Why are SVF and stem cells an important topic?
SVF and fat stem cells are an important topic for several reasons. They have the potential to develop into different cell types, making them a central element in regenerative medicine and many other research areas. Recently, both SVF and stem cells have been playing an important role in regenerative aesthetics. Adipose tissue provides a rich supply of regenerative cells for aesthetic use and can also generate a significant amount of multipotent adipose (fat) stem cells for fat banking and stem cell therapy.
What is SVF?
SVF stands for stromal-vascular fraction (SVF) and consists of regenerative cells. “Stromal” refers to the ability of the cells in the SVF to build the tissue’s supporting infrastructure, called connective tissue, a major component of which is the collagen-producing fibroblasts. “Vascular” refers to the ability of certain cells within the SVF to stimulate blood vessel formation.
What are fat stem cells?
Adipose stem cells are multipotent regenerative cells and can be used for various aesthetic and regenerative treatments. The positive effects of fat stem cells are associated with their angiogenic (blood vessel growth) and lymphangiogenic (lymph vessel growth) potential and their ability to influence inflammation and scarring. Fat stem cell transplantation is considered an effective method for skin rejuvenation because the cells are able to release signaling molecules that initiate tissue healing and regeneration.
Production of SVF and fat stem cells
SVF and fat stem cells are obtained through mechanical or enzymatic digestion of lipoaspirate, the product of liposuction. The resulting aqueous fraction is separated from the oil fraction, consisting of destroyed fat cells, by centrifugation. Excess liquid from the aqueous fraction is removed. What remains is the SVF, which contains a high concentration of regenerative cells such as fat stem cells, fibroblasts, vascular endothelial cells, immune cells and growth factors.
Enzymatic method
SVF isolation from lipoaspirate typically involves digestion of the extracellular matrix (ECM, a cellular support structure rich in collagen, elastin and other support molecules) with the enzyme collagenase, separating the product into two fractions: floating mature adipocytes and other cellular components in the lower aqueous fraction. Separation is improved by centrifugation or gravity separation and filtration. After separation, at the bottom of the aqueous fraction are the SVF cells. After a series of washes and centrifugation, the SVF can be incubated to obtain fat stem cells. After incubation, the cells are washed to remove blood cells. The remaining cells are the fat stem cells.
Mechanical method
With the mechanical method, the fatty tissue is broken up and the stromal-vascular cells are released. The yield of viable cells and the number of fat stem cells is usually much lower with mechanical methods than with enzymatic methods. This is because the regenerative cells, which are tightly bound in the ECM, cannot be easily released by mechanical measures alone. However, combining SVM (stromal vascular matrix), better known as ECM, with SVF creates a hybrid SVF that has a similar number of viable regenerative cells and even a higher regenerative capacity compared to enzymatic digestion. This is not surprising, as the ECM plays an important role in cell migration, tissue support, signaling and tissue elasticity.
Applications of SVF and fat stem cells
SVF and hybrid SVF have proven to be an efficient and reliable source of tissue regeneration, with cells that enhance the body’s ability to regenerate damaged or exhausted tissue over the long term.
Skin rejuvenation
SVF and Hybrid SVF support the natural regeneration of the skin, improve skin elasticity and structure, reduce wrinkles and improve skin texture, making them an important part of anti-aging treatments.
Autologous fat grafting
Studies have shown that SVF-enriched fat grafts improve graft survival and promote wound healing. SVF can thus play an important role in improving the results of breast and butt enlargement. In addition to improved graft survival, SVF facilitates fat cell integration, thereby reducing fat resorption rates. Fat stem cells and vascular endothelial cells in SVF improve the formation of new blood vessels and thus the nutrient supply to the transplanted fat cells. These combined effects lead to improved long-term aesthetic results.
Scar revisions
In addition, prospective studies have shown that scar revision outcomes improve after SVF treatment and fewer complications occur.
Chronic wounds
Adipose stem cells are also used to facilitate healing of difficult wounds in areas with limited blood supply and to treat complicated soft tissue injuries.
Does SVF have an advantage over fat stem cells?
The advantage of SVF lies in the heterogeneous mixture of regenerative cells, which also includes fat stem cells, which are of central importance for tissue regeneration and repair. Fat stem cells are characterized by their multipotency and are able to differentiate into different tissue types such as fat, bone and cartilage under appropriate conditions. In addition, they exhibit angiogenic and immunomodulatory abilities through the secretion of growth factors and cytokines. The therapeutic effectiveness of SVF is based on the interaction of different cell types. While pure fat stem cells have a high regenerative capacity on their own, the addition of SVF improves their survival and effectiveness in tissue. The production of pure fat stem cells in large quantities is limited by legal restrictions on the enzymatic processing and proliferation of cells.
There are legal restrictions in Switzerland on the use of human autologous transplants and autologous transplant products. I would be happy to explain this to you in a consultation.