AbstractVentricles from 11‐day‐old chick embryonic heart were disaggregated by elastase and the component cells cultured on glass in maintenance medium containing 10 μc of P32. After 48 hours incubation at 37°C the medium was removed, the cells rinsed and exposed to a phosphate‐free test solution for two hours. During this period samples of the test medium were removed for counting and spectrophotometric analysis. Cells incubated in solutions lacking amino acids or vitamins or serum components lost phosphate at essentially the same rate as in the complete culture medium; furthermore such cells lost very small amounts of nucleotide materials. Cells incubated in 0.16 M NaCl lost phosphate and nucleotides rapidly; the addition of either K+or Ca+2or Mg+2reduced phosphate and nucleotide loss and cells in balanced saline media containing all four cations, retained phosphate and nucleotides at essentially the same level as in the complete medium. These results show that primary isolated chick heart cells can be maintained for short periods in physiological saline solutions without injury and that saline balance in short term studies is a primary factor in maintaining these cells in an uninjure
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