[Reactions of rat fetal hepatocytes to hormones in primary cultures grown in selective media with an addition of glucocorticoid and barbiturate].

After growing of fetal rat hepatocytes in the medium containing cortisol and sodium barbital for 4-8 days and subsequent cultivation in the medium without glucocorticoid and barbiturate for 1-4 days insulin retained its ability to stimulate total RNA and protein synthesis, while human growth hormone kept its enhancing action on RNA biosynthesis. However, cortisol did not change protein synthesis and inhibited paradoxically incorporation of 3H-uridine into total RNA, after preincubation of cells in the selective medium. This suggests that prolonged exposure of cultured fetal rat liver cells to cortisol and sodium barbital may cause phenomena similar to those of hormonal and/or enzymatic imprinting.