Osteogenic differentiation of amniotic fluid mesenchymal stromal cells and their bone regeneration potential

Figure 1 In vitro and in vivo application of amniotic fluid-derived cells. Amniotic fluid-derived cells isolated from amniotic fluid samples obtained following ultrasound-guided amniocentesis (1) for genetic test (2), could be in vitro expanded (3). These cells may be genetically manipulated and transplanted back into the same fetus (4). AF-derived cells can be used unselected (AF-MSCs) or selected for CD117 (AFSCs) (5). Both cellular populations can be in vitro differentiated in 2D (6) or 3D (7) culture conditions. They represent an ideal in vitro model for testing osteoinductive molecules (8) and for in vivo autologous or allogeneic transplantation (9). Alternatively, they could also be banked (10) and adopted post-thawing.