Evaluation of Three Devices for the Isolation of the Stromal Vascular Fraction from Adipose Tissue and for ASC Culture: A Comparative Study

Adipose-derived stem/stromal cells (ASCs) reside in the stromal vascular fraction (SVF) of adipose tissue (AT) and can be easily isolated. However, extraction of the SVF from lipoaspirate is a critical step in generating ASC, and semiautomated devices have been developed to enhance the efficacy and reproducibility of the outcomes and to decrease manipulation and contamination. In this study, we compared the reference method used in our lab for SVF isolation from lipoaspirate, with three medical devices: GID SVF-1™, Puregraft™, and Stem.pras®. Cell yield and their viability were evaluated as well as their phenotype with flow cytometry. Further on, we determined their proliferative potential using population doublings (PD), PD time (PDT), and clonogenicity assay (CFU-F). Finally, we checked their genetic stability using RT-qPCR for TERT mRNA assay and karyotyping as well as their multilineage potential including adipogenic, chondrogenic, and osteogenic differentiation. Our results demonstrate that all the devices allow the production of SVF cells with consistent yield and viability, in less time than the reference method. Expanded cells from the four methods showed no significant differences in terms of phenotype, proliferation capabilities, differentiation abilities, and genetic stability.