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Endothelial Differentiation Of Adipose-Derived Stem Cells From Elderly Patients With Cardiovascular Disease., Ping Zhang, Neil Moudgill, Eric Hager, Nicolas Tarola, Christopher Dimatteo, Stephen Mcilhenny, Thomas Tulenko, Paul J Dimuzio

Department of Surgery Faculty Papers

Adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) possess significant therapeutic potential for tissue engineering and regeneration. This study investigates the endothelial differentiation and functional capacity of ASCs isolated from elderly patients. Isolation of ASCs from 53 patients (50-89 years) revealed that advanced age or comorbidity did not negatively impact stem cell harvest; rather, higher numbers were observed in older donors (>70 years) than in younger. ASCs cultured in endothelial growth medium-2 for up to 3 weeks formed cords upon Matrigel and demonstrated acetylated-low-density lipoprotein and lectin uptake. Further stimulation with vascular endothelial growth factor and shear stress upregulated endothelial cell-specific markers (CD31, …