Carotid body cell culture and selective growth of glomus cells.

Cells of the fetal carotid body have been obtained by enzymatic digestion and maintained in culture both as single cells and as clusters for up to 2 mo. The glomus cells in culture synthesize catecholamines and adenine nucleotides, as determined by histochemical methods, and contain characteristic dense-core vesicles. Their growth requirements are different from other cells of neural crest origin in that they do not depend on nerve growth factor (as do sympathetic neurons) or corticosteroids (as do SIF cells) for survival. Neither hypoxia nor hypercarbia affects survival or relative preponderance of glomus cells in culture. Tyrosine-free medium, which selects for cells containing tyrosine hydroxylase, eliminates most of the nonadrenergic cells, thereby providing a culture dramatically enhanced in glomus cells.