Why is 🩸 human serum so important in cell culture?

Human serum plays a crucial role in cell culture, particularly in research and biomedical applications, for several reasons:

1. Nutrient Supply

Human serum contains a wide range of nutrients, vitamins, hormones, and growth factors essential for cell growth and function.

These components support cell division, differentiation, and survival.

2. Growth Factors

Serum is rich in growth factors such as epidermal growth factor (EGF), insulin-like growth factor (IGF), and transforming growth factor (TGF), which are vital for regulating cell proliferation and differentiation.

These factors positively influence signaling pathways crucial for cell survival and proliferation.

3. Protection Against Stress

Serum contains anti-stress proteins and antioxidants that protect cells from oxidative stress and damage caused by reactive oxygen species (ROS).

Albumin, a major serum protein, binds toxins and heavy metals, preventing their harmful effects.

4. Physiological Relevance

Cell culture often aims to mimic in vivo physiological conditions as closely as possible. Human serum provides an environment more similar to actual human tissue than sera derived from other species (e.g., fetal bovine serum, FBS).

Using human serum is particularly advantageous for studying human cell lines, as non-human sera are not always optimal for human cells.

5. Promotion of Cell Adhesion

For adherent cells, which need to attach to a surface, serum provides components like fibronectin and laminin, which enhance cell adhesion.

6. Reduced Immunogenicity

In clinical studies or the production of cell therapies, human serum is preferred as it reduces the risk of immunogenic reactions compared to serum from animal sources.

7. Reduction of Animal-Derived Components

In research, there is a push to reduce the use of animal-derived components in cell culture (e.g., "xeno-free" culture conditions). Human serum provides an alternative that is more specific to human cells and meets ethical and regulatory standards.

Challenges of Using Human Serum

Variability: The composition of human serum can vary between donors, potentially affecting the reproducibility of experiments.

Cost:

Human serum is generally more expensive than animal-derived serum.

Availability:

It is harder to source and subject to strict regulatory guidelines.

In summary, human serum is a critical component for cultivating human cells in vitro under conditions that closely resemble in vivo physiology.