New Stemsation: A Comprehensive Analysis of Adipose Stem Cells
- Publication Type:
- Thesis
- Issue Date:
- 2020
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Stem cells are defined by their ability to self-renew and differentiate into multiple cell types. Because of this, they have potential to repair or replace damaged tissue and are of great interest for regenerative medicine which is advancing at an astonishing rate. However, patient hope is also being exploited by predatory clinics offering unproven stem cell treatments. These treatments have little to no scientific evidence of safety, let alone efficacy and are detrimental to scientific progression. The growth of unproven autologous stem cell treatments can be attributed to the realisation that liposuction can be used to extract stem cells. As adipose stem cells are being used in both proven and unproven treatments it is vital to understand how they function. This project successfully characterised the proteome of adipose stem cells through the analysis of the whole cell lysate, membrane bound fraction, extracellular vesicles and select secreted cytokines. Isolation and cryopreservation techniques were also investigated as there is a lack of standardisation in these areas. When comparing traditional and xeno free media for the isolation and expansion of adipose stem cells, there was a distinct shift in the proteome, and this is largely associated with proteins involved in metabolism. Furthermore, the cytokine profiles were wildly different, and the absence of vital stem cell cytokines suggest that traditional media may be preferential, however substantially more research is required to validate this. It was revealed in this study that cryopreservation also causes a shift in the adipose stem cell proteome, albeit not as distinct as the one observed from different media. This proteomic shift also manifests in the metabolome with evidence of particular pathways being altered after cryopreservation, but again this requires further validation. Metabolites involved in the kynurenine pathway were further investigated as this pathway accounts for the metabolism of more than 95% of tryptophan. This is the first study to confidently demonstrate that the kynurenine pathway of tryptophan metabolism is activated by IFN-γ in human adipose stem cells. Lastly, because it is the responsibility of scientists to ensure that science is accessible for everyone, the use of digital media for scientific education was explored. The knowledge from this project can be adapted to produce better scientific educational video content, and should be employed to educate the broader community about stem cell therapies, as it is known that patients use digital media to access unproven treatments.
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