Hydrocortisone effects on cell proliferation: specificity of response among various cell types.

The effect of 14 micrometer hydrocortisone (HC) on the proliferative activity of various vertebrate cell lines has been measured. Such activity in human deploid cell line WI-38 was enhanced by HC addition whereas in a number of other vertebrate cell lines under identical conditions HC was inhibitory to growth. We examined the effects of HC on normal human diploid cells other than WI-38; some were stimulated, some inhibited and some were unresponsive. The results suggest that cells derived from different human tissues retain in vitro some aspects of their cell-specific hormonal responses.