Abstract

Nervous system injury is a major cause for pain, loss-of-function, and impairment of daily life and faces many challenges for therapeutic intervention. Adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) are being explored for use in neural regeneration because they are known to secrete wound healing growth factors and can be readily sourced by liposuction. This study aims to explore the effect of exogenous electrical stimulation (ES), particularly field strength and time of stimulation, on ASC viability. First, ASCs were stimulated with 20, 100, or 400 mV/mm for 1 hr x 3 days to determine whether field strength influenced ASC viability and metabolism.  Next, ASCs were stimulated at 400 mV/mm for 12, 24, and 48 hr to determine whether duration of stimulation was a factor of cell viability. Live/Dead staining was used to determine the viability of ASCs and alamarBlue was used to determine changes in metabolism. The preliminary data shows no significant cell viability differences between 20, 100, and 400 mV/mm field strengths, and no differences between ES and NoES groups. AlamarBlue results indicated an increase in metabolism in the 100 mV/mm group compared to its NoES, which suggests that cells may be differentially responsive to this field strength. Alternatively, the data shows a significant cell viability difference and corresponding decreases in metabolism across continuous stimulation time, notably at 36 and 48 hr. Future studies with different electrical field strengths and durations of stimulation will be conducted to assess the impact of electrical stimulation on ASC viability and pro-regenerative phenotype.