Enrichment of collagen plugs with platelets and amniotic fluid cells increases cell proliferation in sealed iatrogenic membrane defects in the foetal rabbit model

Objectives The purpose of this study was to evaluate cell proliferation in platelet-enriched collagen plugs with and without addition of ammotic fluid-derived heterologous foetal cells to seal an iatrogenic membrane defect in the foetal rabbit model. Methods Amniotic fluid cells were harvested from three donor does at 23 days of gestation (term = 32 days) and labelled with carboxyfluorescein diacetate succinimidyl ester (CFDA-SE). In 42 other does, foetal membrane defects were induced by foetoscopic needle puncture at 23 days of gestation, and closed with either a platelet-enriched collagen plug with (it = 44) or without (It = 32) amniotic fluid cells. At 30 days of gestation, the defects were hat-vested and assessed microscopically. Results The plugs enriched with heterologous amniotic fluid cells more commonly had proliferating cells in the centre of the plug than those without cell addition. CFDA-SE labelling confirmed the presence of heterologous amniotic fluid cells over the entire membrane plug. Cell typing showed a mixture of fibroblasts and epithelial cells at the wound edges, whereas in the centre, there was an abundance of fibroblasts. Conclusion When scaling iatrogenic membrane defects in the foetal rabbit model, enrichment of collagen Plugs with platelets and amniotic fluid-derived heterologous foetal cells increases local cell proliferation. Copyright (C) 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.