Amniotic Fluid Stem Cells Are Cardioprotective Following Acute Myocardial Infarction

Abstract

In recent years, various types of stem cells have been characterized and their potential for cardiac regeneration has been investigated. We have previously described the isolation of broadly multipotent cells from amniotic fluid, defined as amniotic fluid stem (AFS) cells. The aim of this study was to investigate the therapeutic potential of human AFS cells (hAFS) in a model of acute myocardial infarction. Wistar rats underwent 30 min of ischemia by ligation of the left anterior descending coronary artery, followed by administration of hAFS cells and 2 h of reperfusion. Infarct size was assessed by 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride staining and planimetry. hAFS cells were also analyzed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay to detect secretion of putative paracrine factors, such as the actin monomer-binding protein thymosin β4 (Tβ4). The systemic injection of hAFS cells and their conditioned medium (hAFS-CM) was cardioprotective, improving myocardial cell survival and decreasing the infarct size from 53.9%±2.3% (control animals receiving phosphate-buffered saline injection) to 40.0%±3.0% (hAFS cells) and 39.7%±2.5% (hAFS-CM, P<0.01). In addition, hAFS cells were demonstrated to secrete Tβ4, previously shown to be both cardioprotective and proangiogenic. Our results suggest that AFS cells have therapeutic potential in the setting of acute myocardial infarction, which may be mediated through paracrine effectors such as Tβ4. Therefore, AFS cells might represent a novel source for cell therapy and cell transplantation strategies in repair following ischemic heart disease, with a possible paracrine mechanism of action and a potential molecular candidate for acute cardioprotection.

Amniotic Fluid Progenitor Cells and Their Use in Regenerative Medicine

“…Along with this work, Sung's research group reported the differentiation of AFMC into cardiomyocytes and endothelial cells (Yeh et al, 2010). Bollini et al in two different works demonstrated the potential of AFSC to differentiate into cardiomyocytes both in vitro (Bollini et al, June 2011) and in vivo showing their cardioprotective effect following acute myocardial infarction (Bollini et al, May 2011). In summary, the results obtained with amniotic fluid derived stem cells for cardiomyocyte differentiation are contrasting, mostly due to the lack of a specific model and the use of different species and differentiation protocols.…”

Intramuscular Transplantation of Pig Amniotic Fluid-Derived Progenitor Cells Has Therapeutic Potential in a Mouse Model of Myocardial Infarction

“…Interestingly, secretion of MCP-1, IL-8, SDF-1, and VEGF by AFPCs was shown to promote vasculogenesis, and injection of MI mice with conditioning medium containing these factors ameliorated the symptoms and conferred the same therapeutic effect as direct cell transplantation (3). These data suggested that AFPCs repaired the damage via paracrine signaling.…”

Osteogenic differentiation of amniotic fluid mesenchymal stromal cells and their bone regeneration potential

“…In addition, AFMSCs are semi allogeneic to each parent, therefore potentially useful for the other members of the family [34] . Moreover, the beneficial effect of AF-MSCs observed in preclinical studies, such as lung injury [35] , ischemic heart [36] , acute bladder injury [37] , neovascularization [38] , encourages their future application in regenerative medicine tissue engineering.…”