In vitro characteristics of human fetal cells obtained from chorionic villus sampling and amniocentesis.

In vitro characteristics of human fetal cells have been investigated after chorionic villus sampling at the first trimester and amniocentesis at the second trimester of pregnancy. Light microscopy revealed heterogeneous morphology of cell types in both the chorionic villus culture and the amniotic fluid cultures. Based on the experiments performed, chorionic villus cells are more sensitive to pronase, trypsin, and versene during subculture and have a higher DNA content per single cell and release more [125I]-Beta-human chorionic gonadotropin into culture medium than those found in amniotic fluid cells. The practical applications of this study are discussed.