Maintenance of bile acid synthesis and cholesterol 7α-hydroxylase activity in cultured rat hepatocytes

Abstract

Addition of foetal-bovine serum to rat hepatocytes cultured in Williams E medium resulted in improved maintenance of bile-acid-synthetic capacity and cholesterol 7α-hydroxylase activity as compared with cultures supplemented with rat or newborn-bovine serum or cultures in a hormonally defined serum-free medium. Minimally, 5% (v/v) foetal-bovine serum was necessary to maintain these liver-specific functions. Serum factor(s) responsible for these effects were not dialysable or associated with lipoproteins, but were removed by charcoal extraction.