Anna C. F. Ruckert

CONTROL MECHANISMS FOR GONADOTROPHIC HORMONE PRODUCTION IN VITRO

SummaryAn internal control mechanism capable of controlling gonadotrophic hormone secretion in the human trophoblast has been identified by incubation of an established cell line with a precursor of progesterone.Biological, biochemical, and electron microscopic findings verify inhibition of gonadotrophic hormone synthesis, depletion of glycogen, activation of phosphorylase, the glycogen-metabolizing enzyme, and ultrastructural appearance of liquid-containing cytoplasmic granules in single cells, indicative of steroid synthesis.

Immunodiagnosis in ovarian cancer: Blocking factor activity☆☆☆

Tumor immunology studies have been utilized for development of a blocking factor assay for therapy monitoring in ovarian cancer. The blocking factor index was defined as the arithmetic difference between assays conducted in the presence and absence of the patients serum compared to incubations with normal control lymphocytes. Eighteen advanced ovarian epithelial malignancies have shown blocking factor activity during treatment. Blocking factor has abated in eight patients whose clinical disease completely regressed. Chemotherapy was discontinued after 18 to 24 months. In 10 patients, blocking factor persisted and chemotherapy has been continued. Some of these patients showed decreasing blocking factor; others have shown increases, which led to death due to disseminated disease in four cases. Blocking factor activity was found to correlate with tumor growth.

Optimization of the production of hcgβ-like material by caski human cervical carcinoma cells in roller bottle culture

This study was aimed at optimizing large-scale roller bottle culture conditions for CaSki human cervical carcinoma cells, to produce ectopic hCG beta-like material in quantities sufficient for subsequent characterization studies. Several cell culture techniques contributed to the achievement of this goal: (1) use of serum-free culture medium; (2) use of intermittent recovery periods in presence of serum; and (3) ultrafiltration of the serum-free medium pool for initial concentration of 100-fold.