QUIESCENT STEM CELLS ARE MAINTAINED IN-VITRO AFTER ADIPOCYTE DIFFERENTIATION

Here, we observed a distinct phenomenon were multipotent stem cells (MSC) never differentiate completely. This cell population ‘lipid(-)’ is always present in post in-vitro adipocyte differentiation. We investigated the multipotency of lipid(-) cells and characterize them based on the International Society of Cellular Therapy (ISCT) position paper “Minimal criteria for defining multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells” of 2006. The approach to the characterization of lipid(-) cells in this thesis is novel and unprecedented.The results reveal that lipid(-) cells can differentiate to adipocytes, chondrocytes, and osteoblast. Also, we were able to produce visual evidence of the presence of MSC surface markers; CD90, and CD105 in lipid(-) cells. We concluded that lipid(-) cells are multipotent yet quiescent stem cells.