Reliable detection of cystic fibrosis in skin-derived fibroblast cultures.

The specific induction of alkaline phosphatase with Tamm-Horsfall glycoprotein, isoproterenol, and theophylline 
in skin-derived fibroblast cultures from patients with cystic fibrosis permits one 
to reliably discriminate between cystic fibrosis patients on the one hand, 
and heterozygotes and normals on the other. It was found the 
fibroblast-like and intermediary types of amniotic fluid-derived cells behave essentially like 
skin-derived fibroblasts. These findings imply that if different amniotic fluid cell 
types can be reliably separated, prenatal diagnosis of cystic fibrosis should 
become feasable in the near future. 