Effect of age on the differentiation of porcine adipose stromal-vascular cells in culture.

Stromal-vascular (S-V) cells isolated from adipose tissue of newborn pigs (NBPC) and mature pigs (MPC) by collagenase digestion were used to evaluate differences in preadipocyte culture and development. Cells were seeded at a density of 3 x 10(4) cells/cm2 on six-well (35-mm) tissue culture plates in 3 mL of DMEM/HAM's F12 medium plus 10% fetal calf serum and cultured at 37 degrees C under a humidified atmosphere of 95% air:5% CO2 for 24 h. Cells were then washed thoroughly in DMEM/HAM's F12 medium without fetal calf serum and maintained in serum free (SF) medium or SF medium supplemented with 2.5% newborn pig serum (NBPS) or mature pig serum (MPS) for 12 d. After 1 d, more NBPC adhered to the culture plates, as indicated by DNA values. After 12 d, protein per culture well was not significantly different, but DNA concentration per well remained higher (P < .05) in cultures of NBPC than in the MPC cultured in the same medium, indicating fewer MPC. Protein:DNA ratios were higher (P < .05) in cultures of MPC regardless of the medium, reflecting larger cell size. More cells containing fat deposits were seen with NBPC in all conditions in comparison with MPC, and more fat was deposited in NBPC in SF than in SF plus NBPS or MPS. The NBPC had higher (P < .05) sn-glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GPDH; EC 1.1.1.8) per protein than MPC regardless of the medium. For both cell types, GPDH activity in either serum was less than activity of cells grown in SF.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)