Vol.30 No.3 (2008 June): 397-400

The Cultivation and Proliferation of Rabbit's Amniotic Epithelial Cells in Vitro

Ling Jin, Jian Chen*, Jing Wu¹, Qing Zhou, Xiao-Yong Liu, Fang Zhao, Jing-Tang Xu¹, Song-Bin Zhao¹

(Department of Ophthalmology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, China; ¹Ophthalmology Laboratory, Medical College of Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, China)

Abstract Rabbit's amniotic epithelial cells (AECs) were obtained from rabbits at the late trimester of pregnancy (27-28E) and culturated in vitro. The AECs were observed under the light microscope and the scanning electron microscope. By using immunohistochemical staining, the AECs were examined to evaluate the expression of cytokeratin with monoclonal antibody AE1/AE3 and AE5. The influence of EGF and fetal bovine serum (FBS) on the cell cycle of AECs was determined by using flow cytometry. Rabbits' AECs at the late trimester of pregnancy grew well and proliferated actively in vitro. Immunohistochemical staining showed that the expression of AE1/AE3 and AE5 of the cultured AECs was positive. Compared with the control group, the percentage of cells at different phrase changed. Those at the G₀/G₁ phase decreased, while cells at the S phase and G₂/M phase increased. The cell proliferation index (PI) increased, P<0.01. The co-application of EGF and serum group was compared with the EGF group and FBS group respectively, P<0.05. The AECs had cytokeratin CK3. Both of EGF and FBS could promote the proliferation of AECs and the influence of the co-application of EGF and serum on the proliferation was more significant.

Key words rabbit; amniotic epithelial cells; in vitro; cell cycle

Received: October 24, 2007 Accepted: January 16, 2008
The work was supported by the Technology Plan Item Foundation of Guangdong Province (No.2003A3020104) and the Important Subjects Foundation of the Overseas Chinese Foreign Office of the State Council (No.51205004)
Corresponding author. Tel: 86-20-38688003, E-mail: drchenj@163.com