What this work is about, in plain words
Can extracts of microalgae and cyanobacteria replace serum when growing human cells? According to the authors, in a number of cases the cells grew no worse than with serum.
Human cells in the laboratory are usually grown in a medium with fetal bovine serum. It is expensive and its composition varies from batch to batch, so a replacement is being sought. The authors tested whether extracts of microalgae and cyanobacteria can play this role.
Extracts were prepared from cultures of different groups in water or in a 1 % DMSO solution. They were added to three types of human cells — bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells, the endothelial line EA.hy926 and skin fibroblasts — in medium with and without serum. Cell proliferation was assessed with the MTT assay.
According to the authors, DMSO extracts enhanced the proliferation of stem cells, except for the Nanofrustulum shiloi extract. Endothelial cells in serum-free medium but with aqueous or freeze-dried extracts proliferated as well as with 10 % serum, and in most cases even more actively than in the control. The authors suggest that the extracts could become an alternative to serum, and the phycocyanin of some cyanobacteria a fluorescent label.
Limitations. A short mini-article without tables or detailed statistics. Experiments in vitro; this concerns culture media for cells, not effects on the body. The results were obtained by the authors and do not describe Laboratory 17 materials.