Chondrocyte differentiation of human buccal fat pad-derived dedifferentiated fat cells and adipose stem cells using an atelocollagen sponge

Abstract

Cartilage, a widely dispersed connective tissue found in the maxillofacial region (the nose, ears and various joints) can be affected by various conditions, including congenital morphological anomalies such as cleft lip and palate, joint trauma, or post-surgery trauma after tumor removal. Damage to cartilage tissue has a deleterious effect on facial morphology and can make it difficult for the patient to resume daily activities, which may significantly decrease the patient’s quality of life. In such situations, treatment generally involves transplantation of autologous cartilage or implantation of polymer biomaterials such as silicon or hyaluronic acid. However, these materials have certain disadvantages such as a lack of durability, increased risk of infection, and the requirement of invasive approaches to remove tissue from donor sites. Tissue engineering strategies are expected to replace injured articular cartilage tissues with tissue grown in vitro. Recently, mature adipocytes, which are the most abundant cell type in adipose tissues, have been considered good candidates for tissue engineering because of their multilineage potential. 3 These types of cells, which are termed adipose stem cells (ASCs), have been investigated for their capacity to differentiate into three linages : mesoderm, ectoderm, and endoderm. In general, acquisiChondrocyte differentiation of human buccal fat pad-derived dedifferentiated fat cells and adipose stem cells using an atelocollagen sponge