Clonal amniotic fluid-derived stem cells express characteristics of both mesenchymal and neural stem cells

Recent evidence has shown that amniotic fluid may be a novel source of fetal stem cells for therapeutic transplantation. We previously developed a two-stage culture protocol to isolate a population of amniotic fluid-derived mesenchymal stem cells (AFMSCs) from second-trimester amniocentesis. AFMSCs maintain the capacity to differentiate into multiple mesenchymal lineages and neuron-like cells. It is unclear whether amniotic fluid contains heterogeneous populations of stem cells or a subpopulation of primitive stem cells that are similar to marrow stromal cells showing the behavior of neural progenitors. In this study, we showed a subpopulation of amniotic fluid-derived stem cells (AF-SCs) at the single-cell level by limiting dilution. We found that NANOG- and POU5F1 (also known as OCT4)-expressing cells still existed in the expanded single cell-derived AF-SCs. Aside from the common mesenchymal characteristics, these clonal AF-SCs also exhibit multiple phenotypes of neural-derived cells such as NES, TUBB3, NEFH, NEUNA60, GALC, and GFAP expressions both before and after neural induction. Most importantly, HPLC analysis showed the evidence of dopamine release in the extract of dopaminergic-induced clonal AF-SCs. The results of this study suggest that besides being an easily accessible and expandable source of fetal stem cells, amniotic fluid will provide a promising source of neural progenitor cells that may be used in future cellular therapies for neurodegenerative diseases and nervous system injuries.     

Human breast milk is a rich source of multipotent mesenchymal stem cells

Putative stem cells have been isolated from various tissue fluids such as synovial fluid, amniotic fluid, menstrual blood, etc. Recently the presence of nestin positive putative mammary stem cells has been reported in human breast milk. However, it is not clear whether they demonstrate multipotent nature. Since human breast milk is a non-invasive source of mammary stem cells, we were interested in examining the nature of these stem cells. In this pursuit, we could succeed in isolating and expanding a mesenchymal stem cell-like population from human breast milk. These cultured cells were examined by immunofluorescent labeling and found positive for mesenchymal stem cell surface markers CD44, CD29, SCA-1 and negative for CD33, CD34, CD45, CD73 confirming their identity as mesenchymal stem cells. Cytoskeletal protein marker analysis revealed that these cells expressed mesenchymal stem cells markers, namely, nestin, vimentin, smooth muscle actin and also manifests presence of E-Cadherin, an epithelial to mesenchymal transition marker in their early passages. Further we tested the multipotent differentiation potential of these cells and found that they can differentiate into adipogenic, chondrogenic and oesteogenic lineage under the influence of specific differentiation cocktails. This means that these mesenchymal stem cells isolated from human breast milk could potentially be “reprogrammed” to form many types of human tissues. The presence of multipotent stem cells in human milk suggests that breast milk could be an alternative source of stem cells for autologous stem cell therapy although the significance of these cells needs to be determined.     

Biological characterization and pluripotent identification of ovine amniotic fluid stem cells

Mesenchymal stem cells derived from amniotic fluid have become one of the most potential stem cell source for cell-based therapy for the reason they can be harvested at low cost and without ethical problems. Here, we obtained amniotic fluid stem cells (AFSCs) from ovine amniotic fluid and studied the expansion capacity, cell markers expression, karyotype, and multilineage differentiation ability. In our work, AFSCs were subcultured to passage 62. The cell markers, CD29, CD44, CD73 and OCT4 which analyzed by RT-PCR were positive; CD44, CD73, CD90, CD105, NANOG, OCT4 analyzed by immunofluorescence and flow cytometry were also positive. The growth curves of different passages were all typically sigmoidal. The different passages cells took on a normal karyotype. In addition, AFSCs were successfully induced to differentiate into adipocytes, osteoblasts and chondrocytes. The results suggested that the AFSCs isolated from ovine maintained normal biological characteristics and their multilineage differentiation potential provides many potential applications in cell-based therapies and tissue engineering.     

