Abstract
Summary
The influence of level of sodium bicarbonate and temperature on lactogen production by rat anterior pituitaries cultured in vitro was studied. Pituitaries were cultured for 3 days in the chemically defined mixture 199. When compared with the 2.5 ml group, addition of 2.0 ml of 2.8% NaHCO3 per 25 ml medium resulted in a 19.2% higher lactogen production. Anterior pituitaries cultured at 37°C produced 22.5% more lactogen than those cultured at 35°C, and 16.7% more than those cultured at 39°C. At the highest temperature, AP tissue damage was noted. When the bicarbonate level and culture temperature were optimum for lactogen production, anterior pituitaries synthesized and released 11.2 times more lactogen than that which was initially introduced into the culture system with the pituitary gland.
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