A new organotypic culture of adipose tissue fragments maintains viable mature adipocytes for a long term, together with development of immature adipocytes and mesenchymal stem cell-like cells.

Adipose tissue that consists of mature and immature adipocytes is suggested to contain mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), but a culture system for analyzing their cell types within the tissue has not been established. Here we show that three-dimensional collagen gel culture of rat sc adipose tissue fragments maintained viable mature adipocytes for a long term, producing immature adipocytes and MSC-like cells from the fragments, using immunohistochemistry, ELISA, and real time RT-PCR. Bromodeoxyuridine uptake of mature adipocytes was detected. Adiponectin and leptin, and adipocyte-specific genes of adiponectin, leptin, and PPAR-gamma were detected in culture assembly, whereas the lipogenesis factor insulin (20 mU/ml) and inflammation-related agent TNF-alpha (2 nm) increased and decreased, respectively, all of their displays. Both spindle-shaped cell types with oil red O-positive lipid droplets and those with expression of MSC markers (CD105 and CD44) developed around the fragments. The data indicate that adipose tissue-organotypic culture retains unilocular structure, proliferative ability, and some functions of mature adipocytes, generating both immature adipocytes and CD105+/CD44+ MSC-like cells. This suggests that our method will open up a new way for studying both multiple cell types within adipose tissue and the cell-based mechanisms of obesity and metabolic syndrome.