A radial flow hollow fiber bioreactor for the large-scale culture of mammalian cells

A radial flow hollow fiber bioreactor has been developed that maximizes the utilization of fiber surface for cell growth while eliminating nutrient and metabolic gradients inherent in conventional hollow fiber cartridges. The reactor consists of a central flow distributor tube surrounded by an annular bed of hollow fibers. The central flow distributor tube ensures an axially uniform radial convective flow of nutrients across the fiber bed. Cells attach and proliferate on the outer surface of the fibers. The fibers are pretreated with polylysine to facilitate cell attachment and long-term maintenance of tissuelike densities of cell mass. A mixture of air and CO(2) is fed through the tube side of the hollow fibers, ensuring direct oxygenation of the cells and maintenance of pH. Spent medium diffuses across the cell layer into the tube side of the fibers and is convected away along with the spent gas stream. The bioreactor was run as a recycle reactor to permit maximum utilization of nutrient medium. A bioreactor with a membrane surface area of 1150 cm(2) was developed and H1 cells were grown to a density of 7.3 x 10(6) cells/cm(2).     

Recovery of insect cells using hollow fiber microfiltration

An efficient method was developed for media separation and cell collection for eukaryotic cells growing in suspension. The method is based on tangential flow microfiltration using an open channel arrangement in a hollow fiber configuration. Best results (highest processing flux rate) for polysulfone hollow fibers were obtained using fibers with internal diameter of 0.75 mm, 0.45 mum pore size, and a cell suspension flow at a shear rate of 14000 s(-1) (0.032 L/min per fiber). A flux rate of 500 L/m(2) h can be obtained by maintaining the surface area/cell ratio at 0.05 m(2)/10 L of cells at a concentration of 2.5 x 10(6) cells/mL. Forty liters of infected insect cells can be concentrated 10 times in 20 min without affecting cell viability. (c) 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

High density culture of hybridoma cells in a dual hollow fiber bioreactor

Summary Hybridoma cells were cultured for two months in the dual hollow fiber bioreactor (DHFBR) which had been successfully used for high cell density cultures of various microbial cells. In batch suspension culture the concentration of monoclonal antibody (Mab) against human Chorionic Gonadotropin (hCG) and the cell density of Alps 25-3 hybridoma cells were obtained in 30 μg/mL and 2.35×10⁶ cells/mL, respectively. The continuous culture with DHFBR produced Mab of 100–130 μg/mL for 30 days and the estimated cell density in the extracapillary space of DHFBR was 1.87×10⁸ cells/mL based on the antibody production rate. The productivity of Mab was 205 mg/day per litre of the total reactor volume while that of the batch suspension culture was only 10 mg/L day.     

Design and performance study of a novel immobilized hollow fiber membrane bioreactor

A dual-layer coaxial hollow fiber (DLHF) bioreactor for cell immobilization developed to overcome nutrients transport limitation is presented. Cells were contained in the annular space between two coaxial hollow fibers, and nutrients were supplied by a forced convective transport from the shell side through the annular space to the lumen side. With judicious selection of the membrane materials, a low operating transmembrane pressure of 50 kPa, and using E. coli as the model organism, a high cell density of 10(11) cells/mL annular space volume and a high cell viability of (up to 80%) were obtained.     

Continuous hybridoma growth and monoclonal antibody production in hollow fiber reactors-separators

Growth of a hybridoma culture, along with production of monoclonal antibody, was demonstrated over extended periods in polysulfone hollow fiber membrane modules. The molecular weight cutoffs of the membranes were 70,000, 50,000, and 100,000 daltons. The hybridoma cell line, designated 65/26, produced IgG (2b/kappa) directed at mouse thymus cell surface antigen, TL.1. Cell growth occurred in the shell space of the reactor, using supplemented RPMI 1640 (20% fetal bovine serum) supplied from a separate reservoir vessel through the hollow fiber lumen. The reservoir contained 125 mL media, which was changed every 4 days. Concentrations of immunoglobulin were determined by an enzyme immunoassay (using protein A and alkaline phosphatase-labeled antibody conjugate). For the 10K, 50K, and 100K hollow fiber membrane modules, the maximum IgG concentrations detected in the 2.5-mL shell space were 47.5-80, 510, and 740 mug/mL, respectively. In the 125-mL reservoir for the 100K hollow fiber membrane module, the IgG concentration was measured at 260 mug/mL These values compare with an IgG concentration of 1 mug/mL when grown in a standard tissue culture flask and 3.2-7.6 mug/mL when grown in 100 ml media in a spinner flask. In addition, 10K and 50K hollow fiber membrane modules were run in a mode that decreased the fetal bovine serum supplement with time. Differences between these systems suggest that it is possible to obtain high IgG accumulation rates, both during and after the exponential growth phase of the hybridoma population.     

