Human Amnion-derived Stem Cells The Nature And Differentiation Potential Study

Background Regenerative medicine based on cytotherapy draws great interests as a potential solution of cardiac repair.Recent reports indicate that amnion-derived stem cells have pluripotency and differentiate toward all three germ layers.Besides,some unique properties such as the ease of availability without invasive procedures,not elicit ethical debate,abundant in cell reserve,and low immunogenicity,have made amnion a potential source of cells for regenerative medicine.Objectives1.Determine the characteristics of stem cells isolated from different regions of amnion.2.Evaluate the application of RCCS(rotary cell culture system) in maintaining human amnion-derived cells.3.Induce cardiogenic differentiation of human amnion-derived cells by different agents.Methods and Results1.By flow cytometry,it was revealed that human amniotic epithelial cells(hAEC) isolated from amniotic epithelial layer expressed stem cell markers generally at higher levels than human amniotic mesenchymal stromal cells(hAMSC) isolated from amniotic mesenchymal layer(except for CD73);besides,among hAEC,the basal group(digested later) expressed stem cell markers at higher levels than the superficial group(digested earlier).2.By flow cytometry,RCCS showed positive effects in maintaining the expression levels of stem cell markers in hAECs.3.After inducing cardiogenic differentiation of human amnion-derived cells by cardiac lysis,GDF-15,and BMP2+FGF10 respectively,the expressions of cardiac markers were detected by immunohistochemistry and RT-PCR in induced cells.4.By Immunofluorescence and immunohistochemistry,uneven divisions of amion-derived stem cells were observed.Conclusions 1.The characteristics of stem cells isolated from different regions of amnion were heterogeneous,which made possible further screening for cells holding greater therapeutic potential for transplantation and regenerative medicine.2.RCCS showed positive effects in maintaining the pluripotency of human amnion-derived stem cells.3.GDF-15 played a role in inducing cardiogenic differentiation of human amnion-derived stem cells.The cardiogenic differentiation might require the coordination of multiple cytokines.