Purification of Black Moor goldfish melanophores and responses to epinephrine

Two key modifications of the previously reported method for isolation of goldfish xanthophores allowed the isolation and establishment of primary cultures of terminally differentiated melanophores from the Black Moor goldfish (Carassius auratus). First, pretreatment with 10(-4) M epinephrine causing aggregation of the melanosomes and collapse of the dendrites, prevents damage to the melanophores during tissue dissociation and melanophore isolation. Second, maintenance of these cells in culture was successful only when the culture medium was supplemented with fish serum. The purified melanophores attached, flattened, and were maintained in culture for up to 3 mo. Although the morphology of the cultured melanophores is less dendritic than their in vivo counterparts, the melanophores translocate melanosomes in a normal manner except that they exhibit enhanced sensitivity to epinephrine. This epinephrine-induced pigment aggregation, as well as the redispersion of pigment after the removal of epinephrine, can occur in the presence of ethylene glycol-bis (beta-aminoethyl ether)-N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid and absence of Ca2+.