title: Serum-reduced and serum-free media for differentiation of Caco-2 cells.
abstract: Human intestinal Caco-2 cells were differentiated using serum-reduced medium with fetal bovine serum (FBS) added only to the basolateral (BL) medium, and four serum-free media, containing insulin, transferrin, selenium (ITS), or MITO+™ serum extender (ITS plus growth factors), with or without addition of a lipid mixture, respectively. Differentiation was assessed by monitoring monolayer permeability, alkaline phosphatase and sucrase activities, and the transport of digoxin and cephalexin. Notably, the serum-reduced protocol produced results that were comparable to cells differentiated in the control medium and should be recommended as an alternative to the use of 10% FBS in both apical (AP) and BL media. ITS serum-free medium elicited permeability values and cephalexin transport similar to control cells. MITO+™ medium was the most efficient in promoting the two transport activities investigated, and it should be further evaluated with a larger set of substances, although its undisclosed composition represents a limit that may override these advantages.
authors.affiliation: National Research Institute on Food and Nutrition (INRAN), Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Simonetta
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ferruzza
authors.forename: Carlotta
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Rossi
authors.forename: Yula
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sambuy
authors.forename: Maria Laura
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Scarino
mesh_terms: D018938:Caco-2 Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology*; D018929:Cell Culture Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D003470:Culture Media / Q000737:chemistry*; D006801:Humans
chemical_list: D003470:Culture Media