RegenAP
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Regenerative medicine potentials of amniotic fluid and placental stem cells
IRAS ID
161362
Contact name
Pensee Wu
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University Hospital of North Staffordshire NHS Trust
Research summary
Stem cell therapy using mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) has great potential for human diseases such as stroke, heart failure, or babies with congenital diseases. It is already being used in several clinical trials. Amniotic fluid and placental stem cells are new types of MSCs which grow faster and have fewer ethical concerns than other MSCs.
We will collect amniotic fluid and placental chorionic stem cells from the following 3 sources:
1. Amniocentesis for 2nd trimester amniotic fluid cells. The initial 2 mL of amniotic fluid are discarded routinely during amniocentesis, which will be collected.
2. Chorionic villus sampling (CVS) for 1st trimester placental chorionic stem cells. Excess chorionic villi from the procedure will be collected if available.
3. Placentas from Caesarean sections for 3rd trimester placental chorionic stem cells. The placenta is routinely discarded post-delivery, which will be used to isolate MSCs.Currently, MSCs are grown in cell cultures with animal derived serum (nutrients). In view of health and safety concerns, clinically it is more acceptable to have MSCs grown under serum-free conditions. As other types of MSCs have been successfully grown under serum-free conditions, we believe that amniotic fluid and placental chorionic stem cells can also grow under these conditions and be able to differentiate into clinically useful cell types. If successful, this research will help us to treat diseases using the person’s own stem cells from the placenta at the time of their birth, which has no risk of rejection or contamination compared with using stem cells from other people.
REC name
London - Camden & Kings Cross Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
14/LO/1501
Date of REC Opinion
14 Aug 2014
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion