Stimulation of lactic acid production in chick embryo fibroblasts by serum and high pH in the absence of external glucose.

Lactic acid production by chick embryo fibroblasts occurs in the absence of exogenous glucose. Fifteen to 50-fold less lactic acid is formed in the absence of glucose than in its presence. Nevertheless, serum and pH stimulation enhances this residual lactic acid production to the same relative extent as when glucose is present. The amount of lactic acid formed cannot be accounted for by the catabolism of residual glucose in the medium since its concentration is less than one-tenth that of the lactic acid eventually produced. Moreover, the residual glucose concentration remains constant or increases during the course of the experiment. To a large extent lactic acid accumulation in the absence of external glucose is dependent on the presence of amino acids in the medium, but amino acid transport is not affected by the stimulatory agents used in this study. The results suggest that treatments which stimulate cell multiplication also activate those enzymatic pathways which convert amino acids to pyruvic and thence to lactic acid.