title: Are They Really Stem Cells? Scrutinizing the Identity of Cells and the Quality of Reporting in the Use of Adipose Tissue-Derived Stem Cells.
abstract: There is an increasing concern that the term adipose tissue-derived stem cell (ASC) is inappropriately used to refer to the adipose stromal vascular fraction (SVF). To evaluate the accuracy and quality of reporting, 116 manuscripts on the application of ASC in humans and animals were examined based on the 2013 published International Federation for Adipose Therapeutics and Science (IFATS)/ International Society for Cellular Therapy (ISCT) joint statement and in reference to current guidelines for clinical trials and preclinical studies. It is disconcerting that 4 among the 47 papers or 8.51% (CI 2.37-20.38) surveyed after publication of IFATS/ISCT statement reported using ASCs but in fact they used unexpanded cells. 28/47 or 59.57% (CI 44.27-73.63) explicitly reported that adherent cells were used, 35/47 or 74.47% (CI 59.65-86.06) identified expression of surface markers, and 25/47 or 53.19% (CI 14.72-30.65) verified the multilineage potential of the cells. While there are a number of papers examined in this survey that were not able to provide adequate information on the characteristics of ASCs used with some erroneously referring to the SVF as stem cells, there are more room for improvement in the quality of reporting in the application of ASCs in humans and animals.
authors.affiliation: Regenerative Medicine Laboratory, Center for Stem Cell Research, Department of Biomedical Science and Technology, Institute of Biomedical Science and Technology, Konkuk University, 120 Neungdong-ro, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul 143-701, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Ernesto
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Balolong
authors.affiliation: Regenerative Medicine Laboratory, Center for Stem Cell Research, Department of Biomedical Science and Technology, Institute of Biomedical Science and Technology, Konkuk University, 120 Neungdong-ro, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul 143-701, Republic of Korea; Regeniks Co., Ltd., Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Soojung
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-6378-0994
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Regenerative Medicine Laboratory, Center for Stem Cell Research, Department of Biomedical Science and Technology, Institute of Biomedical Science and Technology, Konkuk University, 120 Neungdong-ro, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul 143-701, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Judee Grace
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-4093-9368
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Nemeno
authors.affiliation: Regenerative Medicine Laboratory, Center for Stem Cell Research, Department of Biomedical Science and Technology, Institute of Biomedical Science and Technology, Konkuk University, 120 Neungdong-ro, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul 143-701, Republic of Korea; Department of Veterinary Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, Konkuk University, Seoul 143-701, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Jeong Ik
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-2740-2432
authors.initials: JI
authors.lastname: Lee