Bovine granulosa cells seeded in the presence of serum on extracellular matrix-coated dishes proliferate actively when exposed to serum-free medium supplemented with insulin (2 microgram/ml), fibroblast growth factor (FGF, 100 ng/ml), and high density lipoprotein (HDL, 30 microgram protein/ml). The final density of the cultures is 80-120% that of cultures grown in the presence of medium supplemented with optimal concentration (10%) of calf serum. Insulin has the greatest effect on cell proliferation when added alone to serum-free medium, since it induced an increase in cell number that was 35-60% that observed with optimal serum concentration. Somatomedin C can replace insulin when added alone. FGF, epidermal growth factor, or HDL had no significant effect on cell proliferation by themselves. When these factors were added together with insulin, they acted synergistically in stimulating cell proliferation. When cultures were seeded in the total absence of serum, the addition of transferrin (10 microgram/ml) to serum-free medium was required in order for insulin and FGF to be mitogenic. Cultures maintained on extracellular matrix and exposed to serum-free medium alone have a lifespan in culture of 4 generations. Addition of insulin, FGF, and HDL increases the lifespan of the cultures to 12 generations. Bovine granulosa cells, which proliferate in a defined medium, respond to dibutyryl cAMP by releasing progesterone into the medium. Addition of FSH to the defined medium resulted in a 30% decrease in cell proliferation and in a 2.1-fold increase in the amount of progesterone released into the medium in response to dibutyryl cAMP. This release of progesterone reached a level similar to that observed with cultures grown in medium supplemented with optimal concentration of serum and exposed or not to FSH during their growth phase and at confluence. These results demonstrate that bovine granulosa cells can actively proliferate in a serum-free medium and maintain their differentiated function, as indicated by their ability to produce progesterone.

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Dendritic cell (DC) defects are an important component of immunosuppression in cancer. Here, we assessed whether cancer could affect circulating DC populations and its correlation with tumor progression. The blood DC compartment was evaluated in 136 patients with breast cancer, prostate cancer, and malignant glioma. Phenotypic, quantitative, and functional analyses were performed at various stages of disease. Patients had significantly fewer circulating myeloid (CD11c+) and plasmacytoid (CD123+) DC, and a concurrent accumulation of CD11c(-)CD123(-) immature cells that expressed high levels of HLA-DR+ immature cells (DR(+)IC). Although DR(+)IC exhibited a limited expression of markers ascribed to mature hematopoietic lineages, expression of HLA-DR, CD40, and CD86 suggested a role as antigen-presenting cells. Nevertheless, DR(+)IC had reduced capacity to capture antigens and elicited poor proliferation and interferon-gamma secretion by T-lymphocytes. Importantly, increased numbers of DR(+)IC correlated with disease status. Patients with metastatic breast cancer showed a larger number of DR(+)IC in the circulation than patients with local/nodal disease. Similarly, in patients with fully resected glioma, the proportion of DR(+)IC in the blood increased when evaluation indicated tumor recurrence. Reduction of blood DC correlating with accumulation of a population of immature cells with poor immunologic function may be associated with increased immunodeficiency observed in cancer.