Study of Human Amnion Cell Differentiation in Three-Dimensional Culture in Fibrin Matrix

Abstract

Aims: Recent investigations by us and others have suggested that human amnion cells may possess an ability to acquire different cell fates, i.e. mesodermal (e.g. osteogenic, chondrogenic, adipogenic) and neural lineage, as well as to turn into insulin-producing beta cells when grown in 2D culture in vitro in specific differentiation media. Here we sought to explore a potential utility of human amnion cell transplants in approaches to bone or cartilage healing. For this purpose, we tested whether human amnion cells can differentiate to mesodermal lineage cells in 3D fibrin wound healing matrix as it would be encountered by cells when transplanted in vivo.