CHAPTER 1 - Growth Hormone and Prolactin from Rat Pituitary Tumor Cells

Abstract

Publisher Summary This chapter describes the growth hormone and prolactin from rat pituitary tumor cells. Clonal strains of rat pituitary tumor cells which secrete growth hormone and prolactin into the medium have been serially propagated in culture for 6 years. Production of these two hormones in intact animals is controlled by a variety of factors and these pituitary cell strains respond to many of the same factors as normal pituitary cells. Therefore, these strains provide a homogeneous cell population that is a useful model for determining the mechanism of action of factors which influence the production of growth hormone and prolactin. Growth hormone and prolactin can be measured in the culture medium or in cell homogenates by the technique of microcomplement fixation. The lower limits of the detection of the hormones by this method are 0.025–0.1 μg/ml medium. The amount measured in the medium is not necessarily equivalent to the amount synthesized, because the amount that appears in the medium may be the result of both secretion and degradation. Growth hormone and prolactin can be measured by complement fixation inside the cell.