The pituitary is a small endocrine gland which produces and secretes hormones vital to the regulation of various bodily functions. Hormones secreted by the pituitary stimulate and control the functioning of almost all other endocrine glands as well as the growth and water balance of the body. In vitro studies demonstrate that bovine pituitary extract (BPE) promotes epithelial cell and melanocyte proliferation [1, 2]. BPE has been widely used as an additional supplement in the culture of various epithelial cells and melanocytes.
Bovine Pituitary Extract – New Zealand (BPE-NZ) is produced from the extraction of fresh frozen bovine pituitary glands in saline solution. The pituitaries are collected in New Zealand, a country with no incidence of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) and from facilities where animals receive ante and post mortem inspection.
The pituitaries are found free of contagious diseases. The product is sterile filtered.
Product Use
BPE-NZ is for research use only. It is not approved for human or animal use, or for application in in vitro diagnostic procedures.
Storage
Store the BPE at -20°C until ready for use. Repeated freeze-thaws will reduce activity and should be avoided by proper aliquoting.
Shipping
Dry ice.
References
[1] Abdel-Naser MB. (2003) “Mitogen requirements of normal epidermal human melanocytes in a serum and tumor promoter free medium.” Eur J Dermatol. 13(1):29-33. [2] Tsao, M.C., Walthall, B.J., and Ham, R.G. (1982) “Clonal growth of normal human epidermal keratinocytes in a defined medium.” J Cell Physiol. 110(2):219-29.