Amniotic Fluid Stem Cells: Future Perspectives

Abstract

The existence of stem cells in human amniotic fluid was reported for the first time almost ten years ago. Since this discovery, the knowledge about these cells has increased dramatically. Today, amniotic fluid stem (AFS) cells are widely accepted as a new powerful tool for basic research as well as for the establishment of new stem-cell-based therapy concepts. It is possible to generate monoclonal genomically stable AFS cell lines harboring high proliferative potential without raising ethical issues. Many different groups have demonstrated that AFS cells can be differentiated into all three germ layer lineages, what is of relevance for both, the scientific and therapeutical usage of these cells. Of special importance for the latter is the fact that AFS cells are less tumorigenic than other pluripotent stem cell types. In this paper, we have summarized the current knowledge about this relatively young scientific field. Furthermore, we discuss the relevant future perspectives of this promising area of stem cell research focusing on the next important questions, which need to be answered.

CD117+amniotic fluid stem cells

“…35 However, CD117+ AFS cell capacity of producing mature, functional neurons in vitro and in vivo is still under investigation. 41,90,91 Discussion and Conclusions AFS cell biological properties. The AF contains a broad range of cells, the majority of which are terminally differentiated and have limited proliferative capabilities.…”

“…Since the first evidence that the AF could contain stem cells in 2003, 20 many groups have reported the isolation of multipotent and pluripotent cells. 33,34 In many studies, however, mixtures of unselected, non-clonal cells have been employed, 90 leading to conflicting results and uncertainty regarding the identity of the cell population employed. Indeed, stem cells within the AF harbor a spectrum of potency ranging from multipotent cells to unipotent committed progenitors (e.g., CD24+OB-cadherin+ renal progenitors, SOX2+ neural progenitors and CD133+ endothelial progenitors).…”

Inhibition of glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK3) promotes the neural differentiation of full-term amniotic fluid-derived stem cells towards neural progenitor cells

“…Additionally, we found that CD117-positive hAFS cells expressed the transcription factor OCT4, which works as a key factor in the transcriptional network to govern pluripotency and self-renewal of ESCs. The expression of stem cell markers indicated that the CD117-positive hAFS cells might share some characteristics with hESCs (Cananzi et al, 2012;Fhoov et al, 2009;Rosner et al, 2012Rosner et al, , 2011Zhang et al, 2009).…”

Membrana amniótica: fonte alternativa de células-tronco mesenquimais em diversas espécies animais

“…A aplicação de MSCs obtidas a partir do âmnio ou fluído amniótico na medicina regenerativa requer estudos extensivos quanto à sua aplicação clínica (Rosner et al 2012). Para a efetiva aplicação em terapias celulares em modelos in vivo, são necessários estudos quanto à caracterização dessas células por meio de marcadores funcionais e fenotípicos específicos, além de estudos experimentais pré-clí-nicos e clínicos, para entendimento de aspectos quanto ao seu mecanismo de ação (De Bakker et al 2013).…”