Stimulating effect of an arteriovenous shunt on the in vivo growth of isografted fibroblasts: A preliminary report

Isogenous fibroblasts derived from the skin of inbred Sprague-Dawley rats w ere cultured in vitro, labeled with bisbenzamide (BB) or carboxyfluorescein diacetate (CFDA), and seeded into polycarbonate growth chambers. After 24 h incubation in vitro, the chambers, either empty or containing an arteriov enous (AV) shunt, were implanted subcutaneously into the inguinal region of Sprague-Dawley rats and examined by fluorescence microscopy 2 or 7 days la ter. The AV shunt remained patent in all experiments. The density of labele d cells on the chamber surface in all chambers decreased in the first 2 day s after insertion. At 7 days, the cell density in the empty chambers had no t altered from the 2-day level, but the density in the AV shunt containing chambers had increased to almost three times the day 2 level (p = 0.013). I t appears that an AV shunt can induce a significant proliferation of fibrob lasts implanted adjacent to it. For at least 7 days after labeling, BB and CFDA provide a simple and effective method of quantitative detection of imp lanted fibroblasts. It is concluded that nutrients from the AV shunt implan ted in a growth chamber result in a significant increase in the number of v iable, matrix-synthesizing cells, compared with AV shunt-free controls.