羊水来源干细胞的研究进展

Research Progresses of Amniotic Fluid-derived Stem Cells

干细胞具有自我更新和多向分化的潜能,是目前医学及组织工程学研究的热点。近来发现羊水中含有干细胞,具有向内、中、外三个胚层分化的能力,且通过了功能测试。由于羊水来源广泛、创伤小、无伦理道德方面的限制且无致瘤性,将为干细胞开辟新的研究领域,为组织工程提供新的种子细胞来源,为细胞介导的基因治疗提供新的载体。目前对其来源及生物学特征的研究还不是很清楚。现对羊水中细胞的组成、羊水来源干细胞分离培养、生物学特征及鉴定、分化潜能等问题进行综述。

Stem cells possess the potentials of self-renewal and multipotent differentiation,which has become a hotspot of medical and tissue engineering research.Recently,amniotic fluids are found to contain stem cells capable of differentiating to endoderm,mesoderm,and ectoderm as justified by functional tests.As amniotic fluids have a wide source,minimally invasive harvest,less ethnical restriction,and free of tumorigenesis,they are used to create a new research field to provide new seed cells for tissue engineering and new vectors for cell-based gene therapy.The source and biological properties of amniotic fluid-derived stem cells remain unclear until now.This article reviews the components of amniotic cells,isolation and culture of amniotic fluid-derived stem cells,biological properties,characterization,and differential potentials.