ITS-M, 500X

ITS-M is a mixture of insulin, transferrin, and sodium selenite. It is a general cell supplement designed for use in basal media (e.g. MEM, DMEM, and RPMI-1640) and complex media (e.g. Ham’s F-12 or DMEM/F12). It could be used to stimulate cell proliferation of a variety of cells under serum-reduced conditions and decrease the serum requirement of many cell types. Insulin is a hormone that promotes glucose and amino acid uptake by the cell. It is thought that the mitogenic effect of insulin is mediated by the insulin-like growth factor receptor, IGF-1 receptor. Transferrin is an iron transport protein that functions to transport iron into the cell. The protein also serves to detoxify the medium from oxygen radicals and peroxidase. Selenium is an enzyme cofactor that activates glutathione peroxidase, a player in the detoxification of oxygen radicals. When cells are cultured with medium contained ITS-M and low percent serum, proliferation is reported to be similar to those which medium were supplemented with 10 percent serum. Supplementation with ITS-M allows for a reduction in the serum requirement of the culture.

Quality Control
The quality of the ITS-M (Insulin-Transferrin- Selenium Mixture, 500X) is tested on a lot-to-lot basis to ensure consistent product quality.

Required Materials

Cell culture medium
Fetal Bovine Serum (FBS)
Working concentration

Per vial of ITS-M is sufficient for 500 ml of medium. In general, for optimal cell growth, it is necessary to add 1% serum for suspension cells; some adherent cultures may require 2% serum supplementation.

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