Amniotic fluid derived mesenchymal stem cells and their potential applications in regenerative medicine

Amniotic fluid contains a mixture of different cell types sloughed from the fetal skin, respiratory, alimentary and urogenital tracts, as well as the amnion membrane. As amniotic fluid develops prior to the process of gastrulation, many cells found in its heterogeneous population do not undergo lineage specialization. Therefore, amniotic fluid-derived mesenchymal stem cells (AF-MSCs) may correspond to a new class of stem cells with properties of intermediate plasticity between pluripotent and adult stem cell types. They have some unique features which make them fascinating for researchers, such as differentiation into cells derived from three germ layers, high clonal capacity, ability to form embryoid bodies, expression of pluripotent markers, high self-renewal capacity (over 250 population doublings) with normal karyotype at late passages, long telomere length due to continued telomerase activity, specially non-tumorigenicity, low immunogenicity, anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory properties for their applications in regenerative medicine.In comparison with mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) from other sources, such as bone marrow, AF-MSCs show higher proliferation and differentiation capacity. Since 2001, when for the first time AF-MSCs used in tissue engineering (cultured on polyglycolic acid poly-4-hydroxyapatite scaffolds), many researchers have published a wide range of reports about using AF-MSCs in regenerative medicine and tissue engineering. For example, AF-MSCs have been used for regeneration of neural tissue (making construct with AF-MSCs and fibrin glue for regeneration of the sciatic nerve) and lung regeneration (integration of AF-MSCs among lung mucosal cells and expression of alveolar and bronchiolar markers by transplanting them into an injured murine lung). Moreover, it has also been shown that AF-MSCs have a great potential in cardiac regeneration, such as the optimistic results obtained through injection of these cells directly into the peri-infarct areas in rat myocardial infarction model. In summary, it is predicted that these cells will be one of the most interesting stem cell sources for regenerative medicine applications in the future.

کلیدواژه ها:

Amniotic fluid ، AF-MSCs ، Regenerative Medicine ، Stem cell