Characteristics of Human Amniotic Epithelial Cells and Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cells in a Parallel Study: Hanging Drop Colony Formation and Doubling Time

Characteristics of Human Amniotic Epithelial Cells and Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cells in a Parallel Study: Hanging Drop Colony Formation and Doubling Time

Amniotic epithelial cells exhibit pluripotent capacity with some unique properties. They are considered as a good candidate in regenerative medicine. Human bone marrow mesenchymal stromal cells (hBM-MSC) are the gold standard in cell therapy procedures, but whether these cells could be replaced with hAEC remains a debate? We compared the stem cell characteristics of hAEC with hBM-MSC considering isolation, morphology, population doubling time, colony formation on substratum and in suspension, alkaline phosphatase activity and expression of some CD Markers. hAEC were round and cubical but hBM-MSC appeared spindle-shaped in culture. Both groups of cells expressed mesenchymal stem cells markers (CD44, CD90) and they did not express CD34. OCT4 was highly expressed in hAEC but not in hBM-MSC. Their proliferation rate was slower than hBM-MSC. Either of the cell groups could form colonies on substratum as well as suspension with a positive alkaline phosphatase activity. Our results showed that biological properties of human amniotic epithelial cells are to some extent similar to human bone marrow mesenchymal cells.