Application of human amniotic epithelial cells in regenerative medicine: a systematic review

Abstract

Human amniotic epithelial cells (hAECs) derived from placental tissues have gained considerable attention in the field of regenerative medicine. hAECs possess embryonic stem cell-like proliferation and differentiation capabilities, and adult stem cell-like immunomodulatory properties. Compared with other types of stem cell, hAECs have special advantages, including easy isolation, plentiful numbers, the obviation of ethical debates, and non-immunogenic and non-tumorigenic properties. During the past two decades, the therapeutic potential of hAECs for treatment of various diseases has been extensively investigated. Accumulating evidence has demonstrated that hAEC transplantation helps to repair and rebuild the function of damaged tissues and organs by different molecular mechanisms. This systematic review focused on summarizing the biological characteristics of hAECs, therapeutic applications, and recent advances in treating various tissue injuries and disorders. Relevant studies published in English from 2000 to 2020 describing the role of hAECs in diseases and phenotypes were comprehensively sought out using PubMed, MEDLINE, and Google Scholar. According to the research content, we described the major hAEC characteristics, including induced differentiation plasticity, homing and differentiation, paracrine function, and immunomodulatory properties. We also summarized the current status of clinical research and discussed the prospects of hAEC-based transplantation therapies. In this review, we provide a comprehensive understanding of the therapeutic potential of hAECs, including their use for cell replacement therapy as well as secreted cytokine and exosome biotherapy. Moreover, we showed that the powerful immune-regulatory function of hAECs reveals even more possibilities for their application in the treatment of immune-related diseases. In the future, establishing the optimal culture procedure, achieving precise and accurate treatment, and enhancing the therapeutic potential by utilizing appropriate preconditioning and/or biomaterials would be new challenges for further investigation.

Sodium alginate-bioglass-encapsulated hAECs restore ovarian function in premature ovarian failure by stimulating angiogenic factor secretion

“…SA-BG not only promoted the migration of fibroblasts and endothelial cells, but also enhanced the vessel formation of endothelial cells, which was beneficial for angiogenesis and vascularization in chronic wound healing [ 32 , 33 ]. hAECs, as alternative stem cell, have attracted great attention and exhibit extremely high therapeutic potential for treating many diseases [ 8 ]. In previous studies, we have demonstrated that hAECs and hAEC derivatives (CM and exosomes) play important roles in restoring ovarian function and fertility [ 9 , 12 , 13 ].…”

“…hAECs derived from the amnion tissues of discarded placentas have attracted increasing attention in the field of regenerative medicine because they are easily isolated and their use is not affected by ethical debates [ 8 ]. Our previous studies have demonstrated the safety and efficacy of the use of hAECs in the chemotherapy-induced POF mouse model and hAECs could restore ovarian function and fertility [ 9 ].…”

A New Predictive Technology for Perinatal Stem Cell Isolation Suited for Cell Therapy Approaches

“…The therapeutic potential of AECs is well known and recently, it was proven to enhances the engraftment, viability and graft function of pancreatic islet organoids in diabetes model when co-cultured, which can be used as a cell therapy approach for diabetes [ 19 ]. The possibility to use these cells in an allogenic manner raised their interest even more in the scientific community [ 42 ]. The isolation procedure is very simple consisting in the use of trypsin to detach the epithelial layer from the membrane, leaving the mesenchymal component attached to it.…”

Impact of chemically defined culture media formulations on extracellular vesicle production by amniotic epithelial cells

“…The hAECs are a population of perinatal stem‐like cells derived from the amniotic membrane [36–38]. They are immunomodulatory, are capable of multi‐lineage differentiation, and have anti‐fibrotic and pro‐reparative properties [39].…”

“…In this study, we used human stem cell-like amniotic epithelial cells (hAECs) as a cell model system to explore the impact of different chemically defined media formulations and supplement additives on EV production and content. The hAECs are a population of perinatal stem-like cells derived from the amniotic membrane [36][37][38]. They are immunomodulatory, are capable of multi-lineage differentiation, and have antifibrotic and pro-reparative properties [39].…”