biomolecules Review Adipose Tissue: Understanding the Heterogeneity of Stem Cells for Regenerative Medicine Wee Kiat Ong 1,*, Smarajit Chakraborty 2 and Shigeki Sugii 2,3,* 1 School of Pharmacy, Monash University Malaysia, Subang Jaya 47500, Selangor, Malaysia 2 Institute of Bioengineering and Bioimaging (IBB), A*STAR, 31 Biopolis Way, Singapore 138669, Singapore;
[email protected] 3 Cardiovascular and Metabolic Disorders Program, Duke-NUS Medical School, 8 College Road, Singapore 169857, Singapore * Correspondence:
[email protected] (W.K.O.);
[email protected] (S.S.) Abstract: Adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) have been increasingly used as a versatile source of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) for diverse clinical investigations. However, their applications often become complicated due to heterogeneity arising from various factors. Cellular heterogeneity can occur due to: (i) nomenclature and criteria for definition; (ii) adipose tissue depots (e.g., subcutaneous fat, visceral fat) from which ASCs are isolated; (iii) donor and inter-subject variation (age, body mass index, gender, and disease state); (iv) species difference; and (v) study design (in vivo versus in vitro) and tools used (e.g., antibody isolation and culture conditions). There are also actual differences in resident cell types that exhibit ASC/MSC characteristics. Multilineage-differentiating stress-enduring (Muse) cells and dedifferentiated fat (DFAT) cells have been reported as an alternative or derivative source of ASCs for application in regenerative medicine. In this review, we discuss these factors that contribute to the heterogeneity of human ASCs in detail, and what should be taken into consideration Citation: Ong, W.K.; Chakraborty, S.; for overcoming challenges associated with such heterogeneity in the clinical use of ASCs.