Fetal bovine and calf serums differ in their contents of endocannabinoids, unsaturated fatty acids, monoacyl-glycerols, N-acyl-ethanolamines, oxylipins, and cytokines
6 affiliations
- 1Centre de recherche de l’Institut universitaire de cardiologie et pneumologie de Québec (IUCPQ), Département de Médecine, Faculté de Médecine, Université Laval
- 2Canada Excellence Research Chair on the Microbiome-endocannabinoidome Axis in Metabolic Health
- 3Joint International Research Unit MicroMeNu, between Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Institute of Biomolecular Chemistry
- 4Axe Reproduction, santé de la mère et de l’enfant, Centre de recherche du CHU de Québec-Université Laval
- 5Centre Nutrition, santé et société (Centre NUTRISS), Institut sur la Nutrition et les Aliments Fonctionnels (INAF), Université Laval
- 6École de Nutrition, Faculté des Sciences de l’agriculture et de l’alimentation, Université Laval
Abstract
Cell culture relies heavily on serum supplementation, but serum composition makes it difficult to ensure reproducibility and consistency of experimental results. Consequently, research10 groups must test multiple batches to ensure the functionality and reproducibility of their models. The commonly used serums are fetal bovine serum (FBS) and calf serum (CS), which have been recognized as crucial in modulating cellular processes. While having been utilized for decades, little information is known about their respective lipid mediator contents. This study explored the presence of several major bioactive lipids involved in the regulation of inflammation, metabolism, differentiation, immune response, neuroprotection, and vascular homeostasis. These included polyunsaturated fatty acids, monoacylglycerols (MAGs), N -acyl-ethanolamines (NAEs), and oxylipins. As compared to FBS, CS samples were enriched in most fatty acids except for arachidonic acid. The levels of the endocannabinoids 2-arachidonoyl-glycerol (2-AG) and N -arachidonoyl-ethanolamine (AEA) followed the same pattern as arachidonic acid. On the other hand, most lipoxygenase-derived mediators, including, leukotriene B ₄ , showed higher abundance in CS. Accordingly, CS activated the random migration of human neutrophils to a much greater extent than FBS, an effect attenuated by the BLT ₁ receptor antagonist CP 105,696. Cytokines/chemokines levels were also different between FBS and CS samples. These findings highlight that bovine serum lipid composition might be a major determinant modulating cellular responses and might thus impact experimental reproducibility. The data presented herein will help obtaining insights beyond conventional cell culture optimization and might represent key features to consider when planning in cellulo experiments across numerous fields, also beyond immunology.
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BibTeX
@article{kalkan2026fetal,
title = {{Fetal bovine and calf serums differ in their contents of endocannabinoids, unsaturated fatty acids, monoacyl-glycerols, N-acyl-ethanolamines, oxylipins, and cytokines}},
author = {Hilal Kalkan and Jean-Philippe C. Lavoie and Isabelle Bourdeau-Julien and Frédéric Raymond and Vincenzo Di Marzo and Nicolas Flamand},
journal = {Frontiers in Immunology},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3389/fimmu.2026.1856768},
url = {https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2026.1856768/full},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Fetal bovine and calf serums differ in their contents of endocannabinoids, unsaturated fatty acids, monoacyl-glycerols, N-acyl-ethanolamines, oxylipins, and cytokines
AU - Hilal Kalkan
AU - Jean-Philippe C. Lavoie
AU - Isabelle Bourdeau-Julien
AU - Frédéric Raymond
AU - Vincenzo Di Marzo
AU - Nicolas Flamand
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/16
JO - Frontiers in Immunology
DO - 10.3389/fimmu.2026.1856768
UR - https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2026.1856768/full
AB - Cell culture relies heavily on serum supplementation, but serum composition makes it difficult to ensure reproducibility and consistency of experimental results. Consequently, research10 groups must test multiple batches to ensure the functionality and reproducibility of their models. The commonly used serums are fetal bovine serum (FBS) and calf serum (CS), which have been recognized as crucial in modulating cellular processes. While having been utilized for decades, little information is known about their respective lipid mediator contents. This study explored the presence of several major bioactive lipids involved in the regulation of inflammation, metabolism, differentiation, immune response, neuroprotection, and vascular homeostasis. These included polyunsaturated fatty acids, monoacylglycerols (MAGs), N -acyl-ethanolamines (NAEs), and oxylipins. As compared to FBS, CS samples were enriched in most fatty acids except for arachidonic acid. The levels of the endocannabinoids 2-arachidonoyl-glycerol (2-AG) and N -arachidonoyl-ethanolamine (AEA) followed the same pattern as arachidonic acid. On the other hand, most lipoxygenase-derived mediators, including, leukotriene B ₄ , showed higher abundance in CS. Accordingly, CS activated the random migration of human neutrophils to a much greater extent than FBS, an effect attenuated by the BLT ₁ receptor antagonist CP 105,696. Cytokines/chemokines levels were also different between FBS and CS samples. These findings highlight that bovine serum lipid composition might be a major determinant modulating cellular responses and might thus impact experimental reproducibility. The data presented herein will help obtaining insights beyond conventional cell culture optimization and might represent key features to consider when planning in cellulo experiments across numerous fields, also beyond immunology.
SN - 1664-3224
ER -