Hormone-dependent differentiation of mammary gland in vitro.

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Abstract
Mammary gland, from mice in the middle of their 1st pregnancy, was organ-cultured on synthetic media to which insulin, hydrocortisone, and prolactin were added. These hormones stimulate the synthesis of "caseinlke" phosphoproteins after 48 hr. of culture to a rate several times greater than the initial rate of synthesis. Any of these hormones alone or in pairs elicited minimal or no stimulation, correlating with previously reported histological studies. The effect is selective on the "casein" fraction of phosphoproteins. Culture of virgin mammary gland under similar conditions resulted in no such stimulation by the 3-hormone combination.