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The viscoelastic properties of culture medium obtained from confluent 3T3-L1 preadipocytes, after differentiation with isobutyl-methylxanthine and dexamethasone, were studied with a rotational Couette viscometer. In close association with adipocyte differentiation, the culture medium showed gel-like properties, in concert with an increase in viscosity. This behavior vanishes after digestion by Streptomyces hyaluronidase or chondroitinase ABC, but not after application of collagenase, pronase, trypsin, DNase, or neuraminidase, or by treatment with EDTA or mercaptoethanol, indicating that the primary substance responsible for this behavior is hyaluronic acid. The material revealed a non-Newtonian behavior with an irreversible disruption of the network by shear force at high speeds. The viscosity of the medium, containing about 1 µg/ml of hyaluronic acid, was calculated to be similar to that of a solution containing 1.7 mg high molecular weight hyaluronic acid per milliliter of stock culture medium. The comparison of rheological properties between the culture medium and solutions of hyaluronic acid indicated the possibility of a highly organized network in the culture medium that is more complicated than a simple interaction between homologous hyaluronic acid molecules. The non-Newtonian behavior depends on the hyaluronic acid concentration in the medium as well as on the length of exposure of the 3T3-L1 cells to the isobutyl-methylxanthine/dexamethasone mixture. The results point toward the possibility of interaction between hyaluronic acid and binding proteins.Copyright 1993, 1999 Academic Press