Serum deprivation and lipid peroxidation

As already mentioned (section 2.2) serum is a source of growth factors, so it is perhaps not surprising that the withdrawal of serum from the growth media of most cultured mammalian cells results in notably reduced rates of cell proliferation [18]. Another readily observed feature of serum deprivation is an increase in the level of cellular lipid peroxidation [39], In part this may be a function of the absence of serum components that might provide an antioxidant function, e.g. a-tocopherol, ascorbate, urate, caeruloplasmin, etc. (see also 

In any event following the inclusion of a-tocopherol in growth medium deprived of serum, levels of cellular lipid peroxidation are reduced and growth rates of oncogene-transformed rat and hamster fibroblasts are restored to near normal levels [41], again suggesting an important relationship between cell proliferation and cellular levels of lipid peroxidation. 

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