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Advances on human amniotic epithelial cells and its clinical application potential

JI Jing¹, YANG Li^1,2,3,*

¹Renal Division, Department of Medicine, Peking University First Hospital, Institute of Nephrology, Peking University, Beijing 100034, China；²Key Laboratory of Renal Disease, Ministry of Health of China, Beijing 100034, China；³Key Laboratory of Chronic Kidney Disease Prevention and Treatment (Peking University), Ministry of Education of China, Beijing 100034, China

Abstract

Human amniotic epithelial cells (hAECs) are epithelial cells located on the placental amnion near the fetus. Different from other placental-derived stem cells, hAECs are derived from embryonic epiblast, and have been considered as seed cells for regenerative medicine. hAECs possess embryonic stem cell-like multi-differentiation capabilities and adult stem cell-like immunomodulatory properties. Compared with other types of stem cells, special properties of hAECs make them unique, including easy isolation, abundant cell numbers, non-tumorigenicity after transplantation, and the obviation of ethical debates. During the past two decades, the therapeutic potential of hAECs has been extensively investigated in various diseases. Accumulating evidence has demonstrated that hAECs contribute to repairing and remodeling the function of damaged tissues and organs through different molecular mechanisms. This article provides an in-depth review of the biological characteristics of hAECs, summarizes the research status of hAECs, and discusses the clinical application prospects of hAEC-based cell therapy.

Key words: human amniotic epithelial cell; cell therapy; paracrine effect; immunomodulation; regenerative medicine

Received: 　　Accepted:

Corresponding author: 杨莉　　E-mail: li.yang@bjmu.edu.cn

DOI: 10.13294/j.aps.2022.0010

Citing This Article：

JI Jing, YANG Li. Advances on human amniotic epithelial cells and its clinical application potential. Acta Physiol Sin 2022; 74 (1): 80-92 (in Chinese with English abstract).