vi In Texas, the rigid policies on stem cell treatments for humans were changed in April of 2012, making Texas a leader in the development of stem cell treatments. Interestingly, Governor Rick Perry posed the proposal after he underwent stem cell treatment himself for his back pain. The bill allows stem cell treatment with consent from the patient and approval from an institutional review board.vii Today, people travel abroad to escape stiff FDA policies and receive treatment. In the future we can hope for more trusted treatments available to everyone. .
The process of deriving stem cells in adipose tissue makes ASCs an extremely valuable asset to regenerative medicine. Liposuction is the standard technique used to obtain human fat. The liposuctioned fat is washed thoroughly with a sterile phosphate-buffered saline to remove debris. The clean adipose tissue is treated with an enzyme called collagenase to loosen the stem cells from their embedding in the fat. The enzyme is inactivated and the tissue sample is spun in a centrifuge, filtered, and spun again until the plasma and red blood cells are separated from the stem cells, which form a solid pellet at the bottom of the test tube.2,5 The following picture illustrates the cycle of adipose-derived stem cell isolation and differentiation.3 The isolated stem cells go on to be injected into a patient where damage has been done, and a self-sufficient supply of stem cells help repair tissue quickly. For every 300 mL of fat harvested, somewhere between 1 x 107 and 6 x 108 stem cells can be isolated (90% of which are viable).3 With roughly 400, 000 liposuction surgeries in the United States each year, adipose tissue to derive stem cells from is abundant.5 Cosmetic surgery clinics, with the consent of their patients, have started to sell and donate liposuctioned fat to privately owned research clinics. .
Multipotent cells like adipose-derived stem cells have not yet differentiated, giving them many diverse uses for matured adults.