Decreased albumin secretion in serum-free primary cultures of adult rat hepatocytes during proliferation induced by epidermal growth factor and insulin.

Upon addition of epidermal growth factor (EGF, 0.1 microgram/ml) and insulin (0.1 microM), adult rat hepatocytes proliferated and increased 120-134% in number in serum-free primary culture. However, in the absence of the growth factors, hepatocytes decreased in number with time. The average albumin secretion per cell was much lower in the proliferating cultures than in the non-proliferating cultures. The results suggest that albumin production in hepatocytes decreases during cell proliferation.