Isolation and characterization of equine amniotic fluid-derived multipotent stem cells.
OBJECTIVE
Amniotic fluid (AF) is a well-known source of stem cells. However, there have been no reports regarding equine AF stem cells. We have isolated equine AF-derived multipotent stem cells (MSC) (eAF-MSC) and show that these cells exhibit self-renewal ability and multilineage differentiation.


METHODS
AF was obtained from thoroughbred mares and mononuclear cells (MNC) were isolated by Ficoll-Paque density gradient. We measured the cumulative population doubling level (CPDL) and characterized the immunophenotype by flow cytometry. To investigate differentiation ability, a trilineage differentiation assay was conducted.


RESULTS
eAF-MSC could be isolated and the proliferation level was high. eAF-MSC presented typical MSC phenotypic markers, as determined by flow cytometry. Moreover, eAF-MSC showed a trilineage differentiation capability.


CONCLUSIONS
Equine AF is a good source of MSC. Furthermore, eAF-MSC may be useful as a cell therapy application for horses.
Park
Sang-Bum
SB
Adult Stem Cell Research Center, College of Veterinary Medicine, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Seo
Min-Soo
MS
Kang
Jun-Gu
JG
Chae
Joon-Seok
JS
Kang
Kyung-Sun
KS
D050156:Adipogenesis; D000653:Amniotic Fluid / Q000166:cytology*; D000818:Animals; D019070:Cell Lineage; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D002469:Cell Separation / Q000379:methods*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D020219:Chondrogenesis; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D006736:Horses; D006801:Humans; D016130:Immunophenotyping; D039902:Multipotent Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism; D010012:Osteogenesis; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid