Behaviour of fibroblastic cells cultured in collagen I using the sandwich technique

Vero cells, a fibroblastic lineage derived from fibroblastic kidney cells of the African green monkey, were cultivated by means of the sandwich technique, involving glass coverslip/collagen and collagen/collagen with varied foetal calf serum concentrations in the culture medium. The cells, cultured on coverslips, then received a type I collagen gel layer on top, and migrated from the coverslip to the collagen layer. When the cells were cultivated on collagen followed by a covering of type I collagen gel, the cells migrated into both collagen layers. Cellular morphology was similar, independent of the type of sandwich and serum concentration used. Cells in contact with collagen either migrated into the layer or formed a basal lamina separating them from the collagen matrix. The formation of a basal lamina with laminin and collagen IV deposition was most noticeable when 20% foetal calf serum was used in the culture medium. Cellular infiltration into the collagen gel was most evident with the use of 10% foetal calf serum. The gel contraction was similar for the two serum concentrations employed.