CD117+ amniotic fluid stem cells

Broadly multipotent stem cells can be isolated from amniotic fluid by selection for the expression of the membrane stem cell factor receptor c-Kit, a common marker for multipotential stem cells. They have clonogenic capability and can be directed into a wide range of cell types representing the three primary embryonic lineages. Amniotic fluid stem cells maintained for over 250 population doublings retained long telomeres and a normal karyotype. Clonal human lines verified by retroviral marking were induced to differentiate into cell types representing each embryonic germ layer, including cells of adipogenic, osteogenic, myogenic, endothelial, neuronal and hepatic lineages. AFS cells could be differentiate toward cardiomyogenic lineages, when co-cultured with neonatal cardiomyocytes, and have the potential to generate myogenic and hematopoietic lineages both in vitro and in vivo. Very recently first trimester AFS cells could be reprogrammed without any genetic manipulation opening new possibilities in the field of fetal/neonatal therapy and disease modeling. In this review we are aiming to summarize the knowledge on amniotic fluid stem cells and highlight the most promising results.     

肝细胞生长因子对人羊水干细胞迁移和黏附能力的影响

目的分离培养及鉴定羊水干细胞（hAFSC）,并研究肝细胞生长因子（HGF）对羊水干细胞迁移、黏附能力的影响。方法使用细胞贴壁法分离培养羊水干细胞,细胞免疫荧光及westernblot鉴定羊水干细胞,Transwell小室分析HGF对羊水干细胞迁移的作用。明胶贴壁法分析HGF对羊水干细胞黏附能力的作用。两组之间数据的比较采用独立样本t检验。结果分离的羊水干细胞均表达特异性标记物Oct-4、c-kit、SSEA-4、CD105。HGF在体外对hAFSC的迁移有趋化作用,对照组和HGF组每个视野的迁移细胞数分别为38±2.5和80±3.2。对黏附能力有促进作用,对照组和HGF组每个视野的黏附细胞数分别为19±1.5和50±2.7,差异均有统计学意义（P〈0.01）。结论 HGF可趋化羊水干细胞的迁移,增强羊水干细胞的黏附能力。     

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.     

Human amniotic fluid-derived c-kit(+) and c-kit (-) stem cells: growth characteristics and some differentiation potential capacities comparison

Amniotic fluid (AF) contains heterogeneous and multipotential cell types. A pure mesenchymal stem cells group can be sorted from AF using flow cytometry. In order to evaluate a possible therapeutic application of these cells, the human AF-derived c-kit⁺ stem cells (c-kit⁺ AFS) were compared with the c-kit⁻ (unselected) stem cells (c-kit⁻ AFS). Our findings revealed that the optimal period to obtain c-kit⁺ AFS cells was between 16 and 22 weeks of gestation. Following cell sorting, c-kit⁺ AFS cells shared similar morphological and proliferative characteristics as the c-kit⁻ AFS cells. Both c-kit⁺ and c-kit⁻ AFS cells had the characteristics of mesenchymal stem cells through surface marker identification by flow cytometric and immunocytochemical analysis. Both c-kit⁺ and c-kit⁻ AFS cells could differentiate along adipogenic and osteogenic lineages. However, the myocardial differentiation capacity was enhanced in c-kit⁺ AFS cells by detecting GATA-4, cTnT, α-actin, Cx43 mRNA and protein expression after myocardial induction; whereas induced c-kit⁻ AFS cells were only detected with GATA-4 mRNA and protein expression. The c-kit⁺ AFS cells could have potential clinical application for myogenesis in cardiac regenerative therapy.     

