Human amniotic epithelial cells maintain mouse spermatogonial stem cells in an undifferentiated state due to high leukemia inhibitor factor (LIF) expression

AbstractHuman amniotic epithelial cells (hAECs), as pluripotent stem cells, have characteristics of immune privilege and great clinical potential. Here, we produced hAECs membrane consisting of single-layer hAECs and basal membrane (BM) of human amniotic membrane (hAM). In conventional methods, hAECs were isolated from hAM by repeated trypsin digestion. In this study, collagenase I and cell scraper were used to remove human amniotic mesenchymal stem cells (hAMSCs) from hAM and hAECs-only membranes were produced. These hAECs on the membranes were evaluated by surface biomarkers including epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM), stage-specific embryonic antigen 4 (SSEA4) and endoglin (CD105), transcriptional level of biomarkers including POU class 5 homeobox 1 (OCT4), sex determining region Y-box 2 (SOX2), fibroblast growth factor 4 (FGF4), immunofluorescence of cytokeratin-8 (CK-8), alpha smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) and collagen type I alpha 1 chain (ColA1). Finally, the hAECs membrane were transplanted on skin-removed mice to evaluate its effect on wound healing. In comparison to the hAECs isolated by the conventional methods, the cells isolated by this proposed method had higher purity of hAECs, expressed higher in pluripotency related genes, and maintained an epithelium construction in a long-term culture. In mice application, the hAECs membrane effectively improved the skin wound healing. An efficient method was successfully established to produce hAECs membrane in this work which not only held promise to obtain hAECs in higher purity and quality, but also showed practical clinical potential.

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Hyaluronic acid ameliorates the proliferative ability of human amniotic epithelial cells through activation of TGF-β/BMP signaling

PeerJ ◽

10.7717/peerj.10104 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 8 ◽

pp. e10104

Author(s):

Ya-Bing Tian ◽

Nuo-Xin Wang ◽

Yan Xu ◽

Chang-Yin Yu ◽

Ru-Ming Liu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Stem Cells ◽

Hyaluronic Acid ◽

Epithelial Cells ◽

Bmp Signaling ◽

Inflammatory Factors ◽

Proliferative Effect ◽

Amniotic Epithelial Cells ◽

Human Amniotic Epithelial Cells ◽

Proliferative Ability

Human amniotic epithelial cells (hAECs) are a useful and noncontroversial source of stem cells for cell therapy and regenerative medicine, but their limited proliferative ability hinders the acquisition of adequate quantities of cells for clinical use due to not expressing telomerase in hAECs. Our previous study showed that hyaluronic acid (HA), an important component of the extracellular matrix, promoted the proliferation of human amniotic mesenchymal stem cells. Herein, we hypothesize that HA might improve the proliferative capability of hAECs. In the present study, the role of HA on the proliferation of human amniotic epithelial cells (hAECs) in vitro was investigated for the first time. HA at molecular weight of 300 kDa showed an obvious pro-proliferation effect on hAECs. Furthermore, HA not only kept phenotypic characteristics and differentiation capabilities of hAECs, but significantly promoted the secretion of the anti-inflammatory factors such as IL-10 and TGF-β1, and the expression of stem cell pluripotent factors such as Oct4 and Nanog. Analysis of PCR microarray data and RT-qPCR validation showed that TGF-β/BMP signaling was activated in the presence of HA. Further study showed that SB431542, an inhibitor of the TGF-β/BMP signaling, significantly suppressed the mRNA expression of TGFBR3, BMP4, BMP7, BMPR1B, SMAD3, SMAD4, and the pro-proliferative effect of HA on hAECs. These data suggest that HA is a safe and effective enhancer for in vitro expansion of hAECs, whose regulatory mechanism involves the TGF-β/BMP signaling.

