Human Adipose-derived Mesenchymal Stromal Cells Exhibit High HLA-DR Levels and Altered Cellular Characteristics under a Xeno-free and Serum-free Condition

The study investigated the effects of two xeno- and serum-free media, PowerStem MSC1 (PS) and StemMACS MSC Expansion Media (SM), on adipose-derived mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (ADMSCs). It was found that 15 out of 42 clinical-grade ADMSC samples expanded in PS showed increased expression of negative markers, which correlated with donor age and were linked to upregulation of HLA-DR. PS-cultured cells exhibited decreased growth, increased senescence, and chromosomal abnormalities at later passages compared to SM-cultured cells, which maintained a normal karyotype. Both media supported multilineage differentiation, but the study concluded that SM media was more suitable for therapeutic ADMSC expansion, highlighting the importance of considering donor age and passage number in quality control.