Monoclonal antibody production in dialyzed continuous suspension culture

Hybridoma cell growth and monoclonal antibody production in dialyzed continuous suspension culture were investigated using a 1.5-L Celligen bioreactor. Medium supplemented with 1.5% fetal bovine serum was fed directly into the reactor at a dilution rate of 0.45 d(-1). Dailysis tubing with a molecular weight cut-off (MWCO) of 1000 was coiled inside the bioreactor. Fresh medium containing no serum or serum substitues passed through the dialysis tubing at flow rates of 2 to 5 L/d. The objective was to remove low molecular weight inhibitors, such as lactic acid and ammonia, by diffusion through the tubing, while continuoulsy replenishing essential nutrients by the same mechanism. Due to the low MWCO of the dialysis tubing high molecular weight components such as growth factors and antibody were not removed by the dialyzing stream. In the batch start-up phase, the monoclonal antibody (MAb) titer was almost 3 times that achieved in typical batch cultures (i.e., 170 to 180 mg/L). During dialyzed continuous operation, a substantial increase (up to 40%) in cell density, monoclonal antibody (MAb) titer, and reactor MAb productivity was observed, as compared with a conventional continuous suspension culture. The cell viability and the specific MAb productivity remained practically constant at different dialysis rates. This finding suggests that the steady state growth and death rate in continuous suspension hybridoma cultures are not direct functions of the nutrient or inhibitor concentrations.     

Repeated hybridoma batch culture with cell recycle

At the end of a hybridoma batch culture, the cells are usually discarded after separation from the culture broth. If, however, they are aseptically recycled into the reactor, the production process can be resumed simply by the addition of fresh medium. This cycle can then be repeated several times consecutively. In a test case, with a mouse hybridoma, we found antibody yields for each cycle in the same range as for a standard batch. In a 15 1 stirred tank reactor we could, within 6 days, produce 2.8 g of monoclonal antibody (MAb). This type of reactor operation allowed a doubling in the reactor volumetric productivity (mg/l/day).     

A novel immobilized hybridoma reactor for the production of monoclonal antibodies

Summary Mouse hybridoma cells were succesfully cultivated for more than 640 hours in the interparticle spaces of a tubular reactor packed with spherical glass beads. The maximum monoclonal antibody (MAb) concentration attained was 110 mg/l and a viable cell density in the order of 1 × 10⁷ cells/ml was achieved. A productivity per reactor void volume of 5.2 mg MAb/hr/l was obtained, which is comparable to the best systems currently in use.     

The production of monoclonal antibody in growth-arrested hybridomas cultivated in suspension and immobilized modes.

The effects of the microenvironment and the nature of the limiting nutrient on culture viability and overall MAb productivity were explored using a hybridoma cell line which characteristically produces MAb in the stationary phase. A direct comparison was made of the changes in the metabolic profiles of suspension and PEG-alginate immobilized (0.8 mm beads) batch cultures upon entry into the stationary phase. The shifts in glucose, glutamine, and amino acid metabolism upon entry into the stationary phase were similar for both microenvironments. While the utilization of most nutrients in the stationary phase decreased to below 20% of that in the growth phase, antibody production was not dramatically affected. The immobilized culture did exhibit a 1.5-fold increase in the specific antibody rate over the suspension culture in both the growth and stationary phases. The role of limiting nutrient on MAb production and cell viability was assessed by artificially depleting a specific nutrient to 1% of its control concentration. An exponentially growing population of HB121 cells exposed to these various depletions responded with dramatically different viability profiles and MAb production kinetics. All depletions resulted in growth-arrested cultures and nongrowth-associated MAb production. Depletions in energy sources (glucose, glutamine) or essential amino acids (isoleucine) resulted in either poor viability or low antibody productivity. A phosphate or serum depletion maintained antibody production over at least a six day period with each resulting in a 3-fold higher antibody production rate than in growing batch cultures. These results were translated to a high-density perfusion culture of immobilized cells in the growth-arrested state with continued MAb expression for 20 days at a specific rate equal to that observed in the phosphate- and serum-depleted batch cultures.     

