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Zinc levels in zinc-stabilized insulin are inhibitory to the growth of cells in vitro

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Summary

Adult human prostatic epithelium was cultured in a defined medium consisting of RPMI 1640 supplemented with transferrin, insulin, epidermal growth factor, dexamethasone, and vitamin A. In the presence of insulin, stabilized with zinc, maximum epithelial multiplication was obtained at an insulin concentration of 0.03 to 0.1 U/ml, corresponding to a zinc concentration of 1.4×10−7 M. At higher insulin concentrations, growth stimulation declined. Zinc-free insulin, on the other hand, stimulated cell multiplication with an optimum concentration of 0.3 to 1.0 U/ml. At this concentration the maximum growth was twice that obtained with zinc-stabilized insulin. Results demonstrate that growth inhibition caused by zinc limits the concentration of zinc-stabilized insulin, which can be used in serum-free, defined culture media.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Urology, Department of Surgery, School of Medicine, Uniersity of Colorado Health Sciences Center, 4200 East Ninth Avenue, Box C-319, 80262, Denver, Colorado

    Donna M. Charponiere-Rickenberg & Mukta M. Webber

Authors
  1. Donna M. Charponiere-Rickenberg
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  2. Mukta M. Webber
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Additional information

This work was supported by the Division of Cancer Cause and Prevention, National Cancer Institute, DHHS Grant No. CA-28279 to Webber.

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Charponiere-Rickenberg, D.M., Webber, M.M. Zinc levels in zinc-stabilized insulin are inhibitory to the growth of cells in vitro. In Vitro 19, 373–375 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02619553

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02619553

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