Constitution, Viability, and Lactate Dehydrogenase in Stationary-Phase L-Cell Suspension Cultures
André D. Glinos 1,
Robert J. Werrlein 1, and
Nicholas M. Papadopoulos 1
1 Department of Cellular Physiology, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Washington, D. C.
Starved suspension cultures of L cells exhibit a plateau phase of short duration followed by loss of key cellular constituents and rapidly decreasing viability. In contrast, regularly fed,. undiluted cultures remain stationary at a high cell density for prolonged periods without structural alterations or loss of viability. The L cells contain a single lactate dehydrogenase isozyme with an electrophoretic mobility similar to that of lactate-dehydrogenase-5. High-density stationary cultures show a tenfold increase of the specific activity of this enzyme and a recurrent biphasic pattern of carbohydrate utilization with, first, production and, later, consumption of lactate.
