A defined basal medium for study of in vitro T-cell responses.

A basal serum-free medium has been devised which supports short-term murine T-cell proliferative and functional assays in the absence of added lipids or serum albumin. Immune responses obtained with this medium are totally dependent on cell-cell interactions known to generate the lymphokines and monokines essential for replication and differentiation. Background activity is minimal, allowing better control of the specificity of response than is possible with serum-containing media. This medium is also suitable for the identification of added agents which modulate immune responses, and may facilitate the purification of secreted factors.