The silk protein, sericin, protects against cell death caused by acute serum deprivation in insect cell culture.

Sericin is the silk protein that covers fibroin fibers and functions as a 'glue' in the cocoons of silkworms, and its most abundant component, Ser1, contains repeats of Ser- and Thr-rich 38 amino acid residues. The viability of Sf9 insect cells was 20, 57 and 49% on the fifth day and 41, 91 and 70% on the ninth day after serum deprivation in the presence of no additives, 3000 microg sericin hydrolysate and 350 microg SerD (the peptide containing the two repetitive units) ml(-1), respectively. Thus, the sericin samples were useful in preventing cell death and promoting cellular growth after acute serum deprivation.