Mammalian cell and protein distributions in ultrafiltration hollow fiber bioreactors

The heterogeneous nature of hollow fiber reactors for cell cultivation requires special considerations for proper design and operation. Downstream concentration of high-molecular-weight proteins has been measured in the shell side of ultrafiltration hollow fiber bioreactors. This distribution resulted from shell-side convective fluxes which caused a concentration polarization of proteins retained by the ultrafiltration membranes (nominal 3 x 10(4) D cutoff). Measurements of the axial hybridoma cell distribution also revealed a downstream concentration of viable cells during the first month of perfusion operation. This is believed to result from the shell-side convective flow and its influence on the inoculum and high-molecular-weight growth factor distributions. The heterogeneous distribution of cells leads to reduced cell numbers and reactor productivities. The mechanisms responsible for these phenomena have been investigated and their implications in process design and operation are considered. The heterogeneous protein and cell distributions on the shell side of hollow fiber bioreactors have been reduced significantly by periodic alternation of the direction of recycle flow and the reactor antibody productivities have been doubled.     

Real-time monitoring and control of glucose and lactate concentrations in a mammalian cell perfusion reactor

On-line monitoring and control of cell culture fermentation is important for optimal and consistent production of biologicals. In this work, glucose and lactate concentrations are monitored on-line using a commercially available analyzer (Model 2700, Yellow Springs Instruments, Yellow Springs, OH) during batch and perfusion hybridoma cell fermentation. Cell free samples from the reactor are obtained using a 0.45 mum hollow fiber filtering system placed in a circulation loop. The samples were analyzed at specified times and the data are collected on a computer. A process control strategy was developed to control the concentrations of glucose and lactate in a perfusion reactor where the feed rate is adjusted to maintain their concentrations at desired set points. Hybridoma cells (A10G10) were cultivated in a high density perfusion culture where cell density increased from 2 to 14 million cells/mL. During this period the control algorithm successfully adjusted the perfusion rate while maintaining constant glucose and lactate concentrations. Glucose consumption and lactate accumulation rates as well as net lactate yield on glucose were monitored continuously during perfusion culture. These metabolic rates were observed to be independent of cell concentration and were used for the estimation of viable cell density in the reactor. (c) 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Biotechnol Bioeng 53: 372-378, 1997.     

Cultivation of primary porcine hepatocytes in an OXY-HFB for use as a bioartificial liver device

Bioreactors being developed for bioartificial liver devices vary greatly in their construction. Until now, primary liver cells were cultivated either in sandwich configuration, as spheroids, or in special hollow fiber systems. Primary hepatocytes are demanding on their environment and have a high oxygen consumption. To get good results, optimal cultivation conditions are needed. The idea of the project was to investigate a new concept of an oxygenating hollow fiber bioreactor (OXY-HFB). The OXY-HFB should consist exclusively of oxygenating and internal heat exchange fibers to yield a simple and effective design. Primary liver cells were seeded on the surface of the fibers in the extrafiber space. Oxygen requirements and temperature control were supplied through the fibers. The culture medium was perfused through the extrafiber space and therefore brought into direct hepatocellular contact. The OXY-HFB concept offers different advantages. A high cell density of 2.5 x 10(7) cells/mL can be obtained. This results in a cell number of 2.5 x 10(9) liver cells per bioreactor. Furthermore, the OXY-HFB is easily handled because no incubator is required. To study the efficiency of this bioreactor technique, various parameters were investigated over a cultivation period of three weeks. These included urea synthesis, lactate formation, glucose elimination, albumin synthesis, oxygen level, and pH. Furthermore, the metabolites of diazepam were measured. The biochemical performance of the bioreactor remained stable over the investigated time period. These results demonstrate that porcine liver cells preserve their viability and primary metabolism in the OXY-HFB over the complete period of study.     

