The concomitant effect of unsaturated fatty acid supplemented to medium on cellular growth and membrane fluidity of cultured cells.

The membrane fluidity of cultured Yoshida sarcoma cells was determined under the culture condition in which various amounts of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids were supplemented to a serum-free medium containing defatted bovine serum albumin. The greater amount of unsaturated fatty acids was supplemented to the medium, the more active membrane fluidity and cellular growth were enhanced, while the supplementation of a saturated fatty acid had no such effect.