Adipose-derived stromal cells have multilineage potential to differentiate into several specialized tissue types. Herein, we investigated whether ADSCs could differentiate into lymphoid node in vivo. Human ADSCs from routine liposuction were cultured in differentiation medium and were supplemented with transforming growth factor β1 (TGF)-β1 and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF). The induced hADSCs mixed with 13% (w/v) hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) were injected into BALB/c nude mice subcutaneously. Eight weeks later, nodules were found under the injected sites. Histology, immunohistochemistry, and species identification analysis confirmed that the nodules were lymphoid nodes that were derived from the injected hADSCs. Our experiment demonstrated that the hADSCs could differentiate into lymphocyte-like cells and form lymphoid nodes in vivo. TGF-β1 and bFGF might play important roles in the differentiation of hADSCs into lymphocyte-like cells. Our study might present an alternative approach for engineering immune organs and thus offer potential treatment for immunodeficiency diseases.

脂肪基质细胞具有多谱系潜能，可以分化成几种特殊的组织类型。本文中，我们研究了ADSCs是否可以在体内分化为淋巴结。在分化培养基中培养常规抽脂的人ADSC，并补充转化生长因子β1（TGF）-β1和碱性成纤维细胞生长因子（bFGF）。将与13％（w / v）羟丙基甲基纤维素（HPMC）混合的诱导hADSCs注入BALB / c裸片中皮下注射小鼠。八周后，在注射部位下发现结节。组织学，免疫组织化学和物种鉴定分析证实，结节是淋巴结，其源于注射的hADSC。我们的实验表明，hADSCs可以在体内分化为淋巴细胞样细胞并形成淋巴结。TGF-β1和bFGF可能在hADSCs分化为淋巴细胞样细胞中起重要作用。我们的研究可能会提出一种工程免疫器官的替代方法，从而为免疫缺陷疾病提供潜在的治疗方法。