Matrix metalloproteinases as reagents for cell isolation

•Recombinant MMPs were compared to bacterial collagenase for mesenchymal stem cell isolation.•MMP-12 isolated cells as efficiently as bacterial collagenase with a purer population of cells.•A single activation cocktail can be used for MMPs prior to stem cell isolation.

Cell isolation methods for therapeutic purposes have seen little advancement over the years. The original methods of stem cell and islet isolation using bacterial collagenases were developed in the early 1980s and are still used today. Bacterial collagenases are subject to autodegradation, and isolates obtained with these enzymes may be contaminated with endotoxins, reducing cell viability and contributing to toxicity in downstream applications. Here we describe a novel method for isolation of mesenchymal stem cells from adipose tissue (ADSC) utilizing recombinantly produced matrix metalloproteases (MMPs). The ADSCs isolated by MMPs displayed essentially identical morphological and phenotypical characteristics to cells isolated by bacterially-derived collagenase I and Liberase™. Samples isolated with MMPs and Liberase™ had comparable levels of CD73, CD90, and CD105. The adipogenic and osteogenic potential of the ADSCs isolated by MMPs was retained as compared to cells isolated with Liberase™. However, ADSCs isolated by Liberase™ displayed 6% contamination with other cells as per negative markers revealed by PE staining, as opposed to <1% for all MMP-treated samples. MMP-based cell isolation may contribute to optimization of transplantation technology.