Second and third trimester amniotic fluid mesenchymal stem cells can repopulate a de-cellularized lung scaffold and express lung markers

Background/PurposeThis study examined the potential of amniotic fluid mesenchymal stem cells (AF-MSCs) to generate lung precursor cells in vitro and on a xenologous three-dimensional de-cellularized lung scaffold.MethodsAF-MSCs were isolated from human amniotic fluid obtained from 17–37 weeks gestation. Lung differentiation was induced on Matrigel or on de-cellularized rat lungs intra-tracheally injected with AF-MSCs by culturing with a modification of small airway growth medium (mSAGM) lacking retinoic acid (RA) and triodothyronine (T3) with addition of fibroblast growth factor-10 (FGF10). Cells and scaffolds were characterized by immunofluorescence and RT-PCR for markers of viability, proliferation, and lung distal airway differentiation (TTF-1+ and SPC+) in the absence of markers of brain (TuJ1−) and thyroid (Pax8−).ResultsAfter culture in mSAGM on either Matrigel or lung scaffolds, there were TTF-1+/TuJ1−/Pax8− cells, indicating a lung precursor phenotype. In addition, SPC+ cells also evolved suggesting a more mature lung phenotype.ConclusionsWe demonstrate that mid- to late-trimester AF-MSCs can be induced to develop into lung precursor cells when cultured on the appropriate extracellular matrix (ECM), making them a viable source for use in cell therapy or development of an ex vivo tissue engineered lung.