Safety and economic aspects of continuous mammalian cell culture.

Mammalian cell cultures are the most appropriate host cells for recombinant DNA derived products if complex protein structures have to be synthesized in their native form. Due to their physiological behaviour they grow either adherent or in suspension. For the attachment of adherent cells, microcarriers or wire springs can be applied to increase the internal surface of the bioreactor. Both systems provide a simplified media exchange but, however, show some limitations in scale up. In contrast, suspension culture systems as homogeneous systems independent of any carrier have not shown any limitation in scale up. Because most cell lines which are of commercial interest grow in suspension, this technology is best advanced and used in batch and continuous mode. Although mammalian cell cultures are sensitive to hydrodynamic shear forces, technologies for deep tank production are developed which allow stirrer tip speed of up to 1.5 m s-1 sufficient for oxygen uptake, suspension of cells and homogeneous supply with nutrients. For long term bioprocesses without selection pressure it has to be considered that transformed cell lines might show genetic instability due to their variations of chromosomes. In addition, sterile technology becomes an important factor in long term bioprocesses. The decision as to which cell culture system should be chosen, whether batch or continuous processes should be applied essentially is based on the capital investment, the amount of material to be produced, genetic stability of the production cell line, reliability of sterile technology and the flexibility required in the production plant. Under the assumption that 20 kg of a protein have to be produced per year and the same product concentrations in the harvest fluid are reached in the batch process and for instance in the chemostat, it can be considered that the capital investment for one 10,000 l batch process and a 2 x 2,000 l continuous process, necessary to produce the amount of material, is comparable. Risk of microbial contamination or technical failure can be considered to be fairly low in the batch process. The economic risk for long term bioprocess in the chemostat can be expected to be medium and high in the perfusion system which is in the large scale not technically fully satisfactory. In addition, due to the longer down time period after contaminations and the start up of the continuous process, the annual yield of the batch process can be considered to be higher.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)     

Metabolic characterization of a L-lysine-producing strain by continuous culture

Continuous culture experiments with the L-producer, Corynebacterium glutamicum, were carried out to characterize the effect of specific growth rate on fermentation yields, specific rates, productivities, and fluxes through the primary metabolism. The specific productivity of L-lysine exhibited a maximum with respect to specific growth rate, with an initial growth-associated behavior up to specific growth rates of about 0.1 h(-1), and a constant specific productivity for specific growth rates in the range of about 0.1 to 0.2 h(-1). The productivity dropped at specific growth rates larger than about 0.2 h(-1). The yield of L-lysine on glucose increased approximately linearly with decreasing specific growth rate over the entire range studied, as did the respiratory quotient. A direct relationship was established between the culture respiratory quotient and the L-lysine yield. By explicitly accounting for glucose used for biomass synthesis, it was shown that the strain synthesizes L-lysine with an intrinsic yield, or efficiency, of about 0.41 mol L-lysine/mol glucose, compared with the theoretical yield of 0.75 mol/mol. Metabolic flux modeling based on the continuous culture data suggests that the production of ATP is not likely to be a limiting factor in L-lysine production, and that a high TCA cycle activity, coupled with a tightly controlled split of metabolite flow at the PEP node, is likely the cause of the large discrepancy between theoretical and actual yields in L-lysine fermentations.     

Hybridoma cell behaviour in continuous culture under hyperosmotic stress

In this paper, we propose an alternative strategy to the ones proposed before (Oh et al., 1993; Øyaas et al., 1994a) to get real increases of global final antibody titer and production at hyperosmotic stress, by reducing the detrimental effect of such a stress on cell growth, and conserving the stimulating effect on antibody production. It consists of cultivating the cells in continuous culture and increasing the osmolality stepwise. In this way, the cells could progressively adapt to the higher osmolality at each step and antibody titers could be nearly doubled at 370 and 400 mOsm kg-1, compared to the standard osmolality of 335 mOsm kg-1. Surprisingly, the stimulation of antibody production was not confirmed for higher osmolalities, 425 and 450 mOsm kg- 1, despite the minor negative effect on cell growth. Intracellular IgG analysis by flow cytometry revealed at these osmolalities a significant population of non-producing cells. However, even when taking into account this non-producing population, a stimulating effect on antibody production could not be shown at these highest osmolalities. It seems to us that osmolality has a significant effect on the appearance of these non-producing cells, since they were not observed in continuous cultures at standard osmolality, of comparable duration and at an even higher dilution rate. The appearance of the non-producing cells coincides furthermore with modifications of the synthesised antibody, as shown by electrophoretic techniques. It is however not really clear if these two observations reflect actually the same phenomenon. Hyperosmolality affects the cell behaviour in continuous culture in multiple ways, independently of the growth rate, counting all at least partially for the observed stimulation of antibody production: acceleration of the amino acid, and in particular the glutamine metabolism, increase of the cell volume, increase of the intracellular pH and accumulation of cells in the G1 cell cycle phase.     

