◆Animal cell culture technology and pharmaceuticals

The role of bovine serum in cell culture and common problems

Modern biotechnology includes genetic engineering and cell engineering , enzyme engineering and fermentation engineering. The development of these technologies is almost all closely related to cell culture. Especially in the field of biomedicine, cell culture plays a special role. For example, many genetically engineered drugs or vaccines are produced through cell culture during the research and production process. Genetically engineered hepatitis B vaccines mostly use CHO cells as carriers; the preparation of genetically engineered antibody drugs is also inseparable from cell culture. The field of cell engineering is inseparable from cell culture technology. The research and preparation of hybridoma monoclonal antibodies is entirely achieved through cell culture. Some fermentation engineering and enzyme engineering are also closely related to cell culture. In short, cell culture plays a key and core role in the development of the entire biotechnology industry. In the development of cell culture, the quality of the culture medium is key, and animal serum plays an important role in the growth and reproduction of cells in the composition of the culture medium. Bovine serum is the most widely used among animal serums, so the quality of bovine serum directly affects the quality and safety of biological products.

1. The main components of bovine serum

Bovine serum is a complex mixture of ingredients. Most of its components are known, but some of them are still unclear, and serum The composition and content usually vary with the gender, age, physiological conditions and nutritional conditions of the blood donor animals. The main components of bovine serum are as follows:

1. Proteins include albumin, globulin, α-macroglobulin (inhibits the effect of trypsin), fetuin (promotes cell attachment), transfection Ferritin (can bind iron ions, reduce its toxicity and be utilized by cells), fibronectin (promote cell attachment and growth), etc.;

2. Polypeptides are mainly growth factors that promote cell growth and division , the most important growth factor is platelet growth factor, as well as fibroblast growth factor, epidermal cell growth factor, nerve cell growth factor, etc. Although the content in serum is very small, it also plays an important role in cell growth and division. ;

3. Hormones Hormones have many effects on cells. Including:

Insulin: promotes the uptake of glucose and amino acids by cells, and is related to promoting cell division;

Insulin-like growth factor: can bind to the insulin receptor expressed by cells, thus acting like insulin Functions:

Growth-promoting hormone: promotes cell proliferation;

Hydrocortisone: Trace amounts of this component are found in serum, and it may promote cell attachment and proliferation. However, some people have proven that hydrocortisone in serum may inhibit cell growth and induce cell differentiation when the cell density is high.

4. Other ingredients such as amino acids, glucose, trace elements, etc. The role of these components in synthetic media is not obvious, and trace elements combined with proteins promote cell growth.