Culturing and differentiation of murine embryonic stem cells in a three-dimensional fibrous matrix

Embryonic stem (ES) cells have indefinite self-renewal ability and pluripotency, and can provide a novel cell source for tissue engineering applications. In this study, a murine CCE ES cell line was used to derive hematopoietic cells in a 3-D fibrous matrix. The 3-D matrix was found to maintain the phenotypes of undifferentiated ES cells as indicated by alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity and stage specific embryonic antigen-1 (SSEA-1) expression. In hematopoietic differentiation, cells from 3-D culture exhibited similar cell cycle distribution and SSEA-1 expression to those in the initial cell population. The Oct-4 expression was significantly down-regulated, which indicated the occurrence of differentiation, although the level was slightly higher than that in Petri dish culture. The expression of c-kit, cell surface marker for hematopoietic progenitor, was higher in the 3-D culture, suggesting a better-directed hematopoietic differentiation. Cells in the 3-D matrix tended to form large aggregates associated with fibers. For large-scale processes, a perfusion bioreactor can be used for both maintenance and differentiation cultures. As compared to the static culture, a higher growth rate and final cell density were resulted from the perfusion bioreactor due to better control of the reactor environment. At the same time, the differentiation capacity of ES cells was preserved in the perfusion culture. The ES cell culture in the fibrous matrix thus can be used as a 3-D model system to study effects of extracellular environment and associated physico-chemical parameters on ES cell maintenance and differentiation.     

CD117+ amniotic fluid stem cells: State of the art and future perspectives

Broadly multipotent stem cells can be isolated from amniotic fluid by selection for the expression of the membrane stem cell factor receptor c-Kit, a common marker for multipotential stem cells. They have clonogenic capability and can be directed into a wide range of cell types representing the three primary embryonic lineages. Amniotic fluid stem cells maintained for over 250 population doublings retained long telomeres and a normal karyotype. Clonal human lines verified by retroviral marking were induced to differentiate into cell types representing each embryonic germ layer, including cells of adipogenic, osteogenic, myogenic, endothelial, neuronal and hepatic lineages. AFS cells could be differentiate toward cardiomyogenic lineages, when co-cultured with neonatal cardiomyocytes, and have the potential to generate myogenic and hematopoietic lineages both in vitro and in vivo. Very recently first trimester AFS cells could be reprogrammed without any genetic manipulation opening new possibilities in the field of fetal/neonatal therapy and disease modeling. In this review we are aiming to summarize the knowledge on amniotic fluid stem cells and highlight the most promising results.     

Non-integrating episomal plasmid-based reprogramming of human amniotic fluid stem cells into induced pluripotent stem cells in chemically defined conditions

Amniotic fluid stem cells (AFSC) represent an attractive potential cell source for fetal and pediatric cell-based therapies. However, upgrading them to pluripotency confers refractoriness toward senescence, higher proliferation rate and unlimited differentiation potential. AFSC were observed to rapidly and efficiently reacquire pluripotency which together with their easy recovery makes them an attractive cell source for reprogramming. The reprogramming process as well as the resulting iPSC epigenome could potentially benefit from the unspecialized nature of AFSC. iPSC derived from AFSC also have potential in disease modeling, such as Down syndrome or β-thalassemia. Previous experiments involving AFSC reprogramming have largely relied on integrative vector transgene delivery and undefined serum-containing, feeder-dependent culture. Here, we describe non-integrative oriP/EBNA-1 episomal plasmid-based reprogramming of AFSC into iPSC and culture in fully chemically defined xeno-free conditions represented by vitronectin coating and E8 medium, a system that we found uniquely suited for this purpose. The derived AF-iPSC lines uniformly expressed a set of pluripotency markers Oct3/4, Nanog, Sox2, SSEA-1, SSEA-4, TRA-1-60, TRA-1-81 in a pattern typical for human primed PSC. Additionally, the cells formed teratomas, and were deemed pluripotent by PluriTest, a global expression microarray-based in-silico pluripotency assay. However, we found that the PluriTest scores were borderline, indicating a unique pluripotent signature in the defined condition. In the light of potential future clinical translation of iPSC technology, non-integrating reprogramming and chemically defined culture are more acceptable.     

