Objective To investigate the effect of acid, basic fibroblast growth factor (aFGF, bFGF) and epidermal growth factor (EGF), andtheir combination on the proliferation of rabbit anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and medial collateral ligament (MCL) in vitro. Methods Thecells of ACL and MCL were isolated and subcultured from the knee joints of tenweek-old New Zealand white rabbits. The cells were seeded into 96-well corning cluster plates. Three growth factors of different concentration alone or in combination were added into the culture medium respectively, which were 0, 1, 5, 10, 50 and 100 ng/ml for aFGF, bFGF and 0, 1.56, 3.13, 6.25, 12.5, 25 and 50 ng/ml for EGF. The proliferation of the fibroblasts was measured for 48 h with XTT method. Results All of the three growth factors alone promoted the cell proliferation of ACL and MCL fibroblasts. The concentration of aFGF hada significant effect on the proliferation of both ACL and MCL fibroblasts. The concentration of 1 ng/ml bFGF and 5 ng/ml EGF was most effective in promoting the proliferation of ACL, and both bFGF and EGF had a significant effect on MCL. 5ng/ml aFGF with 50 ng/ml EGF had effect on ACL. 1 ng/ml aFGF with 3.13 ng/ml EGF had effect on MCL. Conclusion The three growth factors may promote the cell proliferation of ACL and MCL. These findings suggest that topical application of aFGF, either alone or in combination with EGF may have the potential to promote the proliferation of rabbit ACL and MCL,and aFGF of low concentration in combination with EGF is more effective than single growth factor.