Very high density of CHO cells in perfusion by ATF or TFF in WAVE bioreactor™. Part I. Effect of the cell density on the process

High cell density perfusion process of antibody producing CHO cells was developed in disposable WAVE Bioreactor? using external hollow fiber filter as cell separation device. Both “classical” tangential flow filtration (TFF) and alternating tangential flow system (ATF) equipment were used and compared. Consistency of both TFF‐ and ATF‐based cultures was shown at 20–35 × 10⁶ cells/mL density stabilized by cell bleeds. To minimize the nutrients deprivation and by‐product accumulation, a perfusion rate correlated to the cell density was applied. The cells were maintained by cell bleeds at density 0.9–1.3 × 10⁸ cells/mL in growing state and at high viability for more than 2 weeks. Finally, with the present settings, maximal cell densities of 2.14 × 10⁸ cells/mL, achieved for the first time in a wave‐induced bioreactor, and 1.32 × 10⁸ cells/mL were reached using TFF and ATF systems, respectively. Using TFF, the cell density was limited by the membrane capacity for the encountered high viscosity and by the pCO₂ level. Using ATF, the cell density was limited by the vacuum capacity failing to pull the highly viscous fluid. Thus, the TFF system allowed reaching higher cell densities. The TFF inlet pressure was highly correlated to the viscosity leading to the development of a model of this pressure, which is a useful tool for hollow fiber design of TFF and ATF. At very high cell density, the viscosity introduced physical limitations. This led us to recommend cell densities under 1.46 × 10⁸ cell/mL based on the analysis of the theoretical distance between the cells for the present cell line. © 2013 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 29:754–767, 2013     

Hollow fiber bioreactor: new development for the study of contrast agent transport into hepatocytes by magnetic resonance imaging

The aim of our study was to develop a magnetic resonance (MR)-compatible in vitro model containing freshly isolated rat hepatocytes to study the transport of hepatobiliary contrast agents (CA) by MR imaging (MRI). We set up a perfusion system including a perfusion circuit, a heating device, an oxygenator, and a hollow fiber bioreactor (HFB). The role of the porosity and surface of the hollow fiber (HF) as well as the perfusate flow rate applied on the diffusion of CAs and O2 was determined. Hepatocytes were isolated and injected in the extracapillary space of the HFB (4 x 10(7) cells/mL). The hepatocyte HFB was perfused with an extracellular CA, gadopentetate dimeglumine (Gd-DTPA), and gadobenate dimeglumine (Gd-BOPTA), which also enters into hepatocytes. The HFB was imaged in the MR room using a dynamic T1-weighed sequence. No adsorption of CAs was detected in the perfusion system without hepatocytes. The use of a membrane with a high porosity (0.5 microm) and surface (420 cm2), and a high flow rate perfusion (100 mL/min) resulted in a rapid filling of the HFB with CAs. The cellular viability of hepatocytes in the HFB was greater than 85% and the O2 consumption was maintained over the experimental period. The kinetics of MR signal intensity (SI) clearly showed the different behavior of Gd-BOPTA that enters into hepatocytes and Gd-DTPA that remains extracellular. Thus, these results show that our newly developed in vitro model is an interesting tool to investigate the transport kinetics of hepatobiliary CAs by measuring the MR SI over time.     

High-titer adenovirus vector production in 293S cell perfusion culture

Human 293S cells culture for recombinant adenovirus production is traditionally carried out in batch at a maximum of 6 x 10(5) cells/mL. A previous report demonstrated that fed-batch, applied to the adenovirus/293S cells system, improves the volumetric production of viral proteins by increasing the cell density at which cells can be infected, up to 2 x 10(6) cells/mL, without reducing the per-cell yield of product. To increase this cell density limit, the adenovirus production was performed in a perfusion system where the cells were separated by means of a tangential flow filtration device. 293S cell growth to 14 x 10(6) cells/mL was achieved in 10 days, at a medium renewal rate of 1 volume of medium per reactor volume and day (VVD). For adenovirus production, three 293S cell cultures were perfused at 1 VVD in parallel and infected at an average density of 8 x 10(6) cells/mL. One of the cultures was set at 37 degrees C and the two others at 35 degrees C. After a rapid initial cell loss, the average cell density stabilized at 5.75 x 10(6) cells/mL, 12 h postinfection, which was 8 times higher than the cell density in the batch control. This allowed the production of 3.2 x 10(9) infectious viral particles/mL (IVP/mL) at 37 degrees C and 7.8 x 10(9) IVP/mL at 35 degrees C, this last result being 5.5 times higher than the control. To our knowledge, this nonconcentrated titer is the highest value that has ever been published for adenovirus vector production. These observations lead to the conclusion that perfusion is an efficient tool to maintain, at high cell density, a specific production rate level sufficient to increase significantly the adenovirus volumetric production. Furthermore, it shows that perfusion at 35 degrees C can improve viral titer by 2.4-fold compared to 37 degrees C, in accordance with a previous study on adenovirus batch production.     