Citric acid production by Aspergillus niger immobilized on polyurethane foam

Summary Citric acid was produced using Aspergillus niger immobilized on polyurethane foam in a bubble column reactor. Most of the adsorbed cells remained on the support and, as a result, high oxygen tension was maintained during the reactor operation. However, uncontrolled growth of the pellets made continuous reactor operation difficult. The citric acid productivity obtained from 15 vol.% foam particles containing immobilized cells was 0.135 g/l per hour. This productivity of immobilized cells was almost the same as that of free cells. The oxygen level dropped to half saturation in 5 days in the immobilized cell culture in contrast to 2 days in the free cell culture.     

Production of monoclonal antibody using free-suspended and immobilized hybridoma cells: Effect of serum

The effect of serum on cell growth and monoclonal antibody (MAb) productivity was studied in a repeated fedbatch mode using both free-suspended and immobilized S3H5/gamma2bA2 hybridoma cells. In the suspension culture, serum influenced the cell growth rate but not the specific MAb productivity. The average specific growth rate of the suspension culture in medium containing 10% serum was approximately 0.99 +/- 0.12 day(-1) (+/-standard deviation), while that in medium containing 1% serum was approximately 0.73 +/- 0.12 day(-1). The specific MAb productivity was almost constant at 3.69 +/- 0.57 mug/10(6) cells/day irrespective of serum concentration reached a maximum at ca. 1.8 x 10(6) cells/mL of medium in 10% serum medium, and the cell concentration was gradually reduced to 1%. The specific MAb productivity of the immobilized cells was more than three times higher than that of the free-suspended cells. The amount of serum in the medium did not influence the specific MAb production rate of the immobilized cells. The maintenance of high cell concentration and the enhanced specific MAb productivity of the immobilized cell culture resulted in a higher volumetric MAb productivity. In addition, MAb yield in the immobilized cell culture with medium containing 1% serum was 2.2 mg/mL of serum, which was approximately three times higher than that in the suspension culture.     

Azadirachtin production by hairy root cultivation of Azadirachta indica in a modified stirred tank reactor

Present investigation involves hairy root cultivation of Azadirachta indica in a modified stirred tank reactor under optimized culture conditions for maximum volumetric productivity of azadirachtin. The selected hairy root line (Az-35) was induced via Agrobacterium rhizogenes LBA 920-mediated transformation of A. indica leaf explants (Coimbatore variety, India). Liquid culture of the hairy roots was developed in a modified Murashige and Skoog medium (MM2). To further enhance the productivity of azadirachtin, selected growth regulators (1.0?mg/l IAA and 0.025?mg/l GA₃), permeabilizing agent (0.5?% v/v DNBP), a biotic elicitor (1?% v/v Curvularia (culture filtrate)) and an indirectly linked biosynthetic precursor (50?mg/l cholesterol) were added in the growth medium on 15th day of the hairy root cultivation period in shake flask. Highest azadirachtin production (113?mg/l) was obtained on 25th day of the growth cycle with a biomass of 21?g/l DW. Further, batch cultivation of hairy roots was carried out in a novel liquid-phase bioreactor configuration (modified stirred tank reactor with polyurethane foam as root support) to investigate the possible scale-up of the established A. indica hairy root culture. A biomass production of 15.2?g/l with azadirachtin accumulation in the hairy roots of 6.4?mg/g (97.28?mg/l) could be achieved after 25?days of the batch cultivation period, which was ~27 and ~14?% less biomass and azadirachtin concentration obtained respectively, in shake flasks. An overall volumetric productivity of 3.89?mg/(l?day) of azadirachtin was obtained in the bioreactor.     

