Abstract
HFDM-1 is a serum-free culture medium for fibroblasts. The amount of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) production from lung fibroblasts is closely related to the severity of the lung diseases. The growth rate of newly isolated human lung fibroblast and the amounts of PAI-1 of the cells were examined. Although the growth of fibroblasts cultured in HFDM-1, with or without 0.5% FCS, was slower than that in M199 containing 10% FCS during the first two or four days, respectively, the cells reached comparable numbers after six days. The expression of PAI-1 mRNA in the fibroblasts cultured with 0.5% FCS HFDM-1 was higher than in the cells cultured with 10% FCS M199. This effect was suppressed by the addition of gefitinib, the EGF signal blocker. There were no significant differences in the cellular PAI-1 expression among all three media. The PAI-1 activity in the culture medium and the fibroblasts’ surface uPA activity were suppressed when the cells were cultured in HFDM-1, with or without 0.5% serum, irrespective of the presence of gefitinib. These results suggested that HFDM-1 reduced the effects of serum on the fibroblasts’ PAI-1 production and activity, and would be a useful tool for the investigation of the lung fibroblasts’ roles in the pulmonary diseases.
