Amniotic Fluid-Derived Stem Cells: A Promising Resource for Cardiomyogenesis
Sajjad Sisakhtnezhad1, Tahereh Merati11Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Razi University, Kermanshah, Iran,
Amniotic fluid stem cells (AFSCs) are one of the prenatal stem cell populations isolated from the amniotic fluid/membrane. They include different subpopulations from various sources of origin. AFSCs have important characteristics, including high self-renewal and proliferation capacity, immunocompatibility and anti-inflammatory properties, and differentiation potential into cell types of all three germ layers in vitro. Given the cardiomyogenesis potential of AFSCs and their importance in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, this review aims to address the current findings regarding the characteristics of the AFSCs. Moreover, we present the strategies and methods used for the differentiation of AFSCs into cardiomyocytes in vitro and in vivo. This review also describes and discusses findings regarding the possible signaling pathways, the well-known molecular regulators, and modifications that are important for AFSCs and their differentiation potential into the cardiomyocytes. In general, this review indicates that AFSCs can efficiently differentiate into cardiomyocytes by different methods. Moreover, induction of the ERK signaling pathway, upregulation of epigenetic modifiers (GCN5, EZH2, SUZ12, DNMT1/2, and HP-1?) and the cell cycle regulators (p53, p21, Rb, and p130), suppression of HDAC1/2 and stemness markers (OCT4, NANOG, SOX2, KLF4, and REX1), the relative expression of miR-34a and miR-145, and induction of the expression of structural and functional-specific genes of cardiomyocytes (GATA4, Nkx2.5, cTnT, MHC, Myh6, and Tnni3) are the most important molecular changes during the differentiation of AFSCs into the cardiomyocytes. Keywords: Amniotic fluid stem cells, cardiomyogenesis, characterization, epigenetics, mesenchymal stem cells, molecular mechanisms
Cite This Article
Sisakhtnezhad S, Merati T. Amniotic Fluid-Derived Stem Cells: A Promising Resource for Cardiomyogenesis. EJMO. 2023; 7(2): 103-119
Corresponding Author: Sajjad Sisakhtnezhad