Aging has less effect on adipose‐derived mesenchymal stem cells (ADSCs) than on bone marrow‐derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs), but whether the fact holds true in stem cells from elderly patients with osteoporotic fractures is unknown. In this study, ADSCs and BMSCs of the same donor were harvested and divided into two age groups. Group A consisted of 14 young patients (36.4 ± 11.8 years old), and group B consisted of eight elderly patients (71.4 ± 3.6 years old) with osteoporotic fractures. We found that the doubling time of ADSCs from both age groups was maintained below 70 hrs, while that of BMSCs increased significantly with the number of passage. When ADSCs and BMSCs from the same patient were compared, there was a significant increase in the doubling time of BMSCs in each individual from passages 3 to 6. On osteogenic induction, the level of matrix mineralization of ADSCs from group B was comparable to that of ADSCs from group A, whereas BMSCs from group B produced least amount of mineral deposits and had a lower expression level of osteogenic genes. The p21 gene expression and senescence‐associated β‐galactosidase activity were lower in ADSCs compared to BMSCs, which may be partly responsible for the greater proliferation and differentiation potential of ADSCs. It is concluded that the proliferation and osteogenic differentiation of ADSCs were less affected by age and multiple passage than BMSCs, suggesting that ADSCs may become a potentially effective therapeutic option for cell‐based therapy, especially in elderly patients with osteoporosis.

Skin wound healing is an important lifesaving issue for massive lesions. A novel porous scaffold with collagen, hyaluronic acid and gelatin was developed for skin wound repair. The swelling ratio of this developed scaffold was assayed by water absorption capacity and showed a value of over 20 g water/g dried scaffold. The scaffold was then degraded in time- and dose-dependent manners by three enzymes: lysozyme, hyaluronidase and collagenase I. The average pore diameter of the scaffold was 132.5±8.4 µm measured from SEM images. With human skin cells growing for 7 days, the SEM images showed surface fractures on the scaffold due to enzymatic digestion, indicating the biodegradable properties of this scaffold. To simulate skin distribution, the human epidermal keratinocytes, melanocytes and dermal fibroblasts were seeded on the porous scaffold and the cross-section immunofluorescent staining demonstrated normal human skin layer distributions. The collagen amount was also quantified after skin cells seeding and presented an amount 50% higher than those seeded on culture wells. The in vivo histological results showed that the scaffold ameliorated wound healing, including decreasing neutrophil infiltrates and thickening newly generated skin compared to the group without treatments.