猪羊水干细胞特异向跳动心肌细胞诱导分化

为了筛选并建立一种由猪羊水干细胞向心肌细胞分化的有效方法,以猪羊水干细胞为研究对象,以5-氮胞苷 (5-aza) 和维生素C (Vc) 为诱导剂,对猪羊水干细胞形成的类胚体 (EBs) 进行诱导分化。应用免疫荧光、RT-PCR、透射电镜技术检测跳动细胞团中心肌特异性标记的表达情况。结果显示,在猪羊水干细胞形成的类胚体中加入心肌细胞诱导剂,10 d后即见到节律性跳动的细胞团,t检验发现0.1 mmol/L Vc加5 μmol/L 5-aza联合诱导组的诱导效率最高,达33％。免疫荧光结果显示跳动心肌细胞团表达细胞骨架蛋白α-actin和肌钙蛋白Tnni3。RT-PCR检测跳动心肌细胞团,发现心肌细胞特异性标记分子TbX5、Gata4、α-MHC、Tnni3均呈阳性表达。借助透射电镜观察诱导后的跳动样细胞团,能清晰可见其中的肌丝、糖原粒、糖原池等结构。说明5-氮胞苷和维生素C可以促进猪羊水干细胞向心肌细胞的诱导分化。     

Suspension culture of hematopoietic stem cells in stirred bioreactors

Hematopoietic stem cells have applications in bone marrow transplantations for the treatment of hematopoietic disorders. When murine hematopoietic stem cells were cultured in 50 ml stirred bioreactors for 14 d, stem-cell-antigen-1 positive cells (hematopoietic primitive progenitor cells) and long-term culture-initiating cells (hematopoietic stem cells) grew by 5-fold and 4-fold, respectively. These results show the possibility of growing hematopoietic stem cells using a stirred bioreactor.     

Expansion of retinal stem cells and their progeny using cell microcarriers in a bioreactor

Blindness as a consequence of degenerative eye diseases (e.g., age-related macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa) is a major health problem and numbers are expected to increase by up to 50% by 2020. Unfortunately, adult mouse and human retinal stem cells (RSCs), unlike fish and amphibians , are quiescent in vivo and do not regenerate following disease or injury. To replace lost cells, we used microcarriers (MCs) in a suspension stirring bioreactor to help achieve numbers suitable for differentiation and transplantation. We achieved a significant 10-fold enrichment of RSC yield compared to conventional static culture techniques using a combination of FACTIII MCs and relative hypoxia (5%) inside the bioreactor. We found that hypoxia (5% O₂) was associated with better RSC expansion across all platforms; and this can be attributed to hypoxia-induced increases in survival and/or symmetric division of stem cells. In the future, we will target the differentiation of RSCs and their progeny toward rod and cone photoreceptor phenotypes using FACTIII MCs inside bioreactors to expand their populations in order to produce the large numbers of cells needed for transplantation.     

Amniotic fluid stem cells to study mTOR signaling in differentiation

The protein kinase mTOR is the central player within a pathway, which is known to be involved in the regulation of e.g., cell size, cell cycle, apoptosis, autophagy, aging and differentiation. mTOR activity responds to many signals, including cellular stress, oxygen, nutrient availability, energy status and growth factors. Deregulation of this enzyme is causatively involved in the molecular development of monogenic human diseases, cancer, obesity, type 2 diabetes or neurodegeneration. Recently, mTOR has also been demonstrated to control stem cell homeostasis. A more detailed investigation of this new mTOR function will be of highest relevance to provide more explicit insights into stem cell regulation in the near future. Different cellular tools, including adult stem cells, embryonic stem cells or induced pluripotent stem cells could be used to investigate the role of mTOR in mammalian stem cell biology. Here we discuss the potential of amniotic fluid stem cells to become a promising cellular model to study the role of signaling cascades in stem cell homeostasis.     

