Molligan Jeremy, Mitchell Reed, Bhasin Priya, Lakhani Aliya, Schon Lew, Zhang Zijun
Orthobiologic Laboratory, MedStar Union Memorial Hospital, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Orthobiologic Laboratory, MedStar Union Memorial Hospital, Baltimore, MD, USA
Foot Ankle Int. 2015 Nov;36(11):1344-51. doi: 10.1177/1071100715591092. Epub 2015 Jun 17.
The foot fat pad (FFP) bears body weight and may become a source of foot pain during aging. This study investigated the regenerative effects of autologous adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells (AT-MSCs) in the FFP of rats.
Fat tissue was harvested from a total of 30 male Sprague-Dawley rats for isolation of AT-MSCs. The cells were cultured, adipogenic differentiation was induced for 1 week, and the AT-MSCs were labeled with fluorescent dye before injection. AT-MSCs (5 × 10(4) in 50 µL of saline) were injected into the second infradigital pad in the right hindfoot of the rat of origin. Saline only (50 µL) was injected into the corresponding fat pad in the left hind paw of each rat. Rats (n = 10) were euthanized at 1, 2, and 3 weeks, and the second infradigital fat pads were dissected for histologic examination.
The fluorescence-labeled AT-MSCs were present in the foot pads throughout the 3-week experimental period. On histologic testing, the area of fat pad units (FPUs) in the fat pads that received AT-MSC injections was greater than that in the control fat pads. Although the thickness of septae was not changed by AT-MSC injections, the density of elastic fibers in the septae was increased in the fat pads with implanted AT-MSCs.
In this short-term study, the implanted AT-MSCs largely survived and might have stimulated the expansion of individual FPUs and increased the density of elastic fibers in the FFP in this rat model.
These data support the development of stem cell therapies for age-associated degeneration in FFP in humans.
足部脂肪垫（FFP）承担身体重量，在衰老过程中可能成为足部疼痛的来源。本研究调查了自体脂肪组织来源的间充质干细胞（AT-MSCs）对大鼠FFP的再生作用。
从总共30只雄性Sprague-Dawley大鼠获取脂肪组织以分离AT-MSCs。将细胞进行培养，诱导成脂分化1周，并且在注射前用荧光染料标记AT-MSCs。将AT-MSCs（5×10⁴个细胞悬浮于50μL生理盐水中）注射到原供体大鼠右后足的第二趾下脂肪垫中。仅将生理盐水（50μL）注射到每只大鼠左后爪的相应脂肪垫中。在1周、2周和3周时对大鼠（n = 10）实施安乐死，并解剖第二趾下脂肪垫进行组织学检查。
在整个3周的实验期内，荧光标记的AT-MSCs存在于足垫中。组织学检测显示，接受AT-MSCs注射的脂肪垫中脂肪垫单位（FPU）的面积大于对照脂肪垫。尽管AT-MSCs注射未改变间隔的厚度，但植入AT-MSCs的脂肪垫中间隔内弹性纤维的密度增加。
在这项短期研究中，植入的AT-MSCs在很大程度上存活下来，并且可能刺激了单个FPU的扩张，并增加了该大鼠模型中FFP内弹性纤维的密度。
这些数据支持开发针对人类FFP中与年龄相关退变的干细胞疗法。
