Serum-free medium for the in vitro growth of normal and malignant urinary bladder epithelial cells.

A serum-free medium, DH-S1, is described which is valuable for the establishment of primary cultures of normal and malignant transitional epithelium (transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder). Growth of epithelial cells in DH-S1 is facilitated but that of fibroblasts is suppressed. Another established human transitional cell carcinoma cell line, 647V, has grown continually in DH-S1 for over 36 passages. Morphological and antigenic studies comparing 647V cells growing in serum-containing and serum-free medium reveal differences which are pronounced at low cell density but which almost disappear at higher densities. A new human transitional cell carcinoma cell line, LA-B1, is described whose initial growth was supported by this serum-free medium.