Mechanisms involved in adipogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells

The capacity of mesenchymal stem cells to differentiate into adipocytes appears particularly important when attempting to generate soft tissue through tissue engineering. Different laboratories have devised protocols that are similar in some aspects and differ in others. One of the points of contention is the usefulness of addition of rabbit serum to the culture medium. We have investigated this phenomenon and have found that addition of rabbit serum may induce an adipocyte-like phenotype without concomitant true adipogenic conversion. A similar occurrence of lipid inclusions without adipocyte-specific gene expression was observed when culturing the stem cells at very low oxygen conditions. In this project we aim to elucidate the molecular mechanisms behind these observations. Person involved: T. Fink.