Characterization of Adipose Derived Regenerative Cells (ADRCs) From Patients With Chronic Heart Disease

Human adipose tissue is now recognized as an acceptable, highly abundant source of
adipose-derived regenerative cells (ADRCs). ADRCs are a heterogeneous or mixed population of
cells found in adipose tissue including adult stem cells, leukocytes, connective tissue and
vessel-associated cells. Autologous adult regenerative cells are thought to promote healing
of scarred or injured tissue. While the investigators are learning more about the exact
mechanisms every day, it is believed that this heterogeneous population of cells influences
the local environment via cell-to-cell signaling, immune modulation, and differentiation
into other cell types. The use of ADRCs in the treatment of many different medical
conditions (including cardiovascular disease, soft tissue defects, wound healing, and many
more) is being evaluated in numerous clinical and preclinical studies around the world.
While there is a considerable amount of information regarding the cellular composition of
ADRCs isolated from healthy donors, basically there is no much data regarding the ADRC
composition from cardiac patients. In this study, adipose tissue or cells from chronic heart
ischemia patients, that would otherwise be thrown away in waste, will be provided to
researchers who will study these cells with the objective to characterize ADRCs derived from
patients with a heart disease and to compare if a heart disease state does impact ADRC cell
composition.