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Chickpea protein hydrolysate as a substitute for serum in cell culture

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Abstract

The growth of mammalian cells in vitro requires the use of rich culture media that are prepared by combining serum with specific nutrient formulations. Serum, the most expensive component of culture media, provides a complex mixture of growth factors and nutrients. Protein hydrolysates that can support in vitro cell growth and eliminate or reduce the need to use serum have been obtained from different sources. Here we describe the use of two food grade proteases to produce a chickpea protein hydrolysate that has been added to cell culture medium in order to determine whether it can be used as a substitute for serum. Medium containing the hydrolysate has been tested using two human cells lines: the monocytic THP-1 cell line which grows in suspension, and the epithelial Caco-2 cell line which grows as a monolayer. The chickpea protein hydrolysate was a good substitute for serum in the first case, but did not allow growth of Caco-2 cells. Supplementation of culture media with this inexpensive and safe hydrolysate would greatly reduce the cost of cell culture.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación and FEDER funds from the European Union through grants AGL2002-02836 and AGL2005-01120 (J.G.C.), and AGL 2004-03930 and AGL2007-63580 (F.M.); and by an I3P contract to J.P.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto de la Grasa (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas), Avenida Padre García Tejero, 4, 41012, Sevilla, Spain

    Julio Girón-Calle, Javier Vioque, Justo Pedroche, Manuel Alaiz, María M. Yust, Cristina Megías & Francisco Millán

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  1. Julio Girón-Calle
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  2. Javier Vioque
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  3. Justo Pedroche
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  4. Manuel Alaiz
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  5. María M. Yust
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  6. Cristina Megías
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  7. Francisco Millán
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Correspondence to Julio Girón-Calle.

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Girón-Calle, J., Vioque, J., Pedroche, J. et al. Chickpea protein hydrolysate as a substitute for serum in cell culture. Cytotechnology 57, 263–272 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10616-008-9170-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10616-008-9170-z

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