Hyaluronic acid effect on adipose-derived stem cells. Biological in vitro evaluation

Abstract Objectives To evaluate the in vitro effects of hyaluronic acid (HA) on adipose-derived stem cells (ASC) in order to consider the possibility of their combined use in the treatment of knee arthrosis. Material and methods The ASC cells were grown both in the presence and absence of AH, and several studies were carried out: proliferation (WST8) and cell viability studies (Alamar Blue ® and Trypan Blue), possible chondrogenic differentiation (collagen type 2 expression) by RT-PCR, AH receptor expression (CD44) by flow cytometry and RT-QPCR, and expression of inflammatory and anti-inflammatory factors (IL-6, TGFs, IL-10) by RT-QPCR. Results The number of ASC significantly increased after 7 days with HA (158 ± 39%, p Conclusions Hyaluronic acid favours ASC proliferation without causing cellular toxicity, and inducing an anti-inflammatory profile in these cells. Hyaluronic acid appears to be a suitable vehicle for the intra-articular administration of mesenchymal stem cells.