Comparison of the Neural Differentiation Potential of Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells from Amniotic Fluid and Adult Bone Marrow

Human mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are considered a promising tool for cell-based therapies of nervous system diseases. Bone marrow (BM) has been the traditional source of MSCs (BM-MSCs). However, there are some limitations for their clinical use, such as the decline in cell number and differentiation potential with age. Recently, amniotic fluid (AF)-derived MSCs (AF-MSCs) have been shown to express embryonic and adult stem cell markers, and can differentiate into cells of all three germ layers. In this study, we isolated AF-MSCs from second-trimester AF by limiting dilution and compared their proliferative capacity, multipotency, neural differentiation ability, and secretion of neurotrophins to those of BM-MSCs. AF-MSCs showed a higher proliferative capacity and more rapidly formed and expanded neurospheres compared to those of BM-MSCs. Both immunocytochemical and quantitative real-time PCR analyses demonstrated that AF-MSCs showed higher expression of neural stemness markers than those of BM-MSCs following neural stem cell (NSC) differentiation. Furthermore, the levels of brain-derived growth factor and nerve growth factor secreted by AF-MSCs in the culture medium were higher than those of BM-MSCs. In addition, AF-MSCs maintained a normal karyotype in long-term cultures after NSC differentiation and were not tumorigenic in vivo. Our findings suggest that AF-MSCs are a promising and safe alternative to BM-MSCs for therapy of nervous system diseases.     

人羊水间充质干细胞治疗肿瘤的临床研究进展

人羊水间充质干细胞(Human amniotic fluid derived mesenchymal stem cells,AF-MSCs)是一类具有高度增殖、自我更新和多项分化潜能的干细胞,即使经过多次传代其生物学特性也不会发生改变。有研究表明,AF-MSCs具有免疫原性低、不成瘤性和肿瘤细胞亲嗜性等特点,而且能够迁移到肿瘤病灶。因此,AF-MSCs作为转运载体介导药物靶向治疗肿瘤具有潜在的优势。同时,通过羊膜腔穿刺获得羊水有利于避免胚胎干细胞研究有关的伦理问题,可作为一种理想的治疗方法。本文通过回顾、总结人羊水间充质干细胞的研究进展,展望人羊水间充质干细胞治疗肿瘤的应用前景。     

间充质干细胞过滤分离器制备人羊膜间充质干细胞的研究

自然存在的间充质干细胞数量少,限制了其研究应用。依靠自主发明的间充质干细胞过滤分离器,分离制备了人羊膜间充质干细胞,并对制备的干细胞进行了三维培养扩增。结果表明,制备的干细胞形态长势良好,并能诱导分化为类胰岛样组织。与常规方法相比,干细胞收获率提高了8倍以上,且细胞活性状态良好。间充质干细胞过滤分离器可以批量制备高质量的各种间充质干细胞,有利于高效率地建设各种间充质干细胞库,以促进间充质干细胞的研究应用。     

人羊膜间充质干细胞移植对CCl_4诱导的小鼠损伤肝HGF、SIRT-1、α-SMA及P~(27kip1)表达的影响

人羊膜间充质干细胞(h AMSCs)具有自我增殖和多向分化潜能,有望为干细胞移植性治疗提供新来源,是病变组织器官损伤修复的理想种子细胞.但目前关于h AMSCs对肝损伤的修复机制仍不十分清楚.本研究采用胰蛋白酶-胶原酶消化法从羊膜组织中分离、纯化了间充质干细胞.免疫荧光检测表面标记波形丝蛋白(vimentin)和阶段特异表达抗原4(SSEA-4)均呈阳性.h AMSCs表达CD29、CD49d、CD73表面抗原,但不表达骨髓间充质表面抗原CD34、CD45和人类白细胞抗原DR位点(HLA-DR).实时定量PCR和Western印迹检测揭示,h AMSCs移植后可提高受损肝组织中肝细胞生长因子(HGF)和沉默信息调节因子1(SIRT-1)的表达,抑制α-平滑肌肌动蛋白(α-SMA)和周期性蛋白依赖性激酶抑制因子(P27kip1)的表达.因为上述蛋白质分子涉及肝细胞增殖、再生、凋亡调节,抑或肝纤维化过程,因此h AMSCs移植后所引起的上述分子表达变化可改善四氯化碳(CCL4)诱导的肝损伤,抑制肝细胞凋亡,促进肝细胞有丝分裂,对肝损伤有一定的修复作用.该研究为进一步探索调控肝再生、损伤修复信号通路(机制)及预防肝纤维化提供了新启示.     

A novel method to derive amniotic fluid stem cells for therapeutic purposes

Background  

Human amniotic fluid stem (hAFS) cells have become an attractive stem cell source for medical therapy due to both their ability to propagate as stem cells and the lack of ethical debate that comes with the use of embryonic stem cells. Although techniques to derive stem cells from amniotic fluid are available, the techniques have limitations for clinical uses, including a requirement of long periods of time for stem cell production, population heterogeneity and xeno-contamination from using animal antibody-coated magnetic beads. Herein we describe a novel isolation method that fits for hAFS derivation for cell-based therapy.     

