CHAPTER 8
Amino Acid and Protein Metabolism
I. THE METABOLIC CHARACTERISTICS OF
SERIALLY PROPAGATED CELLS*
H A R R Y E A G L E and L E O N L E V I N T O W
Department of Cell Biology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New
York, New York, and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious
Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, U.S.A.
I. Introduction
277
II. Nutritional Requirements of Serially Propagated Cells
279
A. Amino acid requirements
279
B. Vitamin requirements
281
C. Miscellaneous requirements
282
D. Compounds not required by cultured cells
283
E. Possible artifacts
284
F. Population-dependent requirements and their bearing on the question of
cellular differentiation and function
284
III. Amino Acid and Protein Metabolism in Cell Cultures
287
A. Amino acid synthesis
287
B. Amino acid transport, amino acid pools and the synthesis of cellular protein . . 290
C. The nutritional role of serum protein in cell cultures
291
D. Protein turnover
293
IV. General Considerations
293
A. Differentiation and function
293
B. Metabolic controls in biosynthesis
294
References
295
I. I N T R O D U C T I O N
Serially propagated cell lines have been widely used for the investigation of the chemical activities of mammalian cells. The capacity of
a cell to multiply indefinitely is a relatively simple medium in vitro
obviously implies that it can synthesize all its structural proteins,
nucleic acids, and other indispensable cellular components, as well as
all the enzymes necessary for their synthesis, from the relatively few
*No attempt has been made to cite in detail the extensive literature relating to the contents
of this chapter. The reader is instead referred to a recent review dealing with the biochemistry
of cultured mammalian cells (Levintow and Eagle, 1961).
Amino Acid and Protein Metabolism
I. THE METABOLIC CHARACTERISTICS OF
SERIALLY PROPAGATED CELLS*
H A R R Y E A G L E and L E O N L E V I N T O W
Department of Cell Biology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New
York, New York, and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious
Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, U.S.A.
I. Introduction
277
II. Nutritional Requirements of Serially Propagated Cells
279
A. Amino acid requirements
279
B. Vitamin requirements
281
C. Miscellaneous requirements
282
D. Compounds not required by cultured cells
283
E. Possible artifacts
284
F. Population-dependent requirements and their bearing on the question of
cellular differentiation and function
284
III. Amino Acid and Protein Metabolism in Cell Cultures
287
A. Amino acid synthesis
287
B. Amino acid transport, amino acid pools and the synthesis of cellular protein . . 290
C. The nutritional role of serum protein in cell cultures
291
D. Protein turnover
293
IV. General Considerations
293
A. Differentiation and function
293
B. Metabolic controls in biosynthesis
294
References
295
I. I N T R O D U C T I O N
Serially propagated cell lines have been widely used for the investigation of the chemical activities of mammalian cells. The capacity of
a cell to multiply indefinitely is a relatively simple medium in vitro
obviously implies that it can synthesize all its structural proteins,
nucleic acids, and other indispensable cellular components, as well as
all the enzymes necessary for their synthesis, from the relatively few
*No attempt has been made to cite in detail the extensive literature relating to the contents
of this chapter. The reader is instead referred to a recent review dealing with the biochemistry
of cultured mammalian cells (Levintow and Eagle, 1961).