Functional Studies after Storage at -190 °C of Isolated and Cultivated Pituitary Cells from Pig and Rat

Summary

For the first time, it is shown here that enzymatically dispersed pituitary cells of animals survive freezing and storage at -190 °C in liquid nitrogen. Frozen/thawed pituitary cells from both rat and pig are able to form monolayer aggregates in culture, and to produce hormones similar to that observed with unfrozen cells. The production of both basal and LHRH (luteinising hormone releasing-hormone)-induced bioassayable LH (luteinising hormone) were measured before and after cryopreservation. Though after cryopreservation the number of cells was reduced by about 50%, a highly significant amount of both basal and LHRH stimulation-induced release of LH was measured in cultures from frozen/thawed pituitary cells from both species.

Key-Words

Cryopreservation - Pituitary Cells - Culture - Rat - Pig - Luteinising Hormone