Mature Adipocyte-Derived Dedifferentiated Fat Cells Can Transdifferentiate Into Neural Cells And Promote Functional Recovery From Spinal Cord Injury-Induced Motor Dysfunction In Rodents

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When mature adipocytes were isolated from adipose tissue and grown in ceiling culture, transformation into fibroblast-like cells without lipid droplets occurred. These fibroblast-like cells, termed de-differentiated fat (DFAT) cells, could proliferate and could also redifferentiate into mature adipocytes. DFAT cells expressed neural markers such as nestin, NSE, βIII tubulin, NF, S100, GFAP and CNPase. Allografting of DFAT cells into spinal cord injury (SCI)-induced rodents led to significant recovery from hindlimb dysfunction. Grafted cells were detected at the injection site, and some of these cells expressed βIII tubulin. These results indicate that DFAT cells can transdifferentiate into neural cells, and contribute to the promotion of functional recovery. These findings also suggest that mature adipocytes could become a new source for cell replacement therapy to treat central nervous system disorders.