Serum-free complete medium, an alternative medium to mimic androgen deprivation in human prostate cancer cell line models

摘要

Background Almost all men who present with advanced prostate cancer (CaP) and some men who fail therapy for clinically localized CaP are treated with androgen deprivation therapy (ADT). CaP cell lines are used to identify and characterize new agents for ADT or investigate mechanisms of ADT resistance. CaP cell lines are maintained in culture medium that contains fetal bovine serum, which contains testosterone (T). Androgen deprivation experiments are performed using media supplemented with androgen-free serum, such as charcoal stripped fetal bovine serum (CS-FBS). However, CS-FBS composition varies from batch-to-batch and variations may impact experimental reproducibility. Serum free media (SFM) may provide a better defined alternative to media supplemented with CS-FBS (CSM).