Comparison of culture methods for human-human hybridomas secreting anti-HBsAg human monoclonal antibodies

Human-human hybridomas which secrete a human monoclonal antibody (h-MoAb) against hepatitis B virus surface antigen showed growth associated production kinetics. The rate of h-MoAb production rapidly decreased after cell growth was arrested in a perfusion culture, even if the perfusion rate was increased. A continuous suspended-perfusion culture, in which both culture broth and culture supernatant are continuously harvested and the same volume of fresh medium is continuously fed into the reactor, was developed to maintain continuous growing conditions during cultivation. In this culture system, the production of h-MoAb continued for more than 50 days with an average productivity of 5.0 mg/l of working volume/day. A semicontinuous immobilized-perfusion culture in which parts of the cells are repeatedly removed from the immobilized reactor was another useful technique for the long term cultivation of these h-h hybridomas. As an average h-MoAb production rate, 62 mg/l of immobilized-bed volume/day was achieved for 65 days of cultivation using a ceramic matrix reactor, and 327 mg/l/day was achieved over 47 days of cultivation using a hollow fiber reactor equipped with Cultureflo M^TM Thus, the antibody productivity per reactor volume per day by the semicontinuous immobilized-perfusion culture was much higher than that of the continuous perfusion culture in an agitation reactor.     

Performance of anaerobic contact filter in series for treating distillery spentwash

Investigations were carried out by using rigid polyurethane foam as a packing material in the anaerobic contact filter (series) to treat distillery spentwash. The effect of hydraulic retention time (HRT) in treatment efficiency of reactor (I) and (II) was evaluated at different initial substrate concentrations ranging from 1500 mg/l to 19,000 mg/l. The effect of toxic parameters such as sulphate present in the distillery spentwash and the corresponding parameters such as total sulphide and un-ionized hydrogen sulphide generated during digestion of wastewater were evaluated to assess the reactor performance. The results showed that at 4 d HRT the overall COD removal percent ranged from 98% to 73% for an influent COD of 1500 mg/l to 19,000 mg/l. The overall performance of COD removal percent in reactor (I) and (II) at 2, 3 and 4 d HRT's were investigated. At 3 d HRT the reactor (II) showed a higher COD removal percent when compared to reactor (I), which clearly shows the role of hydraulic retention time in degradation of the organic matter present in the wastewater above an influent COD concentration of 5000 mg/l.     

Long-term Continuous Production of Monoclonal Antibody by Hybridoma Cells Immobilized in a Fibrous-Bed Bioreactor

The kinetics and long-term stability of continuous production of monoclonal antibody IgG2b by hybridoma HD-24 cells immobilized in a fibrous-bed bioreactor (FBB) were studied for a period of ～8 months. The cells were immobilized in the fibrous bed by surface attachment of cells and entrapment of large cell clumps in the void space of the fibrous matrix. A high viable cell density of 1.01 × 10⁸/ml was attained in the bioreactor, which was about 63 times higher than those in conventional T-flask and spinner flask cultures. The continuous FBB produced IgG at a concentration of ～0.5 g/l, with reactor productivity of ～7 mg/h·l, which was about 23 times higher than those from conventional T-flask and spinner flask cultures. The IgG concentration can be further increased to ～0.67 g/l by using higher feed (glucose and glutamine) concentrations and running the reactor at a recycle batch or fed-batch mode. The long-term performance of this bioreactor was also evaluated. For a period of 36 days monitored, the MAb produced in the continuous well-mixed bioreactor at 50 h retention time (0.02/h dilution rate) was maintained at a steady concentration level of ～0.3 g/l with less than 8% drift. At the end of the study, it was found that ～25% of the cells were strongly attached to the fiber surfaces and the other ～75% entrapped or weakly immobilized in the fibrous matrix. The strongly attached cells had a high viability of ～90%, compared to ～75% for cells weakly immobilized and only ～1.4% for freely suspended cells, suggesting that the fibrous matrix preferentially retained and protected the viable (productive) cells. The FBB thus was able to maintain its long-term productivity because nonviable and dead cells were continuously washed off from the fibrous matrix. The high MAb concentration and production rate and excellent stability for continuous long-term production obtained in this study compare favorably to other bioreactor studies reported in the literature. The reactor performance can be further improved by providing better pH and aeration controls at higher feed concentrations. The FBB is easy to operate and scale-up, and thus can be used economically for industrial production of MAb.     

