Equine Adipose-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells: Phenotype and Growth Characteristics, Gene Expression Profile and Differentiation Potentials

Objective: because of the therapeutic application of stem cells (scs), isolation and characterizationof different types of scs, especially mesenchymal stem cells (mscs), havegained considerable attention in recent studies. adipose tissue is an abundant and accessiblesource of mscs which can be used for tissue engineering and in particular for treatmentof musculoskeletal disorders. this study was aimed to isolate and culture equineadipose-derived mscs (at-mscs) from little amounts of fat tissue samples and determinesome of their biological characteristics.materials and methods: in this descriptive study, only 3-5 grams of fat tissue were collectedfrom three crossbred mares. immediately, cells were isolated by mechanical meansand enzymatic digestion and were cultured in optimized conditions until passage 3 (p3).the cells at p3 were evaluated for proliferative capacities, expression of specific markers,and osteogenic, chondrogenic and adipogenic differentiation potentials.results: results showed that the isolated cells were plastic adherent with a fibroblast-likephenotype. at-mscs exhibited expression of mesenchymal cluster of differentiation (cd)markers (cd29, cd44 and cd90) and not major histocompatibility complex ii (mhc-ii)and cd34 (hematopoietic marker). cellular differentiation assays demonstrated the chondrogenic,adipogenic and osteogenic potential of the isolated cells.conclusion: taken together, our findings reveal that equine mscs can be obtained easilyfrom little amounts of fat tissue which can be used in the future for regenerative purposesin veterinary medicine.