EndoC-βH1 cells display increased sensitivity to sodium palmitate when cultured in DMEM/F12 medium

摘要

Aims - Human pancreatic islets are known to die in response to the free fatty acid of sodium palmitate when cultured in vitro. This is in contrast to EndoC-βH1 cells, which in our hands are not sensitive to the cell death-inducing effects sodium palmitate, making these cells seemingly unsuitable for lipotoxicity studies. However, the EndoC-βH1 cells are routinely cultured in a nutrient mixture based on Dulbecco's Modified Eagle Medium (DMEM), which may not be the optimal choice for studies dealing with lipotoxicity. The aim of the present investigation was to define culture conditions that render EndoC-βH1 cells sensitive to toxic effects of sodium palmitate.