Loofa sponge as a scaffold for the culture of human hepatocyte cell line

Loofa sponge was investigated as a three-dimensional scaffold for stationary and perfusion culture of human hepatoblastoma cell line C3A/HepG2. In stationary culture, C3A/HepG2 cells in loofa cubes showed higher alpha-fetoprotein and albumin secretion rates than those in polyurethane foam (PU). To use loofa cylinders in a packed-bed reactor, immobilization of C3A/HepG2 cells by recirculating medium at 26 mL/min (superficial velocity = 51.7 cm/min) resulted in a cell loading density of 5.15 x 10(7) cells/cm(3)-loofa. This cell loading density is higher than values reported in the literature for packed-bed reactor intended for bioartificial liver. During 9 days of perfusion culture in the reactor, immobilized C3A/HepG2 showed steady synthesis of albumin with an average synthesis rate at 42.2 microg/10(6) cells/day. These experimental results and observations by SEM suggested that loofa sponge is a suitable scaffold for high-density culture of human hepatocyte cell line and the immobilized cells could express high levels of liver-specific functions.     

A perfusion culture system using a stirred ceramic membrane reactor for hyperproduction of IgG2a monoclonal antibody by hybridoma cells

A novel perfusion culture system for efficient production of IgG2a monoclonal antibody (mAb) by hybridoma cells was developed. A ceramic membrane module was constructed and used as a cell retention device installed in a conventional stirred-tank reactor during the perfusion culture. Furthermore, the significance of the control strategy of perfusion rate (volume of fresh medium/working volume of reactor/day, vvd) was investigated. With the highest increasing rate (deltaD, vvd per day, vvdd) of perfusion rate, the maximal viable cell density of 3.5 x 10(7) cells/mL was obtained within 6 days without any limitation and the cell viability was maintained above 95%. At lower deltaD's, the cell growth became limited. Under nutrient-limited condition, the specific cell growth rate (mu) was regulated by deltaD. During the nonlimited growth phase, the specific mAb production rate (qmAb) remained constant at 0.26 +/- 0.02 pg/cell x h in all runs. During the cell growth-limited phase, qmAb was regulated by deltaD within the range of 0.25-0.65 vvdd. Under optimal conditions, qmAb of 0.80 and 2.15 pg/cell x h was obtained during the growth-limited phase and stationary phase, respectively. The overall productivity and yield were 690 mg/L x day and 340 mg/L x medium, respectively. This study demonstrated that this novel perfusion culture system for suspension mammalian cells can support high cell density and efficient mAb production and that deltaD is an important control parameter to regulate and achieve high mAb production.     

多孔微载体无血清培养rCHO细胞生产u-PA

在30L搅拌式反应器中无血清培养分泌尿激酶型纤溶酶原激活剂(u-PA)的DNA重组CHO细胞,定期部分更换Cytopore多孔微载体,使生长在多孔微载体中的细胞不断更新繁殖,解决大规模细胞培养中的细胞凋亡问题。在91d连接换液培养过程中,细胞密度可维持在(1.3～2.6)×107／mL,活细胞比率维持在90％以上。在7.5L搅拌罐中培养细胞,利用外部周期性压力振荡刺激并结合载体更新技术,可减轻密度效应对细胞生长和表达的影响,在一定程度上提高细胞在高密度培养条件下的表达水平。在67d连续换液培养中,细胞最高密度为2.64×107／mL,活细胞比率维持在95％以上。与稳压操作相比,利用周期变压刺激技术可提高产量10％～20％,且可降低葡萄糖厌氧代谢生成乳酸的转化率,利用4步纯化工艺,从含u-PA约135g的2100L上清中获得约80gu-PA(单链比例约为90％)。     

