Author(s)

Julio Cesar Francisco, Ricardo Correa Cunha, Rossana Baggio Simeoni, Luiz Cesar Guarita-Souza, Reginaldo Justino Ferreira, Ana Carolina Irioda, Carolina Maria C. Oliveira Souza, Garikipati Venkata Naga Srikanth, Soniya Nityanand, Juan Carlos Chachques, Katherine Athayde Teixeira de Carvalho

1Bioprocess Engineering and Biotechnology Department, Federal University of Paraná, Curitiba, Brazil 2Cell Therapy and Biotechnology in Regenerative Medicine Research Group, Pelé Pequeno Príncipe Institute, Curitiba, Brazil.
Bioprocess Engineering and Biotechnology Department, Federal University of Paraná, Curitiba, Brazil 2Cell Therapy and Biotechnology in Regenerative Medicine Research Group, Pelé Pequeno Príncipe Institute, Curitiba, Brazil.
Bioprocess Engineering and Biotechnology Department, Federal University of Paraná, Curitiba, BrazilFederal University of Technology, Curitiba, Brazil.
Cell Therapy and Biotechnology in Regenerative Medicine Research Group, Pelé Pequeno Príncipe Institute, Curitiba, Brazil.
Department of Hematology, Stem Cell Research Faculty, Sanjay Gandhi Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow, India.
Experimental Laboratory of Institute of Biological and Health Sciences, Pontificial Catholic University of Paraná (PUCPR), Rua Imaculada Concei??o, Curitiba, Brazil.
Laboratory of Biosurgical Research, Pompidou Hospital, University of Paris Descartes, Paris, France.

Existing therapies for the treatment of chronic heart failure still have some limitations and there is a pressing need for the development of new therapeutic modalities. The amniotic membrane has been used for the treatment of various diseases, such as conjunctive defects; however, the mechanisms behind its repair functions are still unclear. Regenerative medicine is seeking newer alternatives and among them, biomaterials have emerged in recent years for developing and manipulating molecules, cells, tissues or organs grown in laboratories in order to replace human body parts. Many such materials have been used for this purpose, either synthetically or biologically, in order to provide new medical devices. This review provides a wider view of the regeneration potential of the use of amniotic membrane as a potential biomaterial to facilitate the implementation of new research in surgical procedures. Amniotic membrane appears to be an alternative source of stem cells as well as an excellent biomaterial for cell-based therapeutic applications in engineering heart tissue.

 

Amniotic Membrane; Heart; Tissue; Engineering; Stem Cells

Francisco, J. , Cunha, R. , Simeoni, R. , Guarita-Souza, L. , Ferreira, R. , Irioda, A. , Souza, C. , Srikanth, G. , Nityanand, S. , Chachques, J. and de Carvalho, K. (2013) Amniotic membrane as a potent source of stem cells and a matrix for engineering heart tissue. Journal of Biomedical Science and Engineering, 6, 1178-1185. doi: 10.4236/jbise.2013.612147.