Amniotic fluid stem cells to study mTOR signaling in differentiation

The protein kinase mTOR is the central player within a pathway, which is known to be involved in the regulation of e.g., cell size, cell cycle, apoptosis, autophagy, aging and differentiation. mTOR activity responds to many signals, including cellular stress, oxygen, nutrient availability, energy status and growth factors. Deregulation of this enzyme is causatively involved in the molecular development of monogenic human diseases, cancer, obesity, type 2 diabetes or neurodegeneration. Recently, mTOR has also been demonstrated to control stem cell homeostasis. A more detailed investigation of this new mTOR function will be of highest relevance to provide more explicit insights into stem cell regulation in the near future. Different cellular tools, including adult stem cells, embryonic stem cells or induced pluripotent stem cells could be used to investigate the role of mTOR in mammalian stem cell biology. Here we discuss the potential of amniotic fluid stem cells to become a promising cellular model to study the role of signaling cascades in stem cell homeostasis.     

Molecular and phenotypic characterization of human amniotic fluid cells and their differentiation potential

The main goal of the study was to identify a novel source of human multipotent cells, overcoming ethical issues involved in embryonic stem cell research and the limited availability of most adult stem cells. Amniotic fluid cells （AFCs） are routinely obtained for prenatal diagnosis and can be expanded in vitro; nevertheless current knowledge about their origin and properties is limited. Twenty samples of AFCs were exposed in culture to adipogenic, osteogenic, neurogenic and myogenic media. Differentiation was evaluated using immunocytochemistry, RT-PCR and Western blotting. Before treatments, AFCs showed heterogeneous morphologies. They were negative for MyoD, Myf-5, MRF4, Myogenin and Desmin but positive for osteocalcin, PPARgamma2, GAP43, NSE, Nestin, MAP2, GFAP and beta tubulin III by RT-PCR. The cells expressed Oct-4, Rex-1 and Runx-1, which characterize the undifferentiated stem cell state. By immunocytochemistry they expressed neural-glial proteins, mesenchymal and epithelial markers. After culture, AFCs differentiated into adipocytes and osteoblasts when the predominant cellular component was fibroblastic. Early and late neuronal antigens were still present after 2 week culture in neural specific media even if no neuronal morphologies were detectable. Our results provide evidence that human amniotic fluid contains progenitor cells with multi-lineage potential showing stem and tissue-specific gene/protein presence for several lineages.     

Human amniotic fluid stem cells can improve cerebral vascular remodelling and neurological function after focal cerebral ischaemia in diabetic rats

Diabetes causes vascular injury and carries a high risk of ischaemic stroke. Human amniotic fluid stem cells ( hAFSCs) can enhance cerebral vascular remodelling and have the potential to improve neurological function after stroke in diabetic rats. Five groups of female rats were examined: (1) normal control, (2) type 1 diabetic (T1DM) rats induced by streptozotocin injection (DM), (3) non-DM rats receiving 60-minute middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO), (4) T1DM rats receiving 60-minute MCAO (DM + MCAO) and (5) T1DM rats receiving 60-minute MCAO and injection with 5 × 10⁶ hAFSCs at 3 h after MCAO (DM + MCAO + hAFSCs). Neurological function was examined before, and at 1, 7, 14, 21 and 28 days, and cerebral infarction volume and haemorrhage, cerebral vascular density, angiogenesis and inflammatory were examined at 7 and 28 days after MCAO. hAFSCs treatment caused a significant improvement of neurological dysfunction, infarction volume, blood-brain barrier leakage, cerebral arterial density, vascular density and angiogenesis and a reduction of brain haemorrhage and inflammation compared with non-treatment. Our results showed that the effect of hAFSCs treatment against focal cerebral ischaemia may act through the recovery of vascular remodelling and angiogenesis and the reduction of inflammation in ischaemic brain.     

