Amniotic Membrane Applications in Wound Healing

The amniotic membrane is the innermost layer of the foetal placenta, composed of a collagen-rich extracellular matrix, bound growth factors and resident epithelial and mesenchymal stem cells. Its intrinsic properties—low immunogenicity, anti-inflammatory and anti-fibrotic activity, antimicrobial peptide secretion and promotion of angiogenesis—make it an attractive biomaterial for wound care. In clinical practice it is employed as a cryopreserved or dehydrated graft, a decellularised scaffold, a micronised powder or in composite hydrogels and adhesive dressings. These formulations support re-epithelialisation by stimulating keratinocyte migration and proliferation, modulate matrix remodelling to reduce scar formation, and inhibit bacterial colonisation of acute and chronic wounds. Applications span burn treatment, diabetic and venous leg ulcers, surgical donor sites and pressure sores. Ongoing challenges include standardisation of processing and preservation protocols, scalable manufacture, and integration into advanced wound-care devices to address the global burden of non-healing wounds.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Recent studies have elucidated the molecular basis of the amniotic membrane’s antimicrobial function. One investigation demonstrated that viable cryopreserved sheets continuously secrete human β-defensins (HBD-2 and HBD-3) which directly inhibit pathogens such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus, including antibiotic-resistant strains. A complementary study showed that stimulation with interleukin-1β markedly upregulates the release of elafin, LL-37 and additional β-defensins from both epithelial and mesenchymal cells within the membrane. These findings highlight the membrane’s role as a living drug-delivery platform for endogenous antimicrobial peptides, offering a strategy to reduce wound infection without exogenous antibiotics.

Amniotic Membrane Applications in Wound Healing publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in amniotic membrane applications in wound healing across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Extracellular matrix (ECM): A three-dimensional network of collagen fibres, proteoglycans and glycoproteins that provides structural support and biochemical signals during tissue repair.
Keratinocytes: The predominant epidermal cells responsible for re-epithelialisation and barrier restoration in wound healing.
Angiogenesis: The physiological process by which new blood vessels form from existing vasculature, supplying nutrients and oxygen to regenerating tissue.
Decellularisation: A processing method that removes cellular components from tissue to reduce immunogenicity while preserving the native matrix architecture.

References

1. Efficient scarless skin regeneration enabled by loading micronized amnion in a bioinspired adhesive wound dressing. Aggregate (2023).
2. Biological importance of human amniotic membrane in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. Materials Today Bio (2023).
3. Human Amniotic Membrane: A review on tissue engineering, application, and storage. Journal of Biomedical Materials Research Part B Applied Biomaterials (2020).
4. A Review on Modifications of Amniotic Membrane for Biomedical Applications. Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology (2021).
5. Antimicrobial Peptides Secreted From Human Cryopreserved Viable Amniotic Membrane Contribute to its Antibacterial Activity. Scientific Reports (2017).
6. Induction of antimicrobial peptides secretion by IL-1β enhances human amniotic membrane for regenerative medicine. Scientific Reports (2017).