High-level expression of recombinant human soluble thrombomodulin in serum-free medium by CHO-K1 cells

Long-term stable production of monocyte-colony inhibition factor (M-CIF) from CHO microcarrier perfusion cultures

Monocyte-colony inhibition factor (M-CIF) was produced in microcarrier perfusion cultures from engineered Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells. Three and fifteen liter microcarrier perfusion bioreactors equipped with internal spin filters were operated for over two months. Approximately 60 L and 300 L of culture filtrate were harvested from the 3L and 15L microcarrier perfusion bioreactors respectively. During the perfusion operation, cell density reached 2-6 × 10(6) cells/ml. Importantly, stable expression of M-CIF from the CHO cells under non-selection condition was maintained at a level of 4-10 mg/L. Specific productivity was maintained at 1.8-3.4 mg/billion cells/day. The ability of the recombinant CHO cells to migrate from microcarrier to microcarrier under our proprietary HGS-CHO-3 medium greatly facilitated microcarrier culture scale-up and microcarrier replenishment. Future directions for microcarrier perfusion system scale-up and process development are highlighted.

Comparative analysis of glucose and glutamine metabolism in transformed mammalian cell lines, insect and primary liver cells

Glucose and glutamine metabolism in several cultured mammalian cell lines (BHK, CHO, and hybridoma cell lines) were investigated by correlating specific utilization and formation rates with specific maximum activities of regulatory enzymes involved in glycolysis and glutaminolysis. Results were compared with data from two insect cell lines and primary liver cells. Flux distribution was measured in a representative mammalian (BHK) and an insect (Spodoptera frugiperda) cell line using radioactive substrates. A high degree of similarity in many aspects of glucose and glutamine metabolism was observed among the cultured mammalian cell lines examined. Specific glucose utilization rates were always close to specific hexokinase activities, indicating that formation of glucose-6-phosphate from glucose (catalyzed by hexokinase) is the rate limiting step of glycolysis. No activity of the key enzymes connecting glycolysis with the tricarboxylic acid cycle, such as pyruvate dehydrogenase, pyruvate carboxylase, and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase, could be detected. Flux distribution in BHK cells showed glycolytic rates very similar to lactate formation rates. No glucose- or pyruvate-derived carbon entered the tricarboxylic acid cycle, indicating that glucose is mainly metabolized via glycolysis and lactate formation. About 8% of utilized glucose was metabolized via the pentose phosphate shunt, while 20 to 30% of utilized glucose followed pathways other than glycolysis, the tricarboxylic acid cycle, or the pentose phosphate shunt. About 18% of utilized glutamine was oxidized, consistent with the notion that glutamine is the major energy source for mammalian cell lines. Mammalian cells cultured in serum-free low-protein medium showed higher utilization rates, flux rates, and enzyme activities than the same cells cultured in serum-supplemented medium. Insect cells oxidized glucose and pyruvate in addition to glutamine. Furthermore, insect cells produced little or no lactate and were able to channel glycolytic intermediates into the tricarboxylic acid cycle. Metabolic profiles of the type presented here for a variety of cell lines may eventually enable one to interfere with the metabolic patterns of cells relevant to biotechnology, with the hope of improving growth rate and/or productivity.

Repeated-batch cultures of baby hamster kidney cell aggregates in stirred vessels

Natural aggregates of Baby Hamster Kidney cells were grown in stirred vessels operated as repeated-batch cultures during more than 600 hours. Different protocols were applied to passaging different fractions of the initial culture: single cells, large size distributed aggregates and large aggregates. When single cells or aggregates with the same size distribution found in culture are used as inoculum, it is possible to maintain semi-continuous cultures during more than 600 hours while keeping cell growth and viability. These results suggest that aggregate culture in large scale might be feasible, since a small scale culture can easily be used as inoculum for larger vessels without noticeable modification of the aggregate characteristics. However, when only the large aggregates are used as inoculum, it was shown that much lower cell concentrations are obtained, cell viability in aggregates dropping to less than 60%. Under this 'selection' procedure, aggregates maintain a constant size, larger than under batch experiments, up to approximately 400 hours; after this time, aggregate size increases to almost twice the size expected from batch cultures.