Effects of fibroblast growth factor and epidermal growth factor on the rate of growth of amniotic fluid-derived cells.

Primary cultures of cells derived from human and bovine amniotic fluid were cultivated in Dulbecco's modified Eagles medium with 20% fetal calf serum. Whereas increased concentrations of fetal calf or other types of serum bring about no further mitogenic response, the rate of growth of these cells was nevertheless sharply increased when 100 ng/ml of FGF was added to the culture media. The FGF induced mitogenic effect was statistically significant. EGF at 100 ng/ml had a less pronounced effect which, when analyzed statistically, was not significant. Amniotic fluid-derived cells are used for the prenatal detection of genetic disorders. The use of FGF to increase the rate of growth of these cells should reduce the time required between amniocentesis and diagnosis.