Variable retention outcomes remain a significant issue in autologous fat grafting procedures. Among seemingly similar patients, using identical harvesting procedures, variability in graft retention is Show more
Variable retention outcomes remain a significant issue in autologous fat grafting procedures. Among seemingly similar patients, using identical harvesting procedures, variability in graft retention is noted. Recent data suggest that the inherent characteristics of donor adipose tissue dictate graft healing outcomes. The goal of this study was to elucidate intrinsic qualities of human adipose tissue that confer resistance to ischemic stress to therapeutically target such mechanisms and improve overall results of fat grafts. Whole fat from 5 female patients was cultured in vitro under severe (1% O Analysis of adipocyte survival with perilipin suggested improved viability for tissue obtained from high BMI donors. Microarray data revealed a significant positive correlation for induced expression of ANGPTL4, a survival gene, and subject BMI ( The innate resilience of adipocytes to hypoxia and relative macrophage activation play a crucial role in fat graft retention. This study suggests that adipose tissue from high BMI donors demonstrates greater resistance to hypoxia-induced apoptosis associated with an increased expression of ANGPTL4. Therefore, therapeutic interventions that target this factor may improve clinical adipose graft survival. Show less