Neural Regeneration Research ›› 2012, Vol. 7 ›› Issue (1): 41-45.

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Human amniotic epithelial cells express specific markers of nerve cells and migrate along the nerve fibers in the corpus callosum

Zhiyuan Wu1, 2, Guozhen Hui2, Yi Lu2, Tianjin Liu3, Qin Huang3, Lihe Guo3   

  1. 1 Department of Neurosurgery, Changzhou Second People’s Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 213000, Jiangsu Province, China
    2 Department of Neurosurgery, the First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou 215006, Jiangsu Province, China
    3 Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China
  • Received:2011-09-25 Revised:2011-11-12 Online:2012-01-05 Published:2012-01-05
  • Contact: Guozhen Hui, Professor, Department of Neurosurgery, the First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou 215006, Jiangsu Province, China; Lihe Guo, Researcher, Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China guozhen-hui@163.com; lhguo@sibs.ac.cn
  • About author:Zhiyuan Wu☆, Doctor, Associate chief physician, Department of Neurosurgery, Changzhou Second People’s Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 213000, Jiangsu Province, China; Department of Neurosurgery, the First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou 215006, Jiangsu Province, China

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Abstract:

Human amniotic epithelial cells were isolated from a piece of fresh amnion. Using immunocytochemical methods, we investigated the expression of neuronal phenotypes (microtubule-associated protein-2, glial fibrillary acidic protein and nestin) in human amniotic epithelial cells. The conditioned medium of human amniotic epithelial cells promoted the growth and proliferation of rat glial cells cultured in vitro, and this effect was dose-dependent. Human amniotic epithelial cells were further transplanted into the corpus striatum of healthy adult rats and the grafted cells could integrate with the host and migrate 1-2 mm along the nerve fibers in corpus callosum. Our experimental findings indicate that human amniotic epithelial cells may be a new kind of seed cells for use in neurograft.

Key words: human amniotic epithelial cells, cell transplantation, microtubule-associated protein-2, glial fibrillary acidic protein, nestin, neurotrophin, central nervous system injury, neural regeneration