Growth characteristics and protein content of tissue-cultured fibroblasts from cystic fibrosis patients.

Proliferation rates and cellular protein content have been measured in cultured fibroblasts 
derived from the skin of normal volunteers and cystic fibrosis patients. 
Three methods of measuring growth indicated that under our conditions, CF 
fibroblasts divide normally with a mean doubling time of 29 hr. 
During the logarithmic growth phase, however, lower cell protein/DNA ratios were 
observed consistently in CF cultures. This difference was not present in 
contact-inhibited, confluent fibroblasts. The finding of an apparent reduction in protein 
synthesis during rapid division, coupled with an observation by others that 
CF fibroblasts fail to normally induce collagen formation, suggests the possibility 
of a disturbance in the biochemical regulation of protein synthesis. 