Effects of Erythropoietin on Adipose Tissue: A Possible Strategy in Refilling

BACKGROUND: The increased resorption and the difficulty of the fat graft take following autologous fat transplantation procedure are associated with reduced fat tissue revascularization and increased apoptosis of adipose cells. We suppose that the lipofilling procedure induces an inflammatory environment within the fat graft mass, whose evolution influences the efficacy of autologous fat graft survival. Erythropoietin (EPO) is a glycoprotein hormone known to exert angiogenetic and anti-inflammatory effects; therefore, our purpose was to investigate its reaction with adipose tissue used in lipofilling. METHODS: Fat masses were harvested using manual suction lipectomy and then seeded on dishes in appropriate culture and treated for 3 weeks with 3 doses of EPO. CD31 and CD68 immunohistochemistry was used to identify microvessels and several infiltrating leukocyte cells. RESULTS: Following EPO administration, we have detected an increase in the number of CD31-positive microvessel endothelium cells and CD31-positive small leukocytes and a reduction of CD68-positive cells. These effects were more conspicuous following higher EPO dose. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings evidence EPO treatment as a useful strategy to sustain the revascularization of grafted tissue and to reduce its inflammatory state.