✓ Tissue culture medium of 14 human pituitary adenomas removed from acromegalic and hypopituitary patients was analyzed for human growth hormone (HGH). High HGH levels were detected in the culture medium of all adenomas removed from acromegalic patients. HGH was undetectable in the tissue culture medium of six of eight adenomas removed from hypopituitary patients. Elevated HGH levels were also found in the culture medium of pituitary tissue obtained from a juvenile diabetic patient.
✓ The phenomenon of tumor dispersion through cerebrospinal fluid is discussed in relation to observations made in tissue cultures of human central nervous system tumors. Satellite colony formation was observed in cultures of tumors that tend to spread through the CSF. Abnormalities of the tumor cell surface, particularly a reduction of cell-to-cell adhesiveness, probably are important. Although mechanical factors contribute to the formation of both CSF metastases and in vitro satellites, they do not offer a sufficient explanation for these phenomena.
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