Macrophage response to serum in culture medium

Most cell culture experiments utilize media containing fetal calf serum. Results are often interpreted regarding importance to human pathways. We studied gene expression in mouse macrophages grown in the absence of serum, and in fetal calf serum, mouse serum, and human serum using genome wide expression systems in resting conditions and after stimulation with lipopolysaccharide. We cultured mouse bone marrow derived macrophages in media containing no serum, or 5% fetal calf, or mouse or human serum. The experiment was performed in conditions without or with stimulation by LPS. We harvested the cells at 4 hours after stimulation and analyzed whole genome mRNA expression by microarray as a proxy for transcriptional responses. Three replicate experiments were performed.