Detoxification of organophosphate nerve agents by immobilized dual functional biocatalysts in a cellulose hollow fiber bioreactor

A whole-cell technology for detoxification of organophosphates based on genetically engineered Escherichia coli cell expressing both cellulose-binding domain (CBD) and organophosphorus hydrolase (OPH) onto cell surface was reported recently (Wang et al., 2002). This study reports the application of these biocatalysts when immobilized in a cellulose hollow fiber bioreactor (HFB) for the biodetoxification of a model organophosphate, paraoxon, in a continuous flow mode. In 24 h, 0.79 mg wet cell/cm2 fiber surface were immobilized onto cellulose fibers specifically and strongly through the cellulose binding domain, forming a monolayer demonstrated by Scanning Electronic Micrograph, and essentially no cell was washed away by washing buffer. The immobilized biocatalyst had a high performance of detoxifying paraoxon solution of 5,220 mumol/h x L reactor or 990 mumol/h x m2 reactor. The immobilized biocatalysts maintained a stable degradation capacity for 15 uses over a period of 48 days with only 10% decline in degradation efficiency under operating and storage conditions. In addition, the bioreactor was easily regenerated by washing with 1% sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), with 86.7% immobilization capacity and 93.9% degradation efficiency recovery. This is the first report using the HFB in a non-traditional way, immobilizing whole-cell biocatalysts by specific adhesion thus rendering the catalysis operation the advantages of low pressure drop, low shear force, and low energy requirement. The successful application of this genetically engineered dual functional E. coli strain in a model bioreactor shows its promise in large-scale detoxification of organophosphate nerve agents in bulk liquid phase.     

Large-scale, high-density freezing of hybridomas and its application to high-density culture

Large-scale, high-density freezing of hybridomas was studied to apply frozen cells to start high-density culture. We showed here that hybridomas can be frozen at 1.5 x 10(8) cells/mL, without decrement in viability and proliferating activity. Blood transporting bags were used for large-scale freezing to store 25 mL of cell suspension with a cell density, 1.5 x 10(8)/mL. The number of cells stored in a bag (3.0 x 10(9) cells) was enough to start a high-density culture at a 10 times higher cell density (6.0 x 10(6) cells/mL) than normal inoculation, and the cells proliferated to 10(7) cells/mL within 2 days. These results indicate that the large-scale freezing method is useful for large-scale culture of mammalian cells.     

High-density transient gene expression in suspension-adapted 293 EBNA1 cells

Large-scale transient gene expression (TGE) in mammalian cells is an attractive method to rapidly produce recombinant proteins for pre-clinical studies, with some processes reported to reach 100 L. However, the yield remains low, hardly over 20 mg protein/L, mainly because the current TGEs have been performed at low cell density (approximately 5 x 10(5) cells/mL). In this study, the strategy to improve TGE focuses on facilitating transfection at high cell density. A high-density perfusion culture of 293 EBNA1 cells was established in 2-L bioreactor using Freestyle 293 expression medium (Invitrogen, Singapore) to grow the cells for transfection. Transfection was then carried out at 1 x 10(7) cells/mL using polyethylenimine (PEI) as DNA carrier, at the optimized conditions of 6 microg DNA/10(7) cells and 1:3 DNA to PEI mass ratio. During the post-transfection phase, 80.8 mg/L of the model protein, EPO was obtained at day 5.5 post-transfection (130 mg total EPO production) using a fed-batch culture mode. In comparison, perfusion cultures using an enriched SFM II medium resulted in a longer post-transfection production phase (8 days), and 227 mg of EPO was produced in 10.7 L medium, showing that high-density TGE enables the production of several hundreds of milligrams of protein in a 2 L bioreactor. In addition, a protocol for economical plasmid preparation based on anion exchange was also established to satisfy TGE's demand in terms of quality and quantity. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of transient transfections at a high cell density of up to 1 x 10(7) cells/mL.     

