Adult stem cells for cardiovascular diseases: the adipose tissue potential

Cardiovascular diseases, as well as cardiac ischemia and lower limb vascularization, are associated with obesity and Type II diabetes, and pose a major public health problem. Recent advances in understanding stem cell biology have prompted the initiation of clinical trials of cardiac and vascular cell therapy. Autologous adult stem cells are generally taken from bone marrow or circulating blood. Although significant and encouraging results have been obtained in human studies where these cells have been employed, obtaining sufficient numbers of these cells is a major constraint. Recent studies have identified adipose tissue as a new source of stem cells; some of which may be suitable for the restoration of cardiovascular function. As lipoaspiration provides relatively simple access to this stem cell pool, and with the very large numbers of cells present in adipose tissue, its future potential as a stem cell reservoir for cardiovascular cell therapy is promising.