Calcification of Cell Cultures in the Presence of Embryo Juice and Mammalian Sera

Abstract

Summary and Conclusions

1. Chick embryo juice, in concentrations suitable for chick cell cultures, induces calcification of the cell colonies and plasma in mammalian cell cultures.

2. Fresh embryo pulp and extract are saturated with Ca and P. Ca and particularly P increase with age of the embryos, their ratios being 1:2.4 at 11 days. Upon incubation the P increases an additional 30%percnt;.

3. Pasteurization of embryo extracts inactivates the phosphatases and prevents calcification in cell cultures receiving high concentrations of embryo juice.

4. Calcification of cultures in the presence of mammalian sera is due to combining the Ca of serum and salt solution with the high levels of P in embryo juice, to the further liberation of P during incubation, and to the limited Ca X P products held in solution by mammalian sera.

5. The calcifying propensity of chicken serum is much less than that of 3 mammalian sera, which may be arranged as follows: human < bovine < rabbit.