Expression of SEAP (secreted alkaline phosphatase) by baculovirus mediated transduction of HEK 293 cells in a hollow fiber bioreactor system

A BacMam baculovirus was designed in our laboratory to express the reporter protein secreted alkaline phosphatase (SEAP) driven by the immediate early promoter of human cytomegalovirus promoter (CMV). In vitro tests have been carried out using this recombinant baculovirus to study the secreted protein in two cell lines and under various culture conditions. The transductions were carried out on two commonly used mammalian cell lines namely the human embryonic kidney (HEK 293A) and Chinese hamster ovary (CHO-K1). Initial studies clearly demonstrated that the transient expression of SEAP was at least 10-fold higher in the HEK 293 cells than the CHO cells under equivalent experimental conditions. Factorial design experiments were done to study the effect of different parameters such as cell density, MOI, and the histone deacetylase inhibitor, trichostatin A concentration. The multiplicity of infection (MOI) and the cell density were found to have the most impact on the process. The enhancer trichostatin A also showed some positive effect. The production of secreted protein in a batch reactor was studied using the Wave disposable bioreactor system. A semi-continuous perfusion process was developed to extend the period of gene expression in mammalian cells using a hollow fiber bioreactor system (HFBR). The growth of cells and viability in both systems was monitored by offline analyses of metabolites. The expression of recombinant protein could be maintained over an extended period of time up to 30 days in the HFBR.     

Model of oxygen transport limitations in hollow fiber bioreactors

Axial and radial oxygen depletion are believed to be critical scale-limiting factors in the design of cell culture hollow fiber bioreactors. A mathematical analysis of oxygen depletion has been performed in order to develop effectiveness factor plots to aid in the scaling of hollow fiber bioreactors with cells immobilized in the shell-side. Considerations of the lumen mass transport resistances and the axial gradients were added to previous analyses of this immobilization geometry. An order of magnitude analysis was used to evaluate the impact of the shell-side convective fluxes on the oxygen transport. A modified Thiele modulus and a lumen and membrane resistance factor have been derived from the model. Use of these terms in the effectiveness factor plots results in a considerable simplification of the presentation and use of the model. Design criteria such as fiber dimensions and spacing, reactor lengths, and recycle flow rates can be selected using these plots. Model predictions of the oxygen limitations were compared to experimental measurements of the axial cell distributions in a severely oxygen limited hollow fiber bioreactor. Despite considerable uncertainty in our parameters and nonidealities in hollow fiber geometry, the cell distribution correlated well with the modeling results.     

Cultivation of immortalized human hepatocytes HepZ on macroporous CultiSpher G microcarriers

Cultivation of the new immortalized hepatocyte cell line HepZ was performed with a 1:1 mixture of DMEM and Ham's F12 media containing 5% FCS. The cells were grown in their 40th passage in 100 mL and 1 L volumes in spinner flasks and in a bioreactor, respectively. For the production of adherently growing HepZ cells macroporous CultiSpher G gelatin microcarriers were used in various concentrations from 1 to 3 g/L. The cells were seeded in a density of 2 x 10(5) cells/mL when using a microcarrier concentration of 1 g/L and 5 x 10(5) cells/mL at a microcarrier concentration of 3 g/L. After 7 days of cultivation a maximum cell concentration of 4.5 x 10(6) cells/mL was obtained in the spinner culture using a microcarrier concentration of 1 g/L. With bubble-free aeration and daily medium exchange from day 7, 7.1 x 10(6) cells/mL were achieved in the bioreactor using a microcarrier concentration of 3 g/L. The cells exhibited a maximum specific growth rate of 0.84 per day in the spinner system and 1.0 per day in the bioreactor, respectively. During the growth phase the lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity rose slightly up to values of 200 U/L. At the end of cultivation the macroporous carriers were completely filled with cells exhibiting a spherical morphology whereas the hepatocytes on the outer surface were flat-shaped. Concerning their metabolic activity the cells predominantly consumed glutamine and glucose. During the growth phase lactate was produced up to 19.3 mM in the spinner culture and up to 9.1 mM in the bioreactor. Maximal oxygen consumption was 1950 nmol/(10(6) cells. day). HepZ cells resisted a 4-day long chilling period at 9.5 degrees C. The cytochrome P450 system was challenged with a pulse of 7 microgram/mL lidocaine at a cell density of 4.5 x 10(6) cells/mL. Five ng/mL monoethylglycinexylidide (MEGX) was generated within 1 day without phenobarbital induction compared to 26 ng/mL after a preceded three day induction period with 50 microgram/mL of phenobarbital indicating hepatic potency. Thus, the new immortalized HepZ cell line, exhibiting primary metabolic functions and appropriate for a mass cell cultivation, suggests its application for a bioartificial liver support system.