Lipidomics of Adipogenic Differentiation of Mesenchymal Stem Cells

Abstract

Mesenchymal stem cells are defined as multipotent cells which have the ability to differentiate into various types of cell. Under the adipogenic stimuli, mesenchymal stem cells possess the ability to differentiate into adipocytes through adipogenesis processes. Adipogenesis is defined as the process of pre-adipocyte differentiation to mature adipocytes. Adipocytes are a type of cells with the ability to maintain energy balance through storage excess energy. However, several abnormal conditions including various types of disease can result from energy imbalance. Accordingly, obesity as a worldwide problem is one of the prevalent outcomes of increasing fat mass and there is a global effort to combat it. Accumulation of excess fat in adipocytes leads to adipocyte hypertrophy. Consequently, hypertrophic adipocyte can secrete several endocrine factors that induce hyperplasia (one of the major causes of obesity) and signal proliferation and differentiation of pre-adipocytes. Therefore, it has been demonstrated that adipogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells undergoes different signaling pathways with various regulatory factors, while elucidation of these controllers can help scientists to develop more effective treatments for obesity and other related diseases. Therein, lipids have been presented as pivotal mediators of cellular processes and could induce several signaling pathways. Additionally, lipids are fundamental metabolites which use as cellular biomarkers to indicate different biological states and cellular activity. Total content of lipids in cells is known as lipidome. Any slight changes in the lipidome reflect different cellular changes. Tracking and comparing these changes between different stages of mesenchymal stem cell differentiation can provide identification of essential metabolic pathways involved in adipogenesis. In this context, lipidomics has been introduced as an emerging field of stem cell and regenerative medicine. Through the large-scale analysis of lipids, lipidomics provides more efficient methods to the investigation of adipocytes, and also prediction of the prognosis of obesity and its prevention and treatment.