Mixed lymphocyte reactions in serum-free medium.
Tissue culture medium supplemented with bovine serum albumin (BSA), rather than human serum, was found capable of supporting the proliferative response of cryopreserved human lymphocytes to allogeneic cells in a one-way mixed lymphocyte culture. Although total tritiated thymidine uptake was lower in BSA supplemented cultures than in serum supplemented cultures, stimulation indices were equivalent. Using 0.5% (w/v) BSA, peak tritiated thymidine uptake was observed on day 5 using 2 X 10(5) responders and 4X 10(5) stimulators per microtitre well. Calf skin gelatin was also found capable of substituting  for serum, but gave lower levels of proliferation. Use of BSA offers distinct advantages for investigating the proliferative responses of human lymphocytes in serum-free media.
D001402:B-Lymphocytes; D001769:Blood; D003470:Culture Media; D005780:Gelatin; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D007959:Lymphocyte Culture Test, Mixed; D012710:Serum Albumin, Bovine
D003470:Culture Media; D012710:Serum Albumin, Bovine; D005780:Gelatin