Effects of oxygen on recombinant protein production by suspension cultures of Spodoptera frugiperda (Sf-9) insect cells.

Spodoptera frugiperda (Sf-9) insect cells have been grown in serum-free medium in 250-ml spinner flasks. The maximum cell density obtained in these cultures was dependent on the aeration rate of the culture. Similar yields of uninfected cells were obtained when cultures were stirred in spinner flasks at 80 rev min-1 and in a 4-1 stirred-tank bioreactor and the dissolved oxygen in the bioreactor was controlled at 20% of air saturation. Cells were infected with a recombinant baculovirus at different multiplicities of infection: the timing and maximum level of expression of the recombinant protein were dependent on the multiplicity of infection, the cell density at infection, and on the aeration rate of the culture. Oxygen-limited growth resulted in undetectable levels of recombinant protein (< 6 ng recombinant protein 10(-7) cells). Compared with the maximum yields observed in spinner flask cultures, higher levels of recombinant protein were produced when cells were grown and infected in the bioreactor. The level of dissolved oxygen in the bioreactor was controlled at 50% of air saturation.     

Culture in the rotating-wall vessel affects recombinant protein production capability of two insect cell lines in different manners

Summary The production of recombinant secreted alkaline phosphatase protein in virally infected insect cells was studied in shaker flask and high aspect rotating-wall vessel (HARV) culture. Two commonly used cell lines, Spodoptera frugiperda Sf-9 (Sf-9) and a nonaggregating isolate of the Trichoplusia ni BTI-Tn-5B1-4 (Tn-5B1-4) cell line, Trichoplusia ni Tn-5B1-4-NA (TN-5B1-4-NA), were used and monitored for 120-h postinfection. Different responses to culture in the HARV were seen in the two cell lines. While the Sf-9 cell line was able to produce slightly greater amounts of recombinant protein in the HARV than in shaker flask controls, the Tn-5B1-4-NA cell line produced significantly lesser amounts in the HARV than in the shaker flasks. Both cell lines exhibited longer life spans and longer periods of protein production in HARV culture than in shaker flask culture, presumably due to lower levels of shear encountered in the HARV. The important difference was in the protein production rate responses of the two cell lines. While the protein production rates of Sf-9 cells were comparable in both HARV and shaker flask cultures, the protein production rates of Tn-5B1-4-NA cells were much lower in HARV culture than in shaker flask cultures. The conclusion is drawn that cell line-specific adaptation to the HARV strongly influences recombinant protein production.     

TubeSpin bioreactor 50 for the high-density cultivation of Sf-9 insect cells in suspension

Here we present the TubeSpin bioreactor 50 (TubeSpins) as a simple and disposable culture system for Sf-9 insect cells in suspension. Sf-9 cells had substantially better growth in TubeSpins than in spinner flasks. After inoculation with 10⁶ cells/ml, maximal cell densities of 16 × 10⁶ and 6 × 10⁶ cells/ml were reached in TubeSpins and spinner flasks, respectively. In addition the cell viability in these batch cultures remained above 90% for 10 days in TubeSpins but only for 4 days in spinner flasks. Inoculation at even higher cell densities reduced the duration of the lag phase. After inoculation at 2.5 × 10⁶ cells/ml, the culture reached the maximum cell density within 3 days instead of 7 days as observed for inoculation with 10⁶ cells/ml. Infection of Sf-9 cells in TubeSpins or spinner flasks with a recombinant baculovirus coding for green fluorescent protein (GFP) resulted in similar GFP-specific fluorescence levels. TubeSpins are thus an attractive option for the small-scale cultivation of Sf-9 cells in suspension and for baculovirus-mediated recombinant protein production.     

