Skip to Content
MilliporeSigma
  • Alternatives to the use of fetal bovine serum: human platelet lysates as a serum substitute in cell culture media.

Alternatives to the use of fetal bovine serum: human platelet lysates as a serum substitute in cell culture media.

ALTEX (2011-12-02)
Caroline Rauch, Elisabeth Feifel, Eva-Maria Amann, Hans Peter Spötl, Harald Schennach, Walter Pfaller, Gerhard Gstraunthaler
ABSTRACT

The search for alternatives to the use of fetal bovine serum (FBS) in cell and tissue culture media has become a major goal in terms of the 3R principles in order to reduce or to avoid harvesting of FBS from bovine fetuses, and, in terms of Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP), to ensure safe and animal product-free conditions for biomedical tissue engineering and (adult) stem cell therapy, respectively. In the present study, we investigated the feasibility of using platelet lysates (PL) as a substitute for FBS, based on the fact that most of the potent mitogenic factors present in serum are derived from activated thrombocytes. Platelet lysates were obtained from outdated human donor platelet concentrates. Methods were established to activate human donor platelets in order to achieve a maximum yield of platelet a-granule growth factors. Platelet lysates were successfully introduced to grow and maintain anchorage-dependent and -independent human and animal cell lines. For cell culture experiments, cells were either grown in culture media supplemented with 10% FBS, 5% PL, or under serum-free conditions. Growth experiments, viability assays, and platelet lysate-induced activation of ERK1/2 mitogen-activated protein kinase revealed platelet lysates as a valuable alternative to FBS in cell culture media.

MATERIALS
Product Number
Brand
Product Description

Sigma-Aldrich
Cell Counting Kit - 8, for quantitation of viable cell number in proliferation and cytotoxicity assays
SKU
Pack Size
Availability
Price
Quantity