THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS PROJECT IS TO FORMULATE DEFINED SERUM-FREE MEDIA THAT CAN SUSTAIN THE GROWTH OF PRIMARY AND/OR EARLY PASSAGE RODENT EMBRYO CELLS THAT ARE COMMONLY USED IN STUDIES ON THE MECHANISMS OF CARCINOGENESIS AS WELL AS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF

THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS PROJECT IS TO FORMULATE DEFINED SERUM-FREE MEDIA THAT CAN SUSTAIN THE GROWTH OF PRIMARY AND/OR EARLY PASSAGE RODENT EMBRYO CELLS THAT ARE COMMONLY USED IN STUDIES ON THE MECHANISMS OF CARCINOGENESIS AS WELL AS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF GENETIC TOXICOLOGY ASSAYS. PHASE I STUDIES INVOLVE: A. SELECTION OF A BASE MEDIUM THAT WOULD GIVE A MAXIMUM PROLIFERATIVE POTENTIAL TO SYRIAN HAMSTER EMBRYO CELLS (DETERMINED FROM GROWTH CURVES AT DIFFERENT CELL DENSITIES AND SERUM CONCENTRATIONS) IN VARIOUS CONVENTIONAL BASAL MEDIA AND COMBINATIONS THEREOF. B. PREPARATION OF AN INTERIM MEDIUM THAT YIELDS MAXIMUM ATTACHMENT OF THESE ANCHORAGE-DEPENDENT CELLS TO PLASTIC SUBSTRATA WITHOUT LOSS OF VIABILITY AND DEVELOPMENT OF A SERUM-FREE PROLIFERATION MEDIUM THAT CAN SUPPORT THE GROWTH OF THE ATTACHED CELLS. THIS WILL BE ACHIEVED BY SELECTING THE ADDITIVES (GROWTH FACTORS, HORMONES, LIPOPROTEINS, ETC.) AFTER ASSAYING FOR THEIR DIRECT AND INDIRECT EFFECTS ON CELL GROWTH. DURING PHASE I, PROTOTYPE OF A SERUM-FREE MEDIUM WILL BE PREPARED AND PARTIALLY CHARACTERIZED WITH RESPECT TO ITS ABILITY TO SUPPORT TRANSFORMATION OF HAMSTER EMBRYO CELLS WITH 7,12-DIMETHYLBENZ(A)ANTHRACENE AS A PRELUDE TO FURTHER DEVELOPMENT. THE OBJECTIVE OF PHASE II WILL BE THE DEVELOPMENT OF MORE SPECIALIZED MEDIA FOR THIS AND OTHER CELL TYPES USED IN IN VITRO TRANSFORMATION STUDIES AND THE EVENTUAL PRODUCTION OF APPROPRIATE SERUM-FREE MEDIA ON A COMMERCIAL BASIS.