Amniotic Epithelial Cells - How Natural and Artificial Cues Can Influence the Cargo and Potency of Shed Extracellular Vesicles.

Recent research has shifted towards exploring how stem cells can aid in treating diseases through small vesicles that they secrete, known as extracellular vesicles (EVs). This thesis investigates EVs derived from human amnion epithelial cells (hAECs) - cells from the placental lining known for their low likelihood of triggering immune responses. hAECs have demonstrated both safety in human trials and effectiveness in animal models for brain repair such as multiple sclerosis (MS). The research aimed to investigate the effect of natural (pregnancy complication) and artificial (stimulation of cells in the lab) cues on the therapeutic effect of hAEC-EVs. The results showed that the cargo contained within hAEC-EVs can be manipulated by artificial cues to improve their therapeutic effect in models of MS. Additionally, the adverse events during pregnancy can alter the EV cargo making them unsuitable for clinical application.