In vitro differentiation of human amniotic fluid‐derived cells: Augmentation towards a neuronal dopaminergic phenotype

Amniotic fluid is known to yield a number of cell types which are multipotent, ethically derived, genetically stable, easily grown, expanded and possess favourable immunogenicity, which has resulted in an increasing interest for use in various neuronal disorders such as Parkinson's disease. The neuronal potential of cells derived from the adherent fraction of amniotic fluid, routinely taken by amniocentesis, are least explored. The aim of the present study was to investigate the capacity of these cells for neuronal and dopaminergic differentiation using in vitro differentiation protocols with canonical inductive factors not previously tested. To do this, samples derived from multiple donors were grown under four conditions: standard serum‐containing media, NB (neurobasal) media designed specifically for propagation and maintenance of neuronal cells, NB media with addition of retinoic acid and BDNF (brain‐derived neurotrophic factor) for NI (neuronal induction), and NB media with addition of FGF8 (fibroblast growth factor‐8) and Shh (sonic hedgehog) after NI. Our results showed the presence of multiple neuronal markers after growth in serum‐containing medium [TUJ1, MAP2, NF‐M, TH (tyrosine hydroxylase)], which was significantly up‐regulated after serum withdrawal in NB medium alone with induction of NeuN (neuronal nuclei) and NSE (neuron‐specific enolase). NI and DA.I (dopaminergic induction) was accompanied by further increases in expression and a distinct transition to a sustained neuronal morphology. Western blot analysis confirmed increasing TH expression and NURR1, expressed in base serum‐containing media, found to be down‐regulated after induction. In conclusion, these cells possess a highly favourable base neuronal and dopaminergic prepotential, which may easily be accentuated by standard induction protocols.     

再生胰腺提取物诱导人羊膜间充质干细胞定向分化为胰岛素分泌细胞

利用天然生物诱导剂大鼠再生胰腺提取物(Rgenerating pancreatic extract,RPE)定向诱导人羊膜间充质干细胞(Human amniotic mesenchymal stem cells,hAMSCs)向胰岛素分泌细胞分化。切除大鼠60%胰腺刺激胰腺再生,而后制备RPE,以终浓度为20 mg/L的RPE诱导hAMSCs。实验通过形态学鉴定、双硫腙染色、免疫荧光分析、RT-PCR基因检测和高糖刺激胰岛素分泌等实验鉴定细胞诱导结果。实验结果显示P3代hAMSCs经RPE诱导后形态变化明显,诱导15 d后细胞呈簇状生长,经双硫腙染色可见棕红色细胞团;免疫荧光染色结果显示诱导细胞呈胰岛素阳性表达;RT-PCR实验证明诱导细胞阳性表达人胰岛相关基因Pdx1和insulin;高糖刺激实验证明培养液中有胰岛素成分产生,且分泌量随刺激时间的延长先增加而后趋于稳定。实验结果表明hAMSCs在体外经RPE诱导可以分化为胰岛素分泌细胞。     

Characterization of hCG regulation in cultured human amniotic fluid cells

Summary We showed previously that sodium butyrate stimulated human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) measured by radioimmunoassay of medium from human second trimester amniotic fluid cell cultures, termed AF cells. We now find that stimulation of hCG in the presence of sodium butyrate takes as long as 20 h. When AF cells are preincubated with sodium butyrate, hCG levels increase in direct relation to length of the preincubation period. These findings suggest that elevation of hCG is not due merely to a release of hormone from the cells. Addition of cycloheximide or Actinomycin D inhibited protein synthesis and RNA synthesis, respectively, and prevented the stimulation of hCG by sodium butyrate. These results lend support for a mechanism of regulation involving protein and RNA synthesis, the increase in hCG levels being due to new synthesis of the hormone. Other agents reported to influence hCG production by different types of cell cultures include dibutyryl cyclic AMP, epidermal growth factor (EGF), methotrexate, and hydroxyurea. Dibutyryl cyclic AMP and EGF have no effect on hCG production in our AF cells: methotrexate causes a minimal increase, hydroxyurea causes a further increase, but sodium butyrate has the strongest stimulatory effect. We conclude that amniotic fluid cells in culture are susceptible to environmental agents capable of modulating synthesis of hCG by mechanisms involving synthesis of RNA and protein. Research supported by Grant HD 11379 from the National Institutes of Health.