Electrical stimulation promotes the angiogenic potential of adipose-derived stem cells

Autologous fat transfer (AFT) is limited by post-operative volume loss due to ischemia-induced cell death in the fat graft. Previous studies have demonstrated that electrical stimulation (ES) promotes angiogenesis in a variety of tissues and cell types. In this study we investigated the effects of ES on the angiogenic potential of adipose-derived stem cells (ASC), important progenitor cells in fat grafts with proven angiogenic potential. Cultured human ASC were electrically stimulated for 72 hours after which the medium of stimulated (ES) and non-stimulated (control) ASC was analysed for angiogenesis-related proteins by protein array and ELISA. The functional effect of ES on angiogenesis was then assessed in vitro and in vivo. Nine angiogenesis-related proteins were detected in the medium of electrically (non-)stimulated ASC and were quantified by ELISA. The pro-angiogenic proteins VEGF and MCP-1 were significantly increased following ES compared to controls, while the anti-angiogenic factor Serpin E1/PAI-1 was significantly decreased. Despite increased levels of anti-angiogenic TSP-1 and TIMP-1, medium of ES-treated ASC significantly increased vessel density, total vessel network length and branching points in chorio-allantoic membrane assays. In conclusion, our proof-of-concept study showed that ES increased the angiogenic potential of ASC both in vitro and in vivo.