Increase of hybridoma productivity using an original dialysis culture system

Hybridoma cell growth and monoclonal antibody production were investigated with a laboratory-made system in which cells were grown in dialysis tubing (MW cut-off 25 kD). The dialysis system contained 10 ml of cell suspension and was immersed in 200 ml of culture medium which when replaced or was at 4-day intervals. With this system, monoclonal antibody concentrations similar to those observed in ascites (concentrations in the order of one gramme per liter) were obtained. With no medium replacement, the antibody production was 3.3 g/l and the cell productivity 3.2×10^–8 g of IgM produced per cell in one minute. With medium replacement the antibody production was higher, 4.4 g/l but the cell productivity was lower, 1.49×10^–8 g per cell in one minute. Cells cultivated in non-optimized conditions were better producers than cells growing in a good environment.Abbreviations FCS fetal calf serum - Ig immunoglobulin - MAb monoclonal antibody - MW molecular weight - MWCO molecular weight cut off - RM replaced medium - NRM non replaced medium     

Evaluation of anchorage-dependent cell propagation systems for production of human acetylcholinesterase by recombinant 293 cells

Production of recombinant human acetylcholinesterase (AChE) by a high producer human embryonic kidney cell line (293) was evaluated by three main cell propagation systems; surface propagator, fixed-bed reactor and stirred microcarrier cultures. The recombinant cell line expresses AChE levels as high as 10–20 mg/l/day. System productivities in either the surface propagator (multitray system), or in the fixed-bed reactor (polyurethane macroporous sponges) were 4–8 mg AChE/l/day during a production period of 8 days. Similar productive rates, yet longer production periods (up to 22 days), were obtained in microcarrier (MC) cultures using either polystyrene beads (Biosilon); collagen-coated dextran beads (Cytodex-3); or gelatin macroporous beads (Cultispher-G). Best results were obtained in an aggregate cculture using cellulose beads charged with diethylaminoethyl (DEAE) groups, (Servacel), as carriers. In this culture, a system productivity of 6–10 mg/l/day was maintained for 28 days.     

An immobilized hybridoma culture perfusion system for production of monoclonal antibodies

A fixed bed perfusion system for hybridoma cell immobilization is presented. The system consists of a culturing vessel (300 ml total volume) in which polyurethane (PU) sponges in the form of small cubes of about 5 mm sides are packed. Cells are immobilized by physical entrapment in the foam matrix. By entrapment of the cells in the pores of the matrix high cell concentration can be maintained in a mechanically protected environment. Medium is continuously circulated by an airlift pump mounted in the cell-free chamber (700 ml total volume).Medium flow rate, feeding rate, dissolved oxygen, pH, nutrient uptake and waste product formation can be easily monitored and controlled. Steady state conditions are established with medium dilution rates of 1.0–1.5 reactor volume per day. The steady state is characterized by a constant cell density, constant culture volume and constant glucose and lactate levels. Cell-free supernatant is collected continuously in a cold room adjacent to the 37°C culture room. Monoclonal antibodies (MAb) are produced at a concentration of 150–200 g/ml for several weeks. An important feature of the system is the capacity to maintain a population of cells after the growth phase in a non-proliferating state for extended time periods expressing high titers of MAb.Abbreviations DO Dissolved Oxygen - FBS Fetal Bovine Serum - FBR Fixed Bed Reactor - MAb Monoclonal Antibody - PU polyurethane     

Controlled biomass formation and kinetics of toluene degradation in a bioscrubber and in a reactor with a periodically moved trickle-bed

