Isolation and Characterization of Mesenchymal Stem Cells from Amniotic Membrane

Placenta and amniotic membrane emerge as important sources of stem cells, since it is possible to perform their study with non-invasive methods. Also, is possible to obtain higher numbers of stem cells from these tissues compared with other sources. Several studies have reported that multipotent adult stem cells represent an attractive stem cell source for regenerative medicine and transplantation therapy, since these cells have a high degree of plasticity and multi-lineage differentiation potential. Among adult stem cells, mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) arise since they are able of both supporting hematopoiesis and differentiating into mesoderm, endoderm and ectoderm cells and are known to be weakly immunogenic and to exhibit immunomodulatory properties, which is important to escape to the immunological defence mechanisms and to suppress several functions. Diverse studies associated the MSC heterogeneity with their differential potential. MSC have different characteristics related to the source of isolation, therefore they can differ, not only, in terms of phenotype, but also morphology, ultrastructure and even function. Although MSC phenotype is well described in the literature, the absence of a single marker expressed only by this cell type could be a problem for the isolation of a homogeneous stem cell population and for the identification of their therapeutic potential. In this sense, recent efforts have been made in order to isolate more homogeneous cell populations, avoiding contamination by other cellular types, and to develop a set of markers for the characterization of this stem cell type. In this context, this chapter gives an overview of protocols for isolation, a proposal for their characterization, and differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells from human amniotic membrane (hAMSC) in order to potentiate its application to clinical practice.