中文摘要：

孕中期羊水中细胞培养和核型鉴定广泛应用于产前诊断领域，可以发现一系列胎儿发育异常。近来，许多研究表明羊水中含有胎儿的干细胞，这些细胞能否应用于干细胞和组织工程学领域成为研究热点。综述了羊水中细胞的组成、来源、生物学特性、干细胞特性及组织工程学应用等方面的内容，并对研究前景进行展望。

英文摘要：

Amniotic fluid cells are used for prenatal diagnosis of a wide rang of fetal abnormalities caused by genetic mutations. Recent observations on cell cultures from amniotic fluid obtained by second-trimester amniocentesis provide evidence that they may represent a new source for the isolation of muhipotent stem cells. In this paper we reviewed the compose of amniotic fluid ceils and their origin, biological characteristic, muhipotent stem cells, and their prospects of application in tissue engineering.