Concise Review: Adipose‐Derived Stromal Vascular Fraction Cells and Stem Cells: Let's Not Get Lost in Translation

Subcutaneous fat has emerged as an alternative tissue source for stromal/stem cells in regenerative medicine. Over the past decade, international research efforts have established a wealth of basic science and preclinical evidence regarding the differentiation potential and regenerative properties of both freshly processed, heterogeneous stromal vascular fraction cells and culture expanded, relatively homogeneous adipose‐derived stromal/stem cells. The stage has been set for clinicians to translate adipose‐derived cells from the bench to the bedside; however, this process will involve “development” steps that fall outside of traditional “hypothesis‐driven, mechanism‐based” paradigm. This concise review examines the next stages of the development process for therapeutic applications of adipose‐derived cells and highlights the current state of the art regarding clinical trials. It is recommended that the experiments addressing these issues be reported comprehensively in the peer‐review literature. This transparency will accelerate the standardization and reproducibility of adipose‐derived cell therapies with respect to their efficacy and safety. STEM CELLS 2011;29:749–754