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Tissue Science 2019
June 17-18, 2019
London, UK
Advances in Tissue
Engineering and
Biomaterials Science
13th Edition of International Conference on
Journal of Biomedical Sciences
ISSN: 2254-609X Page 23
Amniotic membrane mapping discloses novel promising
features of amniotic membrane epithelial cells for
regenerative medicine purposes
Roberta Di Pietro
G. d’Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Italy
The amniotic membrane (AM) is the innermost part
of the placenta, in direct contact with the amniotic
fluid. In recent years the interest toward placenta stem
cells has been increasingly growing, due in part to the
absence of any ethical issues concerning their isolation.
At present, two main stem cells populations have been
identified in AM: amniotic epithelial cells (AECs) and
amniotic mesenchymal stromal cells (AMSCs). Although
AM is an excellent source of cells for regenerative
medicine, also due to its immune-modulatory properties
and low immunogenicity, only a few papers have
studied its sub-regions. Thus, our focus was to map the
human AM under physiological conditions to identify
possible differences in morpho-functional features and
regenerative capacity of its components. Human term
placentas were collected from healthy women after
vaginal delivery or caesarean section at Fondazione
Poliambulanza-Istituto Ospedaliero of Brescia, University
Hospital of Cagliari and SS. Annunziata Hospital of
Chieti. Samples of AM were isolated from four different
regions according to their position relative to umbilical
cord (central, intermediate, peripheral, reflected). By
means of immunohistochemistry, morphometry, flow
cytometry, electron microscopy, CFU assays, RT-PCR
and AECs in vitro differentiation we demonstrated the
existence of different morpho-functional features in the
different regions of AM, highlighting that AECs are a
heterogeneous cell population.This shouldbeconsidered
to increase efficiency of amniotic membrane application
within a therapeutic context.
Biography
Roberta Di Pietro got the degree in Medicine cum Laude in
1985 and the Specialization in Sports Medicine cum Laude in
1988, University of Chieti, Italy. She worked as a Visiting Scien-
tist at the Biochemistry Department, AFRC, Cambridge, UK; at
the Pathology Department, USUHS, Bethesda, USA, and at the
Institute of Human Virology, University of Maryland, Baltimore,
USA. She got the position of Full Professor of Histology and
Embryology at the University of Chieti since 2005. She joined
the Editorial Board of Current Pharmaceutical Design as an
Executive Guest Editor and, recently, the Editorial Academy of
the International Journal of Oncology as an Honorary Member.
She was recognized as a Registered Referee for Archives of
Ophthalmological Reviews and Reproductive Biology and En-
docrinology. She is now author of 200 scientific publications
plus international e-book chapters, editorials, Italian textbooks
and 1 Italian patent.
Roberta Di Pietro, J Biomedical Sci 2019, Volume 08