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New Approach of Bone Marrow-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells and Human Amniotic Epithelial Cells Applications in Accelerating Wound Healing of Irradiated Albino Rats

International Journal of Stem Cells ◽

10.15283/ijsc.2013.6.1.45 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 6 (1) ◽

pp. 45-54 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Samah S. Mehanni ◽

Noha F. Ibrahim ◽

Alyaa R. Hassan ◽

Laila A. Rashed

Keyword(s):

Stem Cells ◽

Bone Marrow ◽

Wound Healing ◽

Mesenchymal Stem Cells ◽

Epithelial Cells ◽

Albino Rats ◽

New Approach ◽

Amniotic Epithelial Cells ◽

Human Amniotic Epithelial Cells

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Comparative Investigation of Human Amniotic Epithelial Cells and Mesenchymal Stem Cells for Application in Bone Tissue Engineering

Stem Cells International ◽

10.1155/2015/565732 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 2015 ◽

pp. 1-14 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

Jiawen Si ◽

Jiewen Dai ◽

Jianjun Zhang ◽

Sha Liu ◽

Jing Gu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Tissue Engineering ◽

Stem Cells ◽

Mesenchymal Stem Cells ◽

Epithelial Cells ◽

Bone Tissue Engineering ◽

Bone Tissue ◽

Amniotic Epithelial Cells ◽

Human Amniotic Epithelial Cells ◽

The Impact ◽

Promising Source

Emerging evidence suggests amniotic epithelial cells (AECs) as a promising source of progenitor cells in regenerative medicine and bone tissue engineering. However, investigations comparing the regenerative properties of AECs with other sources of stem cells are particularly needed before the feasibility of AECs in bone tissue engineering can be determined. This study aimed to compare human amniotic epithelial cells (hAECs), human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (hBMSCs), and human amniotic fluid derived mesenchymal stem cells (hAFMSCs) in terms of their morphology, proliferation, immunophenotype profile, and osteogenic capacityin vitroandin vivo. Not only greatly distinguished by cell morphology and proliferation, hAECs, hAFMSCs, and hBMSCs exhibited remarkably different signature regarding immunophenotypical profile. Microarray analysis revealed a different expression profile of genes involved in ossification along the three cell sources, highlighting the impact of different anatomical origin and molecular response to osteogenic induction on the final tissue-forming potential. Furthermore, our data indicated a potential role of FOXC2 in early osteogenic commitment.

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Therapeutic Potential of Human Amniotic Epithelial Cells on Injuries and Disorders in the Central Nervous System

Stem Cells International ◽

10.1155/2019/5432301 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 2019 ◽

pp. 1-11 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Huiming Xu ◽

Jiaofei Zhang ◽

Kam Sze Tsang ◽

Hao Yang ◽

Wei-Qiang Gao

Keyword(s):

Stem Cells ◽

Central Nervous System ◽

Nervous System ◽

Epithelial Cells ◽

Embryonic Stem ◽

Cell Based Therapy ◽

Amniotic Epithelial Cells ◽

Recent Advances ◽

The Central Nervous System ◽

Human Amniotic Epithelial Cells

Despite recent advances in neurosurgery and pharmaceuticals, contemporary treatments are ineffective in restoring lost neurological functions in patients with injuries and disorders of the central nervous system (CNS). Therefore, novel and effective therapies are urgently needed. Recent studies have indicated that stem cells, including embryonic stem cells (ESCs), induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), and mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), could repair/replace damaged or degenerative neurons and improve functional recovery in both preclinical and clinical trials. However, there are many unanswered questions and unsolved issues regarding stem cell therapy in terms of potency, stability, oncogenicity, immune response, cell sources, and ethics. Currently, human amniotic epithelial cells (hAECs) derived from the amnion exhibit considerable advantages over other stem cells and have drawn much attention from researchers. hAECs are readily available, pose no ethical concerns, and have little risk of tumorigenicity and immunogenicity. Mounting evidence has shown that hAECs can promote neural cell survival and regeneration, repair affected neurons, and reestablish damaged neural connections. It is suggested that hAECs may be the most promising candidate for cell-based therapy of neurological diseases. In this review, we mainly focus on recent advances and potential applications of hAECs for treating various CNS injuries and neurodegenerative disorders. We also discuss current hurdles and challenges regarding hAEC therapies.

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