2. Precancerous epithelial cells isolated from mouse mammary gland grow best in

Question

2. Precancerous epithelial cells isolated from mouse mammary gland grow best in culture media supplemented with high levels of bovine serum (note: serum is plasma minus clotting factors). Culture in a defined medium, containing no serum, results in cessation of growth. However supplementation of this minimal medium with medium in which mouse mammary fat pads have been cultured (i.e., adipocyte-conditioned medium) results in initiation of DNA synthesis in the mammary epithelial cells. (In the organism, the mammary fat pad acts as a source of lipid, which is used by the mammary epithelial cells as an energy source as well as a source of lipid for milk production.) The factor in the conditioned medium that is responsible for the stimulation of DNA synthesis is stable after heating to 100 °C and after treatment with trypsin at 37 °C for 2 h. Answer the following questions: a) Based on this information, propose a hypothesis regarding the identity of the stimulatory factor, and b) What experiments might you perform to prove or disprove your hypothesis?

Explanation / Answer

Naturally fatty acids are heat stable and trypsin resitant (trypsin cannot act on fats, they act on proteins and peptides). When mouse fat pad media is used proliferation observed, this means some of the free fatty acids released in to this media acting as growth stimulants.

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