Update on amniotic membrane transplantation

Abstract

Cryopreserved amniotic membrane modulates adult wound healing by promoting epithelialization while suppressing stromal inflammation, angiogenesis and scarring. Such clinical efficacies of amniotic membrane transplantation have been reported in several hundred publications for a wide spectrum of ophthalmic indications. The success of the aforementioned therapeutic actions prompts investigators to use amniotic membrane as a surrogate niche to achieve ex vivo expansion of ocular surface epithelial progenitor cells. Further investigation into the molecular mechanism whereby amniotic membrane exerts its actions will undoubtedly reveal additional applications in the burgeoning field of regenerative medicine. This article will focus on recent advances in amniotic membrane transplantation and expand to cover its clinical uses beyond the ocular surface.

Keywords::

• amniotic membrane
• cryopreservation
• fibrosis
• inflammation
• ocular surface
• reconstruction
• regenerative medicine
• tissue engineering
• wound healing

Financial & competing interests disclosure

This work was supported in part by research grants (EY06819, EY14768, EY015735 and EY 017497 to Scheffer CG Tseng, and EY 019785 to Hosam Sheha) from the National Eye Institute, NIH (Bethesda, MD, USA), and grant no. 30801262 from the National Natural Science Foundation of China. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.

Notes

• SJS: Stevens–Johnson syndrome; TEN: Toxic epidermal necrolysis.