Human AB serum for generation of mesenchymal stem cells from human chorionic villi: comparison with other source and other media including platelet lysate

Objectives: We have investigated foetal mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) obtained from first‐trimester chorionic villi (CV) and second‐trimester amniotic fluid (AF), comparing them to adult bone marrow‐derived MSCs. Materials and methods: We report on cell population growth in human allogeneic serum (HS) and platelet lysate (PL), immunophenotype, cytokine expression profile and immunoregulatory activity, of these foetal MSCs on stimulated peripheral blood mononuclear and lymphocyte subpopulations. Results: Chorionic villi cells grow rapidly in HS, with 20 populations doublings (PDs) after 59 days (six passages), and also in animal serum, with 27 PDs after 65 days (seven passages). PL allowed for expansion in 60% of the samples tested, although it was lower than in HS. HS supported an average of 40 PDs of expansion in 20% of AF cells after 90 days, whereas animal serum supported 28.5 PDs in 66 days. CV and AF cells inhibited proliferation of stimulated T lymphocytes, suppressing population growth of both CD4+ and CD8+ T subpopulations and sometimes also, CD19+ cells. Conclusions: Our results indicate that CV would be an optimal source of MSCs with high expansion potential in a HS propagation system and immunoregulatory capacity of T and B lymphocytes. More than 90% of CV samples achieved large‐scale expansion in HS, which is encouraging for potential clinical applications of these cells.     

Selective Development of Myogenic Mesenchymal Cells from Human Embryonic and Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells

Human embryonic stem (ES) cells and induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells are promising sources for the cell therapy of muscle diseases and can serve as powerful experimental tools for skeletal muscle research, provided an effective method to induce skeletal muscle cells is established. However, the current methods for myogenic differentiation from human ES cells are still inefficient for clinical use, while myogenic differentiation from human iPS cells remains to be accomplished. Here, we aimed to establish a practical differentiation method to induce skeletal myogenesis from both human ES and iPS cells. To accomplish this goal, we developed a novel stepwise culture method for the selective expansion of mesenchymal cells from cell aggregations called embryoid bodies. These mesenchymal cells, which were obtained by dissociation and re-cultivation of embryoid bodies, uniformly expressed CD56 and the mesenchymal markers CD73, CD105, CD166, and CD29, and finally differentiated into mature myotubes in vitro. Furthermore, these myogenic mesenchymal cells exhibited stable long-term engraftment in injured muscles of immunodeficient mice in vivo and were reactivated upon subsequent muscle damage, increasing in number to reconstruct damaged muscles. Our simple differentiation system facilitates further utilization of ES and iPS cells in both developmental and pathological muscle research and in serving as a practical donor source for cell therapy of muscle diseases.     

Characterization and hepatogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells from human amniotic fluid and human bone marrow: a comparative study

Since stem cells can differentiate into hepatocyte, stem cell-based therapy becomes a potential alternative treatment for terminal liver diseases. However, an appropriate source of human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) for hepatocytes has not yet been clearly elucidated. The aim of the present study was to investigate the in vitro biological characterization and hepatic differentiation potential of human amniotic fluid-derived mesenchymal stem cells (AF-hMSCs) and human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BM-hMSCs). Our results show that AF-hMSCs possess higher proliferation and self-renewal capacity than BM-hMSCs. Cytogenetic studies indicate that AF-hMSCs are as genetically stabile as BM-hMSCs. Following incubation with specific hepatogenic agents, AF-hMSCs showed a higher hepatic differentiation potential than BM-hMSCs. Expression of several liver-specific markers was significantly greater in AF-hMSCs than in BM-hMSCs, as shown by real time RT-PCR and immunofluorescence (IF). In conclusion, AF-hMSCs possess superior potential for hepatic differentiation, making them more suitable for diverse terminal liver diseases.     

Culture of human amniotic fluid stem cells in 3D collagen matrix

Most of the researchers attribute amniotic fluid stem cells (AF SCs) to mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). However, AF SCs express both mesenchymal and epithelial markers, which distinguishes them from postnatal MSCs. Cultivation in the three-dimensional (3D) matrix provides a different look at the nature of the cells. We showed that in 3D collagen gel AF SCs form epithelial structures (tubules and cysts). The active contraction of the gel during the first days of cultivation, which is characteristic of mesenchymal cells, does not occur. Electron microscopic study showed that adherent junctions typical to epithelial cells are formed between AF SCs. On the other hand, during culturing in the gel AF SCs continue to express MSCs markers. Thus, AF SCs may be not true mesenchymal cells because they can display properties of epithelial cells. Perhaps these cells undergo epithelial-mesenchymal transition, a process which actively takes place during embryogenesis.     

