Abstract
Obesity, defined as a body mass index of 30 kg/m2 or above, has increased considerably in incidence and frequency within the United States and globally. Associated comorbidities including cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes mellitus, metabolic syndrome, and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease have led to a focus on the mechanisms promoting the prevention and treatment of obesity. Commonly utilized in vitro models employ human or mouse preadipocyte cell lines in a 2-dimensional (2D) format. Due to the structural, biochemical, and biological limitations of these models, increased attention has been placed on “organ on a chip” technologies for a 3-dimensional (3D) culture. Herein, we describe a method employing cryopreserved primary human stromal vascular fraction (SVF) cells and a human blood product-derived biological scaffold to create a 3D adipose depot in vitro. The “fat-on-chip” 3D cultures have been validated relative to 2D cultures based on proliferation, flow cytometry, adipogenic differentiation, confocal microscopy/immunofluorescence, and functional assays (adipokine secretion, glucose uptake, and lipolysis). Thus, the in vitro culture system demonstrates the critical characteristics required for a humanized 3D white adipose tissue (WAT) model.
Highlights
Obesity is defined as a body mass index (BMI), calculated as
Since obesity is accompanied by comorbidities including cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes mellitus, metabolic syndrome, and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, the international scientific community has focused its attention on the mechanisms promoting the prevention and treatment of obesity [1]
Isolated and cryopreserved human stromal vascular fraction (SVF) cells (N = 12 donors) utilized in the study were characterized on the basis of adipogenic and osteogenic differentiation, colony-forming unit fibroblastic (CFU-F) formation, proliferation, and immunophenotype at passage 0 (P0) of the culture (Figure 2)
Summary
Obesity is defined as a body mass index (BMI), calculated as This condition can be the consequence of both hyperplasia and hypertrophy of mature adipocytes and their progenitor stromal/stem cells within adipose tissue depots [1]. According to the Centers for Disease Control, the past three decades have witnessed a considerable increase in the incidence and frequency of obesity in the United States where levels of >35% exist in. While few other countries approach this level of obesity, many are experiencing alarming increases due to changes in diet, exercise, and lifestyle. A recent comprehensive scholarly review has concluded that there is a pressing need to improve preadipocyte models in order to enhance discoveries relating to adipocyte biology and dysfunction in obesity research [5]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
