Stem Cells in Amniotic Fluid - What are the Next Steps to Do?

Journal für Reproduktionsmedizin und Endokrinologie - Journal of Reproductive Medicine and Endocrinology 2005; 2 (4): 233-238

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Keywords: Endokrinologie,  Fruchtwasser,  Pluripotenzgen Oct-4,  Stammzelle,  amniotic fluid,  differentiation potential,  endocrinology,  oct-4,  stem cell

It is the hope of patients and investigators that in future the characterisation and isolation of human stem cells will allow the establishment of new therapeutic concepts for a wide variety of diseases. Recently, we found a new source for stem cells. Human amniotic fluid contains cells, which express Oct-4, a marker for pluripotent stem cells. In addition, we described amniotic fluid cells expressing markers for neuronal stem cells. The latter harbour the potential to differentiate into neurogenic cells. This opened a new field in stem cell research. In this review I want to summarise the current knowledge about amniotic fluid cells focusing on the open questions, which need to be investigated in future.