Abstract
Extract: Amniotic fluid obtained transabdominally for prenatal diagnosis (mean length of amenorrhea 16.1 weeks) contained between 10 and 10 cells/ml, the great majority of which were squamous; their labeling index with ( H)thymidine was < 2 × 10-3. An average of 3.5 clones ( > 10 cells)/ml fluid grew; of these, an average of 1.5 grew for >20 population doublings (CPD). Of 288 clones analyzed from 20 cases, 271 could be classified into one of three groups: group I, 24 were typical fibroblast-like cells (F cells) comparable with control clones from neonatal dermis with macroscopic “ribbing” growth pattern of megaclones, preponderance of spindle-shaped cells growing in parallel arrays, and high growth potential (mean of selected clones = 53 CPD); group II, 67 were typical epithelioid types (E cells) consisting of cells with intimate cell-to-cell contact which were resistant to trypsin detachment, with poor subcloning efficiencies and poor growth potential (mean of selected clones 14.5 CPD); group III, the predominant class with 180 clones, was of a type not described previously (AF cells); their megaclones had “bulls-eye” growth patterns, individual cells were pleomorphic, and growth potentials were intermediate to those of E and F cells. This tripartite classification holds for the majority of samples, but individual variation is suggested by the observation of exceptional clonal types sharing characteristics of both the E and AF class.
Speculation: The AF cell is the predominant type in most diagnostic amniotic fluid cultures; heretofore, such cultures were widely regarded as consisting primarily of fibroblast and epithelial-like cells. Skin fibroblast cultures are therefore inappropriate controls for the interpretation of constitutive and induced levels of enzymes in such cultures. Established amniotic fluid cell cultures are derived from a single or a few clonable cells with high growth potential and therefore may not always be representative of the fetus.
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Hoehn, H., Bryant, E., Karp, L. et al. Cultivated Cells from Diagnostic Amniocentesis in Second Trimester Pregnancies. I. Clonal Morphology and Growth Potential. Pediatr Res 8, 746–754 (1974). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-197408000-00003
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-197408000-00003
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