Background and ObjectivesThe human Amniotic epithelial cells (AME) derived from amniotic membrane of placenta have been considered as the potential fetal stem cell source with minimal or no ethical concerns and are important therapeutic tool for anti-fibrotic and regenerative therapies.Methods and ResultsHere, we evaluated the isolation, media screening, scale-up and characterization of AME cells. The isolation, expansion of AMEs were performed by sequential passaging and growth kinetics studies. The AMEs were characterized using immunocytochemistry, immunophenotyping, In-vitro differentiation, and anti-fibrotic assays. The growth kinetics study revealed that the AME cultured in Ultraculture (UC) and DMEM knockout (DMEM-KO) have prominently higher growth rate compared to others. Overall, the AMEs cultured from 5 different media retained basic morphological characteristics and the functional characteristics.ConclusionsOur result suggests that the AMEs can be successfully cultured in UC based complete media without losing its epithelial cell characteristics even after passaging for passage 2 (P2). However, a careful and methodical pre-clinical and clinical translation studies need to be conducted to show its safety and efficacy.

Rapid proliferation and collagen synthesis in SMF-F as against BMF cells are the factors that confirm the innate nature of fibrosis fibroblasts (SMF-F). Further, the CTGF expression level in SMF-F was significantly suppressed by BME in co-culture conditions against controls (BMF). Considered together, this suggests that the cell therapeutic candidate of BME could be used in treating OSMF.

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Anterior urethral strictures affect the male urethra between the tip of the penis and the apex of the prostate. These form the bulk of urethral strictures in men. The common causes for urethral strictures seem to be idiopathic or related to instrumentation of the urethra. Clinically, patients have varying obstructive symptoms associated with the progressive narrowing of the urethral lumen. Treatment modalities have aimed at incising or excising the fibrous tissue, augmenting the damaged area by grafts or flaps, or more recently, replacing the area with tissue engineered constructs. As the biology of wound healing and fibrous tissue formation is not yet completely understood, urethral strictures continue to pose a challenge to clinicians and scientists.