Stem cells in human amniotic fluid

Amniotic fluid (AF) contains a heterogeneous population of cells of fetal origin in which stem cells are present. These cells are characterized by the expression of mesenchymal (CD73, CD90, CD105) and neural (Nestin, β3-tubulin, NEFH) markers, and also some markers of pluripotency (Oct4, Nanog), and they are capable of differentiating into diverse derivatives in vitro. We have shown that epithelial markers (Keratin 19, Keratin 18, and p63) are expressed in AF stem cells simultaneously with mesenchymal ones. During cloning, colonies of cells with fibroblastoid and epithelioid cells are formed. The status and differentiation potential of stem cells from AF have been discussed.     

Serum-free cryopreservation of human amniotic epithelial cells before and after isolation from their natural scaffold

Amniotic epithelial cells are a promising source for stem cell-based therapy through their potential capacity to differentiate into the cell lineages of all three germ layers. Long-term preservation is necessary to have a ready-to-use source of stem cells, when required. Reduced differentiation capability, decrease of viability and use of fetal bovine serum (FBS) are three drawbacks of clinical application of cryopreserved stem cells. In this study, we used human amniotic fluid instead of animal serum, and evaluated viability and multipotency of amniotic epithelial cells after cryopreservation in suspension and compared with those cryopreserved on their natural scaffold (in situ cryopreservation). There was no significant difference in viability of the cells cryopreserved in amniotic fluid and FBS. Also, the same results were achieved for expression of pluripotency marker OCT-4 when FBS was replaced by amniotic fluid in the samples with the same cryoprotectant. The cells cryopreserved in presence of scaffold had a higher level of viability compared to the cells cryopreserved in suspension. Although, the number of the cells expressed OCT-4 significantly decreased within cryopreservation in suspension, no decrease in expression of OCT-4 was observed when the cells cryopreserved with their natural scaffold. Upon culturing of post-thawed cells in specific lineage differentiating mediums, the markers of neuronal, hepatic, cardiomyocytic and pancreatic were found in differentiated cells. These results show that replacement of FBS by amniotic fluid and in situ cryopreservation of amniotic epithelial cells is an effective approach to overcome limitations related to long-term preservation including differentiation during cryopreservation and decrease of viability.     

Human adipose-derived stem cells display myogenic potential and perturbed function in hypoxic conditions

Here, we enriched a human cell population from adipose tissue that exhibited both mesenchymal plasticity, self-renewal capacity, and a cell-surface marker profile indistinguishable from that of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells. In addition to adipogenic and osteogenic differentiation, these adipose-derived stem cells displayed skeletal myogenic potential when co-cultured with mouse skeletal myocytes in reduced serum conditions. Physical incorporation of stem cells into multinucleated skeletal myotubes was determined by genetic lineage tracing, whereas human-specific antibody staining was employed to demonstrate functional contribution of the stem cells to a myogenic lineage. To investigate the effects of hypoxia, cells were maintained and differentiated at 2% O(2). In contrast with reports on bone marrow-derived stem cells, both osteogenic and adipogenic differentiation were significantly attenuated. In summary, the relative accessibility of adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells from human donors provides opportunity for molecular investigation of mechanistic dysfunction in disease settings and may introduce new prospects for cell-based therapy.     

Engineering stem cell niches in bioreactors

Stem cells, including embryonic stem cells, induced pluripotent stem cells, mesenchymal stem cells and amniotic fluid stem cells have the potential to be expanded and differentiated into various cell types in the body. Efficient differentiation of stem cells with the desired tissue-specific function is critical for stem cell-based cell therapy, tissue engineering, drug discovery and disease modeling. Bioreactors provide a great platform to regulate the stem cell microenvironment, known as “niches”, to impact stem cell fate decision. The niche factors include the regulatory factors such as oxygen, extracellular matrix (synthetic and decellularized), paracrine/autocrine signaling and physical forces (i.e., mechanical force, electrical force and flow shear). The use of novel bioreactors with precise control and recapitulation of niche factors through modulating reactor operation parameters can enable efficient stem cell expansion and differentiation. Recently, the development of microfluidic devices and microbioreactors also provides powerful tools to manipulate the stem cell microenvironment by adjusting flow rate and cytokine gradients. In general, bioreactor engineering can be used to better modulate stem cell niches critical for stem cell expansion, differentiation and applications as novel cell-based biomedicines. This paper reviews important factors that can be more precisely controlled in bioreactors and their effects on stem cell engineering.