Figure 1

Characterization and phenotype of isolated Amniotic epithelial cells (AECs). (A) Primary culture of human AECs. AECs were successfully isolated from human term placenta and formed a confluent monolayer of cobblestone-shaped epithelial cells after 3 days of culture in the standard culture media (magnification of 200×). (B) Surface antigen SSEA-4 and the pluripotency marker Oct-4 in primary cultured AECs. Flow cytometry revealed the presence of SSEA-4 (54.2%) and Oct-4 (92.8%) in primary cultured AECs. The open peaks show the isotype-matched antibody control. (C) Specific marker of epithelial cells identified by immunocytochemistry. Primary cultured AECs could express cytokeratin 19, the epithelial cell marker (magnification of 200×).