Serum free cell culture: the free access online database.

The cultivation of cells in vitro is an important tool for biomedical research and production purposes. The supplementation of animal/human cell culture media with sera (components) of animal origin remains still standard, providing for e.g. necessary nutrition, shear protection, growth factors and cytokines. Because of undefined composition, risk of contaminations, the cost factor and also animal welfare considerations concerning the production of sera, the conversion to serum free alternatives is promoted by regulatory authorities, industry and the research community in general. To support this trend and to help save one of the scientists most valuable resources -- time -- a data bank was compiled of commercially available formulations, searchable for products, applications, cell lines and manufacturers. The database is accessible free of charge in HTML format and as PDF download, the informations are checked and updated twice a year. Problems concerning serum free cell culture are discussed at and comments are welcome.

Identification of the myb-inducible promoter of the chicken Pdcd4 gene.

The retroviral oncogene v-myb encodes a transcription factor (v-Myb) which disrupts the myelomonocytic differentiation program and transforms myelomonocytic cells in vivo and in vitro. It is thought that v-Myb exerts its biological effects by deregulating the expression of specific target genes, most of which are still unknown. c-myb, the cellular progenitor of v-myb, is expressed in all immature hematopoietic cells and is presumed to regulate the expression of genes that are essential for the development of the hematopoietic system. Recently, we have identified the chicken Pdcd4 gene as a novel v-myb target gene. Pdcd4 has originally been identified in a screen for genes upregulated in apoptotic cells and, more recently, has been implicated in tumor progression. As a myb-regulated gene Pdcd4 is of interest because unlike most other myb target genes it is expressed in a broad spectrum of hematopoietic cells. As a first step to study the regulation of Pdcd4 expression in more detail, we here report the identification and preliminary characterization of the myb-inducible promoter of the Pdcd4 gene.