Comparison of Histological Characteristics of Dried and Fresh Amnion Membranes and Dura Mater in Non-Human Primate (Macaca fascicularis)

Amniotic membrane (AM), a hospital waste product, is a potential source for tissue donor. There are several types of AM, namely dried and fresh-AM. AM being challange to be grafted in the clinical application of duramater replacement in neurosurgery cases. This study aimed to characterize the histological properties of dry-lyophilized amniotic membrane, fresh amniotic membrane (AM), and duramater membrane in search for a biologically-derived material suitable for meninges surface reconstruction. This descriptive study was conducted at the Unit-3 Laboratory of Animal Test of PT Bio Farma (Persero), Bandung and Cell Biology Laboratory of the Faculty of Medicine Universitas Padjadjaran Bandung. Fresh Macaca fascicularis placenta from healthy donors, classified as specific pathogen-free for TB, SIV, SV40, Polio type 1,2,3, Foamy virus and Herpes B virus, were obtained from selected caesarean sections. The harvested dried and fresh AM and duramater membrane were stained with hematoxylin-eosin and prepared for characterization. Histological examination of dry-lyophilized and fresh AM showed similar results. Histologically, AM is represented by a single layer of metabolically-active cuboidal to columnar epithelium with microvilli firmly attached to a basement membrane and an avascular and relatively sparsely populated stroma. Meninges layers consists of 3 layers: duramater, arachnoid membrane, and piamater. Most of these cells have the same characteristics as fibroblasts, including long organelles and nuclei with various levels of fibril formation. The histological study of amniotic membrane and duramater membrane shows comparable results. The AM is a biologically-derived material suitable for meninges surface reconstruction since its histological structure is somewhat similar to that of the duramater. Its structure is ideal for replacing duramater since it has several characteristics, such as having hygroscopic properties, good biocompatibility, relatively easy to apply, and inexpensive.