The kinetics of degradation of toluene from a model waste gas and of biomass formation were examined in a bioscrubber operated under different nutrient limitations with a mixed culture. The applicability of the kinetics of continuous cultivation of the mixed culture was examined for a special trickle-bed reactor with a periodically moved filter bed. The efficiency of toluene elimination of the bioscrubber was 50 to 57% and depended on the toluene mass transfer as evident from a constant productivity of 0.026 g dry cell weight/L . h over the dilution rate. Under potassium limitation the biomass productivity was reduced by 60% to 0.011 g dry cell weight/L . h at a dilution rate of 0.013/h. Conversely, at low dilution rates the specific toluene degradation rates increased. Excess biomass in a trickle-bed reactor causes reduction of interfacial area and mass transfer, and increase in pressure drop. To avoid these disadvantages, the trickle-bed was moved periodically and biomass was removed with outflowing medium. The concentration of steady state biomass fixed on polyamide beads decreased hyperbolically with the dilution rate. Also, the efficiency of toluene degradation decreased from 72 to 56% with increasing dilution rate while the productivity increased. Potassium limitation generally caused a reduction in biomass, productivity, and yield while the specific degradation increased with dilution rate. This allowed the application of the principles of the chemostat to the trickle-bed reactor described here, for toluene degradation from waste gases. (c) 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Biotechnol Bioeng 55: 686-692, 1997.     

The effect of polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) on the heavy chain monoclonal antibody production from plant suspension cultures

A heavy chain monoclonal antibody (HC MAb) was produced by the suspension cultures of genetically modified tobacco cells. Though the HC MAb was secreted to the culture medium by the cells, it was unstable in plant cell media. The addition (0.75 g/L) of polyvinylpyrrolidone (MW 360,000) to the medium stabilized the extracellular HC MAb and increased its production 35 fold to 350 g/l.     

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.     

Strategies to extend longevity of hybridomas in culture and promote yield of monoclonal antibodies

Summary Cell viability was improved by supplemental feeding of amino acids and vitamins in batch culture of hybridoma cells. Cells could be maintained over a 10 day period following exponential growth at a constant viable cell concentration of 2.1×10⁶ cells/ml. Concentrations of monoclonal antibody (MAb) reached 140 mg/l, a value of nearly four times that found in typical batch culture. Lactate formation appeared to occur only during active exponential growth and not during the stationary phase.     

Tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA) production by a high density culture of weakly adherent human embryonic kidney cells using a polyurethane-foam packed-bed culture system

Weakly adherent cells of the 293 line attached well to the internal surface of polyurethane foam (PUF) and grew to the high density of 6.83 × 10⁷ cells/cm³ PUF in stationary culture. The maximum productivity of tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA) was 0.158 IU/10⁶ cells per day. The productivity decreased at the stationary phase of cell growth, so we designed a PUF-plate packed-bed culture system for high density culture and continuous production of t-PA. A maximal cell density of 3.24 × 10⁷ cells/cm³ PUF and a t-PA productivity of 0.326 IU/10⁶cells per day were obtained in 25-day perfusion cultures. Although the cell density decreased to half that in PUF stationary culture, the t-PA productivity increased twofold and was maintained for 25 culture days.     

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.     

Two-stage depth filter perfusion culture for recombinant antibody production by recombinant Chinese hamster ovary cell

A rCHO cell line of DUKX origin 26*-320, producing recombinant antibody against the human platelet, was cultivated in a two-stage depth filter perfusion system (DFPS) for 20 days in order to attain high recombinant antibody concentration. The productivity of the first stage DFPS bioreactor reached 53 times that of the batch culture in a controlled stirred tank reactor and was showed 12.1 mg/L antibody concentration at a perfusion rate of 6.0 d⁻¹. Glucose concentration in the first DFPS was maintained at 1.5 g/L to avoid cell damage in the perfusion culture. A second stage DFPS system was attached to the first DFPS, which resulted in a low glucose concentration of 0.02 g/L and a high antibody concentration of 23.9 mg/L. The two-stage depth filter perfusion culture yielded 60% higher product concentration than the batch and 49-fold higher productivity of 69.3 mg/L/d in comparison with that (1.4 mg/L/d) in a batch system. Furthermore, antibody concentration of the second stage was 97% higher than that of the first stage, and the antibody productivities were comparable to that of the first stage. This two-stage DFPS system also showed potential for higher titer production of recombinant antibody and high volumetric productivity for long-term culture of bio-pharmaceutical substances.