2013 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

Basic study on adipose-derived stem cells for a therapy of lymphedema

Research Project

Project/Area Number	23659834
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
Allocation Type	Multi-year Fund
Research Field	Plastic surgery
Research Institution	Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine
Principal Investigator	NISHINO Kenichi 京都府立医科大学, 医学(系)研究科(研究院), 准教授 (00138471)
Project Period (FY)	2011 – 2012
Keywords	再生医療
Research Abstract	It remains unclear whether ADSCs have direct effects on lymphatic endothelial cells (LECs). In this study, human LECs were treated with murine ADSC-derived conditioned media. Changes in LEC proliferation, migration, and tube formation were assessed, with recombinant human vascular endothelial growth factor-C used as a positive control. Additionally, the expression of several lymphangiogenic factors in ADSCs was examined. Factors secreted by ADSCs induced LEC proliferation, migration, and tube formation more potently than recombinant human vascular endothelial growth factor-C. Some of the lymphangiogenic factors of ADSCs were dramatically up-regulated under serum-starved conditions. These data indicate that ADSCs could directly contribute to lymphangiogenesis via secretory factors in vitro and may thus provide a therapeutic modality for patients with lymphedema.