Establishment and characterization of an Epstein-Barr virus nuclear antigen-negative hairy cell line

Continuous cell lines have been established from spleen cells of patients with confirmed hairy cell leukemia (HCL). One cell line, HCL-Z1, lacks Epstein-Barr virus nuclear antigen (EBNA), grows attached to the substratum and retains typical features of hairy cells as revealed by transmission and scanning electron microscopy. HCL-Z1 differs morphologically from the three other EBNA-positive lymphoblastoid cell lines obtained (HCL-Z2, HCL-Z3, HCL-Z4) as well as from normal spleen cells or lymphocytes. The three lymphoblastoid cell lines derived from HCL patients show similar surface features as a line from a myeloma patient. Therefore, not all cell lines derived from HCL patients may be considered as representative of the patients leukemia cells.     

A self-feeding roller bottle for continuous cell culture

The concept of a self-feeding roller bottle that delivers a continuous supply of fresh media to cells in culture, which is mechanically simplistic and works with existing roller apparatuses, is presented here. A conventional roller bottle is partitioned into two chambers; one chamber contains the fresh culture media reservoir, and the other contains the cell culture chamber. A spiroid of tubing inside the fresh media reservoir acts as a pump when the bottle rotates on its horizontal axis, continuously delivering fresh media through an opening in the partition to the cell culture chamber. The modified bottle proved capable of maintaining steady-state cell densities of a hybridoma cell line over the 10-day period tested, although at lower densities than reached during batch operation due to the continuous volume dilution. Steady-state density proved to be controllable by adjusting the perfusion rate, which changes with the rotation rate of the bottle. Specific antibody production rate is as much as 3.7 times the rate in conventional roller bottles operating with intermittent batch feeding.     

Human tissue-type plasminogen activator. Production in continuous serum-free cell culture and rapid purification.

A simplified procedure for the production and purification of human tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA) is described. Bowes-melanoma cells were maintained in continuous serum-free culture. The cell nutrient consisted of Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium (DMEM) supplemented with insulin (5 mg/litre), transferrin (5 mg/litre), progesterone (1 nM), cortisol (10 nM), aprotinin (2 X 10(4) units/litre) and a mixture of trace elements. t-PA accumulated in the culture medium at a rate of 40 units/day per ml and was harvested every third day. Cell losses during each harvest, leading to a steady decline of enzyme yields, were compensated for by treating the cells with 5% (v/v) fetal-bovine serum in DMEM every 6-8 weeks. t-PA was rapidly purified by a combination of cation-exchange chromatography and gel filtration. The procedure yielded mainly single-chain t-PA of a specific activity of 80 000 to 100 000 units/mg.     

The application of continuous culture for plant cell suspensions

Continuous culture of plant cell suspensions has been developed during the last 35 years. Starting from rather imperfect set-ups, nowadays much better equipment is used for studies on growth and production kinetics or cell physiology. In this review the development of equipment and theory, as well as the applications are discussed.     

Lobeline production by hairy root culture of Lobelia inflata L.

Hairy roots were obtained following inoculation of the stems of Lobelia inflata L. with Agrobacterium rhizogenes strain ATCC 15834. These hairy roots contained agropine and mannopine. In addition, lobeline was detected by HPLC and confirmed by mass spectrometry. Various media were tested for the growth of hairy roots as well as for the content of lobeline in hairy roots. The growth rate of hairy roots cultured in Nitsch and Nitsch's medium was approximately one third of those cultured in other media. The lobeline content of hairy roots (18–54 g/g dry weight) cultured in these media was the same order of magnitude compared with that of roots of L. inflata (24 g/g dry weight) cultivated in pots. The hairy roots cultured in Nitsch and Nitsch's medium were morphologically different from those cultured in other media.Abbreviations MS medium Murashige and Skoog's medium - 1/2 MS medium one-half strength of the standard Murashige and Skoog's medium - B5 medium Gamborg's B5 medium - NN medium Nitsch and Nitsch's medium - FW fresh weight - DW dry weight     

Establishment in monolayer culture and characterization of four human melanoma cell lines.

Four new human melanoma cell lines were established in monolayer culture from xenograft lines originating from different patients. Several distinct characteristics of the source xenograft lines were retained in the cell lines, e.g., number of chromosomes, DNA-index, and cell ultrastructure. Cell volume was generally larger for the cell lines than for the corresponding xenograft lines, but the differences among the lines were similar in vitro and in vivo. The cell lines showed significant differences in growth pattern, i.e., cell motility and degree of intercellular contact. Cell cycle time (Tc) during exponential growth ranged from 15 to 21 h. The differences among the lines in Tc were mainly due to differences in the duration of S. Growth fraction was close to 100% and cell loss was negligible during exponential growth. Plating efficiency was 90-100% in the presence of feeder cells. The four cell lines represent a valuable supplement to the xenograft lines for future studies of the cell biology, pathophysiology, metastatic behavior, and treatment sensitivity of malignant melanoma.     

Growth of Legionella pneumophila in continuous culture.

