Human amniotic epithelial cells (HAECS); a potential cell type for the hepatic disorders Authors Qurat Ul Ain Khan Department of Anatomy, Ziauddin University, karachi pakistan Shumaila Usman Department of Molecular Medicine, Ziauddin University, karachi pakistan Kanwal Haneef Dr Zafar H. Zaidi Centre for Proteomics, University of Karachi, Karachi, Pakistan. Bushra Wasim Khan Department of Anatomy, Ziauddin University, karachi pakistan Talat Mirza Department of Molecular Medicine, Ziauddin University, karachi pakistan DOI: https://doi.org/10.47391/JPMA-DUHS-S11 Abstract Objective: To isolate a homogenous population of human amniotic epithelial cells (hAECs) from the amniotic membrane of the human placenta and differentiate them into hepatic-like cells with the help of small molecules. Method: hAECs were isolated by using the enzymatic digestion method and characterized for the presence of specific stem cell markers. In-vitro, hepatic differentiation of hAECs was carried out by using a combination of small molecules. Differentiated cells were observed under a live cell imaging microscope for morphological changes followed by gene and protein expression analysis by qPCR and immunocytochemistry respectively. Results: The isolated hAECs attained characteristic cuboid epithelial shape and express stem cells marker. The hepatic differentiation method was optimized based on soluble chemical compounds supplied in the culture medium. The differentiated hAECs phenotypically acquire hepatic-like cell features and expressed hepatic markers as well as hepatic protein albumin at immature levels. Conclusion: The isolated population of hAECs is highly proliferative. Moreover, hepatic markers expression in the isolated hAECs makes them an exclusive source for the treatment of chronic liver diseases. Keywords: Amnion, Immunohistochemistry, Epithelial, Albumins, Liver, Digestion, Placenta Downloads Full Text Article Published 2024-02-11 How to Cite Qurat Ul Ain Khan, Shumaila Usman, Kanwal Haneef, Bushra Wasim Khan, & Talat Mirza. (2024). Human amniotic epithelial cells (HAECS); a potential cell type for the hepatic disorders. Journal of the Pakistan Medical Association, 74(2), S51-S58. https://doi.org/10.47391/JPMA-DUHS-S11 More Citation Formats ACM ACS APA ABNT Chicago Harvard IEEE MLA Turabian Vancouver Download Citation Endnote/Zotero/Mendeley (RIS) BibTeX Issue Vol. 74 No. 2 (2024): 1st International Conference On Biomedical Sciences Section Research Article License Copyright (c) 2024 Journal of the Pakistan Medical Association This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.