Serum-free culture of hematopoietic stem cells: a review

The development of serum-free systems for the maintenance and expansion of both primitive and committed hematopoietic progenitors has numerous applications in both basic and clinical research. Many different media have been tested and refined over the years, and current formulations now yield results similar to those observed with fetal bovine serum-based medias. Using these serum-free culture systems, the impact of the cell microenvironment and individual growth factors on primitive and maturing stem cells have both been studied. The utility of progenitor populations expanded ex vivo under serum-free conditions is under investigation.