[The intensity of protein synthesis in the cells of a diluted hepatocyte culture is higher than in a dense culture].

Incorporation of 3H-leucine in proteins and radioactivity of free leucine have been studied in hepatocyte culture on collagen-coated glass. A high density culture obtained from a suspension of isolated rat hepatocytes at 5 x 10(6) cells/ml was compared with low density cultures diluted from the same suspension 10- to 20-fold. The incorporation pool ratio showing the efficiency of the precursor utilization was higher in the low density culture as compared with the high density monolayer. The effect was due to disproportionate low pool in the diluted cultures. The total radioactivity of proteins was lower in the diluted cultures as compared with the monolayer, although the incorporation was not in proportion with the cell density. Specific rate of protein synthesis (per cell) was higher in the diluted cultures than in the monolayer.