Cell and Molecular Biology and Imaging of Stem Cells: Stem Cells from the Amniotic Fluid and Placenta

The lack of available treatments, including organ transplantation, for treatment of disorders and diseases has raised interest in stem cell therapy in the recent years. Stem cells are an attractive alternate therapy due to their low immunogenicity and multilineage differentiation potential. Certain sources of stem cells, including induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), adult stem cells, and Peri-natal stem cells, present the opportunity of autologous cell therapy. Peri-natal stem cells can be isolated from gestational tissue such as the placenta, placental membranes, and the amniotic fluid. Peri-natal stem cells offer advantages over other stem cell sources, mainly with regard to the availability of gestational tissue. Obtaining gestational tissue would circumvent invasive procedures and ethical and legal concerns. Researchers have demonstrated the multiple cell types that can be derived from Peri-natal stem cells, including hematopoietic, osteogenic, chondrogenic, adipogenic, endothelial, myogenic, neural, and lung cells, and hence provide an exciting means for regeneration of blood/immune system, bone, cartilage, heart muscle, neural, and lung tissue. In addition, Peri-natal stem cells possess immunomodulatory properties that render them an attractive therapy for inflammatory conditions such as Crohn's disease and graft versus host disease. This chapter provides a comprehensive review on isolation, characterization, differentiation potential, immunomodulatory proprieties, and cell therapy applications of Peri-natal stem cells.