Characterization of equine adipose tissue-derived stromal cells: adipogenic and osteogenic capacity and comparison with bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stromal cells.
Authors: Vidal Martin A, Kilroy Gail E, Lopez Mandi J, Johnson Jill R, Moore Rustin M, Gimble Jeffrey M
Journal: Veterinary surgery : VS
Summary
# Editorial Summary Adipose tissue represents a readily accessible reservoir of mesenchymal stromal cells with significant regenerative potential, yet equine ASCs had not been systematically characterised prior to this work. Vidal Martin and colleagues harvested subcutaneous adipose tissue from five horses and cultured derived stromal cells across multiple passages, measuring their proliferation kinetics, frequency within the stromal vascular fraction, and capacity to differentiate into adipocytes and osteoblasts under controlled conditions. The team found ASCs doubled approximately every 2.1 days, comprised roughly 1 in 2.3 nucleated cells within the stromal vascular fraction, and crucially maintained their adipogenic and osteogenic differentiation potential through at least four passages—indicating these cells remain viable candidates for extended culture and therapeutic application. Unlike bone marrow harvest, which requires invasive aspiration, adipose tissue can be obtained with minimal morbidity from superficial sites such as the supragluteal region, making ASC isolation practical for clinical use in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine applications. For practitioners considering stem cell therapies or collaborating with research teams on novel treatment protocols, this characterisation provides essential baseline data: equine ASCs behave comparably to their mammalian counterparts and warrant investigation for musculoskeletal, soft tissue, and potentially bone regeneration strategies in horses.
Read the full abstract on PubMed
Practical Takeaways
- •Adipose tissue represents a viable and accessible source for harvesting stem cells for regenerative medicine applications in horses, potentially offering an alternative to bone marrow
- •ASCs maintain their therapeutic potential through multiple cell passages in culture, making them suitable for expansion protocols before clinical use
- •The species-specific differences in equine ASC behavior mean that protocols developed for humans or other animals cannot be directly transferred without validation in equine models
Key Findings
- •Equine adipose stromal cells (ASCs) double approximately every 2.1 days over 10 passages, with stable growth kinetics
- •Approximately 1 in 2.3 nucleated cells in the stromal vascular fraction are ASCs capable of fibroblastic differentiation
- •Primary ASCs successfully differentiate into both adipogenic (1 in 4.9) and osteogenic (1 in <2.44) phenotypes and maintain this potential through P4 passage
- •Equine ASC characteristics differ from other mammalian species, suggesting species-specific optimization needed for clinical applications