Open AccessA familiar stranger: CD34 expression and putative functions in SVF cells of adipose tissue
Author(s) -
Arnaud Scherberich,
Nunzia Di Maggio,
Kelly M. McNagny
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
world journal of stem cells
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.907
H-Index - 18
ISSN - 1948-0210
DOI - 10.4252/wjsc.v5.i1.1
Subject(s) - adipose tissue , stromal vascular fraction , mesenchymal stem cell , cd34 , stem cell , microbiology and biotechnology , stem cell transplantation for articular cartilage repair , stromal cell , regenerative medicine , biology , adipogenesis , bone marrow , adult stem cell , haematopoiesis , immunology , in vitro , endothelial stem cell , cancer research , endocrinology , genetics
Human adipose tissue obtained by liposuction is easily accessible and an abundant potential source of autologous cells for regenerative medicine applications. After digestion of the tissue and removal of differentiated adipocytes, the so-called stromal vascular fraction (SVF) of adipose, a mix of various cell types, is obtained. SVF contains mesenchymal fibroblastic cells, able to adhere to culture plastic and to generate large colonies in vitro, that closely resemble bone marrow-derived colony forming units-fibroblastic, and whose expanded progeny, adipose mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (ASC), show strong similarities with bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells. The sialomucin CD34, which is well known as a hematopoietic stem cell marker, is also expressed by ASC in native adipose tissue but its expression is gradually lost upon standard ASC expansion in vitro. Surprisingly little is known about the functional role of CD34 in the biology and tissue forming capacity of SVF cells and ASC. The present editorial provides a short introduction to the CD34 family of sialomucins and reviews the data from the literature concerning expression and function of these proteins in SVF cells and their in vitro expanded progeny.