Ascorbic acid, cell proliferation, and cell differentiation in culture.

Abstract

The effects of vitamin C in tissue culture have not been systematically investigated for several reasons: (1) being an essential micronutrient for a limited number of species only (primates, guinea pigs, passeriformis birds, and some reptiles), ascor-bate has not been considered a generally crucial additive of tissue culture media; (2) cultures of primary cells regularly, and those of pertinent cell lines often require supplementation of the media by serum whereby ascorbate is provided at variable but amounts obviously sufficient for proliferation; (3) due to its instability under aerobic conditions and elevated temperatures the actual ascorbate content during the course of a tissue culture remains uncertain if not specifically determined. Also, high doses of ascorbate may be detrimental to cultured cells (see Section 2), particularly in serum-free media. Consequently, supplementation of tissue culture media by vitamin C has been routinely neglected, unless a specific requirement became obvious or a specific scientific problem was to be addressed.