The adaptation of the permanent fish cell lines PLHC-1 and RTG-2 to FCS-free media results in similar growth rates compared to FCS-containing conditions

The omission of fetal calf serum (FCS) from culture medium can influence the response of cells in assays measuring cytotoxicity, cytochrome P450 induction or estrogenic activity of chemicals. The purpose of this study was to provide a selection of different FCS-free cell culture media in which the two established fish cell lines PLHC-1 (a hepatoma cell line derived from Poeciliopsis lucida) and RTG-2 (a gonadal cell line derived from Oncorhynchus mykiss) grow as well as in FCS-containing medium. Here we report that PLHC-1 and RTG-2, adapted to FCS-free conditions, show similar growth rates as when thriving in FCS-containing medium. Cultivation under FCS-free conditions may represent an improvement in the widely used cytotoxicity tests or cytochrome P450-activity assays and is a prerequisite of in vitro systems for detecting estrogenic compounds in fish.