Figure 3. Ras-mutant pancreatic cells are capable of growth in medium lacking essential amino acids when supplemented with physiological levels of serum protein.
(A, B) Images of KRPC cells cultured in leucine-free medium. The cells survive and proliferate in the presence of 50 g/L BSA. (B) Cell counts from (A). (C) Intracellular leucine concentrations in KRPC cells grown in leucine-rich and leucine-free media, as measured by LC-MS. (D, E) KRPC cells cultured in amino acid-free medium grow using serum protein as their sole source of amino acids. For B–D, data are means ± SE, n ≥ 3.