HUMAN ANTERIOR PITUITARY ADENOMA CELL ATTACHMENT IN VITRO

摘要

The purpose of this letter is to inform fellow scientists of a method for the attachment of enzymatically dispersed human anterior pituitary adenoma cells, which often adhere poorly to the surface of cell culture dishes preventing dynamic in vitro studies: this is especially recognized for prolactin secreting and nonfunctioning pituitary adenomas (3,10—12). Attempts to enhance pituitary adenoma attachment have included the use of an extracellular matrix derived from bovine corneal endothelium, whichhas been reported to be successful for prolactinomas (3) and Cushing's adenomas (15). It has also been reported that rat pituitary endocrine cells express laminin and collagen IV, and that these cells grow as small clusters on fibroblast monolayers, which in turn are composed of collagen IV, heparin sulphate, and glycoprotein (13). Others have shown that the extracellular matrix components present among epithelial cells forming Rathke's pouch consist of laminin, fibronectin, and collagen IV (8). Therefore, we set out to determine the optimal conditions for the attachment of different human anterior pituitary adenoma subtypes in dispersed culture using a panel of attachment factors: an extracellular matrix derived from bovine corneal endothelial cells, collagen type I and IV, fibronectin, laminin, human extracellular matrix (HEM), poly-1-lysine, plastic, and glass.