title: Human amniotic fluid: a source of stem cells for possible therapeutic use.
abstract: Stem cells are undifferentiated cells with the capacity for differentiation. Amniotic fluid cells have emerged only recently as a possible source of stem cells for clinical purposes. There are no ethical or sampling constraints for the use of amniocentesis as a standard clinical procedure for obtaining an abundant supply of amniotic fluid cells. Amniotic fluid cells of human origin proliferate rapidly and are multipotent with the potential for expansion in vitro to multiple cell lines. Tissue engineering technologies that use amniotic fluid cells are being explored. Amniotic fluid cells may be of clinical benefit for fetal therapies, degenerative disease, and regenerative medicine applications. We present a comprehensive review of the evolution of human amniotic fluid cells as a possible modality for therapeutic use.
authors.affiliation: Division of Maternal Fetal Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, NY.
authors.forename: Margaret
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dziadosz
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, NY.
authors.forename: Ross S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Basch
authors.affiliation: Division of Maternal Fetal Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, NY. Electronic address: Bruce.young@nyumc.org.
authors.forename: Bruce K
authors.initials: BK
authors.lastname: Young
mesh_terms: D000649:Amniocentesis; D000653:Amniotic Fluid / Q000166:cytology*; D046128:Fetal Therapies / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D033581:Stem Cell Transplantation; D023822:Tissue Engineering / Q000379:methods
keywords: amniotic fluid; stem cell; therapy; transplantation