Clonal Populations of Amniotic Cells by Dilution and Direct Plating: Evidence for Hidden Diversity

Figure 1

Clonal population of cells from amniocentesis samples. Uncultured amniocentesis samples were diluted into growth media and plated into 24-well tissue-culture-treated plates. (a) Low-magnification image shows an expanding clonal population in one well of 24-well plate as a spherical cluster that is located near the well edge. Arrow indicates cells. (b) Higher magnification (5x) of the same population shows apparently well isolated cells. Representative clonal populations are shown here with passage numbers (p) indicated: (c) PB4A2p4, (d) PB3A5p3, (e) PB1C4p11, and (f) BMMSCp5 control cells. Stromal (c) PB4A2p4 and (e) PB1C4p11 cell populations resemble (f) BMMSCp4 cells, showing irregular cell boundaries while (d) PB3B5 epithelial cells were typically spheroid and often found in clusters with closely apposed boundaries. Scale bar, 100 microns. Magnification is identical in (c), (d), (e), and (f).