disease, or the lifestyle of the individual, making these factors a critical factor in estimating the efficacy of stem cell therapy.  

The purpose of Park et al.’s study was to explore the association between age and ADSC activity, including paracrine and differentiation potential; the authors hypothesized that age affects the cellular activity of ADSCs.  

To verify this hypothesis, Park et al. analyzed the essential functions of ADSCs from young and elderly donors by evaluating the cell proliferation rate, differentiation potential, and cytokine profile.

As a result of this study, the authors reported that age reduces the viability and proliferation rate of ADSCs. Specifically, the viability of ADSCs was significantly reduced in the elderly group when compared to the young group; this reduction also led to an increase in cell population doubling time. This finding led to the conclusion that ADSCs from the elderly may lose their therapeutic efficacy during ex vivo culture.

Paracrine action of ADSCs was also found to be altered by age. The authors observed that as stem cells age, they tend to lose their ability to secrete cytokines or growth factors due to senescence. Considering that transplanted stem cells primarily act through paracrine factors, reduced function resulting from age could be a critical factor in predicting their treatment efficacy after transplantation. 

Age was also found to weaken the differentiation potential of ADSCs. Age had previously been proven to influence cell repopulation rate and cytokine secretion. The authors suggest that these findings also indicate that age may disrupt the differentiation potential of ADSCs. After testing this as part of this study, the authors reported that ADSCs from the elderly group do in fact demonstrate a significant reduction in adipogenic potential when compared to the young group. 

The authors conclude that this study demonstrated that a donor’s age affects the proliferative activity, paracrine action, and differentiation potential of ADSCs and that further evaluation of ADSC based on age will be helpful for the development of ADSCs as a cellular therapeutic agent in stem cell therapy. 

Source: “Age affects the paracrine activity and differentiation potential … – NCBI.” 22 Dec. 2020, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7789087/.