Novel neurotrophic factor secreted by amniotic epithelial cells.
By virtue of expressions of glial and neural surface markers and capability of neurotransmitter metabolism, amniotic epithelial cells are considered as candidate cell type for transplantation strategies to treat neurological disorders. Previously, we have reported neurotrophism exhibited by human amniotic epithelial cells when transplanted after spinal cord injury in bonnet monkeys. Amniotic epithelial cells were believed to secrete an "Epidermal Growth Factor (EGF)-like" factor and exact identification was not made. At this juncture, through the present study it was found that, chicken neural retinal cells when grown alone failed to survive and contrarily when either co-cultured with chicken amniotic epithelial cells/cultured in amniotic epithelial cell conditioned medium not only survived but also showed extensive differentiation. Fibroblast Growth Factor-2 (FGF-2) plays a critical role in retinal development especially in chicken neural retinal development. However, immunoassay using western blot did not revealed the presence of any already known isoforms of FGF-2 in the medium. It is interesting to note that while factor secreted by amniotic epithelial cells resembles EGF and/or FGF-2 in its biological action, known isoforms of them were not detected. Considering the biological closeness between EGF and FGF-2, results indicate the possibility of a novel isoform of these growth factors secreted by amniotic epithelial cells. Further studies will establish the nature of this novel factor which will enhance the application of this interesting cell type for neural transplantations.
Venkatachalam
Sankar
S
Department of Anatomy, Dr. Arcot Lakshmanasamy Mudaliar Postgraduate Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, University of Madras, Taramani Campus, Chennai 600 113, India. venkatsankar@yahoo.com
Palaniappan
Tamilselvi
T
Jayapal
Prem Kumar
PK
Neelamegan
Sridharan
S
Rajan
Sridhar Skylab
SS
Muthiah
Vijaya Prakash Krishnan
VP
D000650:Amnion / Q000166:cytology*; D000818:Animals; D015153:Blotting, Western; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D002470:Cell Survival; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002645:Chickens; D004815:Epidermal Growth Factor / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000378:metabolism*; D005123:Eye / Q000166:cytology; D016222:Fibroblast Growth Factor 2 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D006801:Humans; D009414:Nerve Growth Factors / Q000378:metabolism*; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
D009414:Nerve Growth Factors; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D016222:Fibroblast Growth Factor 2; D004815:Epidermal Growth Factor