Isolation of adipose tissue derived regenerative cells from human subcutaneous tissue with or without the use of an enzymatic reagent

PLoS One. 2019 Sep 3;14(9):e0221457. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0221457. eCollection 2019.

Abstract

Freshly isolated, uncultured, autologous adipose derived regenerative cells (ADRCs) have emerged as a promising tool for regenerative cell therapy. The Transpose RT system (InGeneron, Inc., Houston, TX, USA) is a system for isolating ADRCs from adipose tissue, commercially available in Europe as a CE-marked medical device and under clinical evaluation in the United States. This system makes use of the proprietary, enzymatic Matrase Reagent for isolating cells. The present study addressed the question whether the use of Matrase Reagent influences cell yield, cell viability, live cell yield, biological characteristics, physiological functions or structural properties of the ADRCs in final cell suspension. Identical samples of subcutaneous adipose tissue from 12 subjects undergoing elective lipoplasty were processed either with or without the use of Matrase Reagent. Then, characteristics of the ADRCs in the respective final cell suspensions were evaluated. Compared to non-enzymatic isolation, enzymatic isolation resulted in approximately twelve times higher mean cell yield (i.e., numbers of viable cells/ml lipoaspirate) and approximately 16 times more colony forming units. Despite these differences, cells isolated from lipoaspirate both with and without the use of Matrase Reagent were independently able to differentiate into cells of all three germ layers. This indicates that biological characteristics, physiological functions or structural properties relevant for the intended use were not altered or induced using Matrase Reagent. A comprehensive literature review demonstrated that isolation of ADRCs from lipoaspirate using the Transpose RT system and the Matrase Reagent results in the highest viable cell yield among published data regarding isolation of ADRCs from lipoaspirate.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Cell Count
  • Cell Differentiation
  • Cell Separation / methods*
  • Cell Survival
  • Cell- and Tissue-Based Therapy
  • Enzymes
  • Female
  • Gene Expression
  • Humans
  • Indicators and Reagents
  • Lipectomy
  • Male
  • Mesenchymal Stem Cell Transplantation
  • Mesenchymal Stem Cells / cytology*
  • Mesenchymal Stem Cells / physiology
  • Middle Aged
  • Regenerative Medicine
  • Stem Cells / cytology*
  • Stem Cells / physiology
  • Subcutaneous Fat / cytology*

Substances

  • Enzymes
  • Indicators and Reagents

Grants and funding

Dr. Winnier is employed as Chief Scientific Officer at InGeneron, Inc. (Houston, TX, USA), the manufacturer and distributor of the Transpose RT system and the Matrase Reagent that were investigated in this study. At the time of investigation, Dr. Valenzuela was employed as Research Scientist at InGeneron. Drs Peters-Hall and Kellner are employed as Research Scientists at InGeneron. Mr. Christopher Alt is General Manager of SciCoTec GmbH (Gruenwald, Germany) and holds a minority share in SciCoTec. SciCoTec has a majority ownership in InGeneron. Dr. Eckhard Alt is Chairman of the Board of SciCoTec and InGeneron, and holds a minority share in SciCoTec. Neither InGeneron nor SciCoTec have played a role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript and have only provided financial support in the form of authors' salaries and research materials. Dr. Alt has not gotten any salary from InGeneron and SciCoTec.