Why Use Fat as a Source of Stem Cells?

A set of ideal criteria for stem cells in regenerative medicine has been identified recently [Gimble 2003],

and the table below shows how well adipose tissue matches these criteria.

	Ideal Stem Cell Criteria	Fat	comments
1	Found in abundant quantities	yes	Increasing obesity worldwide Liposuction procedures yield between 100 ml to > 3 liter
2	Harvested via minimally invasive procedure	yes	Cryo-Lip procedure requires only 50 ml of lipoaspirate Patient friendly compared to bone marrow aspiration
3	Can be differentiated in multiple cell lineages	yes	Multiple cells have been grown from ASCs, including fat, bone, cartilage, muscle, neuron, pancreas
4	Can be safely and effectively transplanted	yes	Fat grafting is a well accepted in plastic surgery Cryo-Lip is for adult and autologous use (no immunology or ethical problems)
5	Can be manufactured to GMP guidelines	yes	Established in many laboratories

In summary, ASCs as obtained in the Cryo-Lip procedure are a logical choice for clinical uses as they are:

		Abundantly available in adults

		Relatively easy to isolate and expand

		Autologous, hence no ethical or immunological problems