A method was developed to grow Legionella pneumophila in continuous culture. A chemostat was used to simulate nutrient-limited, submaximal growth in the natural environmental and to provide a precisely controlled growth regimen. Cultures grew under forced aeration under conditions yielding up to 38% saturation of dissolved oxygen; supplemental CO2 (5%) at the same gas flow rates as ambient air had no effect on culture growth. Pleomorphism was observed during growth under all conditions. Pigment was produced only at D less than 0.03 h-1. Catalase was produced at higher growth rates but not at higher temperatures. The pathogenicity was unaffected by altering either the growth rate or the growth temperature.     

小鼠睾丸支持细胞体外培养特性

支持细胞是睾丸的重要组成部分,其主要功能是为生精细胞提供适宜的生长环境。从幼鼠睾丸中分离得到支持细胞,并通过苏木精-伊红和Fas-L免疫组化染色对分离得到的细胞进行了鉴定。通过对原代小鼠睾丸支持细胞的贴壁、生长和培养液中葡萄糖、谷氨酰胺、氨基酸等营养底物及其副产物乳酸、铵根离子等的代谢以及培养液渗透压和pH的研究,发现支持细胞的贴壁时间主要集中在接种后2～4h;当培养液中氨根离子浓度高于2.3mmol/L,渗透压高于326mosm/kg,pH≤6.8时支持细胞生长进入衰亡期;在氨基酸代谢方面,发现培养过程中丙氨酸和谷氨酸浓度迅速增加,缬氨酸、亮氨酸和异亮氨酸浓度略有降低,丝氨酸、精氨酸和甘氨酸浓度基本保持不变。因此培养液中铵根离子浓度的过量积累、渗透压和pH的异常和贴壁面积不足是限制支持细胞静态生长的主要因素。研究结果为支持细胞大规模培养及工艺优化奠定了基础。     

Population study of cell cycle in a continuous culture ofCandida utilis

The mean lengths of G1, S, G2 and M phases of the cell cycle were determined on the basis of the population distribution ofCandida utilis grown in a continuous culture under steady-state conditions by using an original mathematical method. The length of the G2 phase was proportional to that of G1; the length of M was effectively independent of the growth rate. The length of S was proportional to the mean number of mitochondria in the cell.     

Growth of Leishmania donovani amastigotes in a continuous macrophage-like cell culture

The feastibility of using a macrophage-like murine tumor cell as a host for Leishmania donovani was investigated. This cell line, designated P388D1, rapidly phagocytized amastigotes and supported their intracellular replication. It can serve as a model "host" without the inherent limitations of primary macrophage cultures.     

The leukaemic hairy cell in culture lacks the monocyte marker, angiotensin converting enzyme induction

Hairy cells of hairy cell leukaemia are unique circulating mononuclear cells of questionable origin which possess features of both B-lymphocytes and monocytes. Angiotensin converting enzyme, which is consistently induced in monocytes in culture, was not induced in hairy cells in culture. This result is consistent with a lymphocytic rather than a normal monocytic cell lineage for the hairy cell. The origin of other monocytic phenotypic characteristics remains to be explained.     

Kinetic study of hybridoma cell growth in continuous culture. I. A model for non-producing cells

The kinetic behavior of a nonproducing hybridoma clone AFP-27-NP was investigated in continuous culture under glucose-limited conditions. A total of more than 21, 000 h of cultures were operated at dilution rates ranging from 0.01 to 0.06 h(-1). The viable cell concentrations, dead cell concentrations, and cell volumes all varied with the dilution rate. A steady-state model was developed based on the biomass concentration and the glucose concentration. The specific growth rate as a function of glucose concentration is described by a model similar to the Monod model with a threshold glucose concentration and a minimum specific growth rate incorporated; the model is meaningful only at glucose concentrations and specific growth rates above these levels. A death rate is included in the model which is described by an inverted Monod-type function of glucose concentration. The yield coefficient based on glucose is constant in the lower range of specific growth rates and changes to a new constant value in the upper region of specific growth rates. No maintenance term for glucose consumption was needed; in the plot of specific glucose consumption rate vs. specific growth rate, the line intercepted the specific growth rate axis at a value close to the minimum growth rate. The values for the model parameters were determined from regression analysis of the steady-state data. The model predictions and experimental results fit very well.     

Cultivation of Thermoanaerobium brockii in continuous culture with complete cell recycling

The growth behaviour of the thermophilic anaerobic bacterium Thermoanaerobium brockii for the production of its intracellular secondary alcohol dehydrogenase (sADH) has been studied in batch cultures as well as in continuous cultivation with complete cell recycling. In batch culture the maximum specific growth rate, μ_MAX, was 0·5 h⁻¹, resulting in a cell density of 1·2 g l⁻¹ and an sADH activity of 1·3 units ml⁻¹. Higher glucose concentrations resulted in a decrease in ep cf7 max rs, enzyme productivity as well as biomass yield although an increase in total biomass was achieved. To improve cell density and productivity, continuous culture with complete cell recycling was used, resulting in an increase in cell density by 5 times and in productivity of the sADH by 3 times in comparison to those obtained in batch culture.