Down Regulation of Insulin Receptors in Primary Cultures of Adult Rat Hepatocytes in Monolayer*

Abstract

Down regulation of insulin receptor number by insulin at physiological concentrations (10-9 M) has been demonstrated in primary cultures of adult rat liver parenchymal cells in monolayer. However, because insulin is rapidly degraded in this culture system, special efforts are necessary to maintain the concentration of insulin in the medium in order to evoke the down regulation phenomenon.