Growth and differentiation of aggregating fetal brain cells in a serum-free defined medium

Abstract

Aggregating cultures of mechanically dissociated fetal brain cells provide an excellent system for neurobiological studies of cellular growth and differentiation^1–5, but, in common with almost all culture systems, they have the disadvantage that crude serum is required in the medium. Although several cell lines have either been adapted to serum-free conditions^6–12 or grown normally in serum-free media supplemented with hormones, trace elements and defined serum components^12–16, this approach has never been applied to differentiating primary cells of the central nervous system. We now describe the successful cultivation of aggregating fetal rat brain cells in a chemically defined, serum-free medium.