Discrete adipose-derived stem cell subpopulations may display differential functionality after in vitro expansion despite convergence to a common phenotype distribution.

Background: Complex immunophenotypic repertoires defining discrete adipose-derived stem cell (ASC) subpopulations may hold a key toward identifying predictors of clinical utility. To this end, we sorted out of the freshly established ASCs four subpopulations (SPs) according to a specific pattern of co-expression of six surface markers, the CD34, CD73, CD90, CD105, CD146, and CD271, using polychromatic flow cytometry.

Method: Using flow cytometry-associated cell sorting and analysis, gating parameters were set to select for a CD73CD90CD105 phenotype plus one of the four following combinations, CD34CD146CD271 (SP1), CD34CD146CD271 (SP2), CD34CD146CD271 (SP3), and CD34CD146CD271 (SP4). The SPs were expanded 700- to 1000-fold, and their surface repertoire, trilineage differentiation, and clonogenic potential, and the capacity to support wound healing were assayed.

Results: Upon culturing, the co-expression of major epitopes, the CD73, CD90, and CD105 was maintained, while regarding the minor markers, all SPs reverted to resemble the pre-sorted population with CD34CD146CD271 and CD34CD146CD271 representing the most prevalent combinations, followed by less frequent CD34CD146CD271 and CD34CD146CD271 variants. There was no difference in the efficiency of adipo-, osteo-, or chondrogenesis by cytochemistry and real-time RT-PCR or the CFU capacity between the individual SPs, however, the SP2 outperformed others in terms of wound healing.

Conclusions: Our study shows that ASCs upon culturing inherently maintain a stable distribution of immunophenotype variants, which may potentially disguise specific functional properties of particular downstream lines. Furthermore, the outlined approach suggests a paradigm whereby discrete subpopulations could be identified to provide for a therapeutically most relevant cell product.