Propagation ofSpodoptera frugiperda cells (Sf9) and production of recombinant proteins with the baculovirus expression system using improved spinner flasks with membrane aeration

Summary It has been shown that the growth of Spodoptera frugiperda cells is significantly reduced or ceased under oxygen limiting culture conditions. This paper describes the use of a new membrane-aerated spinner flask which was compared to conventional surface-aerated spinner flasks with regard to growth of the insect cell line Sf9 and recombinant protein production after infection with baculovirus. Using a commercially available serum-free culture medium Sf9 cells reached highest cell densities (3×10⁶ ml^–1) in the membrane-aerated spinner flask. Production of recombinant protein was also influenced by the oxygen supply. In the membrane-aerated spinner flask and in a surface-aerated spinner flask with reduced filling volume more than 20000 U ml^–1 of a recombinant interleukin-2 variant were accumulated whereas only 100 U ml^–1 were produced in a surface-aerated spinner flask with insufficient oxygen supply. Sufficient oxygenation appears to be essential for proliferation of Sf9 cells as well as recombinant protein production after infection with baculovirus. Membrane oxygenation allows sufficient oxygen supply at high cell density and an at least 2.5 fold higher filling volume per spinner unit.     

培养方式对真皮组织体外构建的影响

采用静态培养和转瓶培养方式分别构建真皮组织,考察培养方式和搅拌转速对细胞在三维支架材料中增殖、代谢、分布的影响。结果表明,由转瓶培养方式构建的细胞-材料复合物,其最终细胞密度和细胞比生长速率均明显高于静态培养（14.2~27.6×106 cells/cm3 vs 10.1×106 cells/cm3和0.145~0.262 d-1 vs 0.111 d-1）,而转速达80 r/min的转瓶尤其突出;静态培养的细胞-材料复合物内部细胞稀少,且分布不均匀,转瓶培养的细胞-材料复合物在材料表面和内部细胞密度都有所提高,分布情况也得到改善,且80 r/min转瓶培养的组织其细胞密度和分布均优于10 r/min和40 r/min转瓶培养。转瓶培养在其转速达到一定强度时能明显提高细胞在支架中的增殖速率,缩短培养时间,并有效改善细胞在支架内的分布,是一种理想的培养方式。     

Comparisons of microcarrier cell culture processes in one hundred mini-liter spinner flask and fifteen-liter bioreactor cultures

Microcarrier cell culture process can be used to culture anchorange-dependent cells in large bioreactor vessels. The process performance in large bioreactors is usually less prominent than that in spinner flask vessels and bench scale reactors. In this study we investigated the microcarrier cell culture processes in 100?ml spinner flask and 15-liter bioreactor cultures, including the kinetics for cell attachment, cell growth and the production of Japanese encephaltilis vaccine strain (Beijing-1) virus. Under a fixed concentration of microcarrier and cell density used in inoculations, the attachment kinetics of Vero cells on Cytodex 1 microcarrier in a 15-liter bioreactor vessel was 2 folds slower than with 100?ml spinner flask culture. Virus replication in 15-liter bioreactor culture also revealed an approximately one day lag-time compared to 100?ml spinner flask culture. Findings presented herein provide valuable information for designing and operating microcarrier cell culture processes in large bioreactor vessels.     

造血细胞体外悬浮培养和生物反应器开发

为解决造血细胞的静态培养中由浓度梯度引起的培养不稳定、环境不均一、难放大等问题,首先采用转瓶对脐血单个核细胞进行了悬浮培养研究,结果表明,悬浮培养中总细胞、集落和CD34^＋细胞的扩增都高于静态的方瓶培养。在测试了所用材料生物相容性的基础上,开发了可以控制溶氧和pH的生物反应器,并将其应用到造血细胞的批培养中,结果表明反应器的培养环境均一,可实现较高密度的培养,而且总细胞、集落和CD34^＋细胞的扩增都优于静态培养。大规模的反应器培养有利于解决临床应用中细胞数量不足的问题。     

High density culture of insect cells using rational medium design and feeding strategy

The objective of this study is to achieve high density cell culture by a rational medium design and feeding strategy. Insect cell/baculovirus expression system is one of the widely used methods for the production of heterologous proteins in the cell culture domain. Insect cell Spodoptera frugiperda Sf-21 and a recombinant baculovirus with encoded gene for human interleukin-5 were chosen as the model system in this study. A stoichiometric model was established to study the demand of nutrients, including glucose, 20 amino acids, and yeastolate, for the synthesis of cell mass. The coefficients for individual nutrients in the stoichiometric equation governing insect cell growth were determined from the information of cell mass and compositions. Based on the stoichiometric coefficients, the initial and supplemental media for fed-batch cell cultures were designed. The experiments began with the inoculation of Sf-21 cells into a spinner flask with the initial medium, which provided a starting environment for achieving optimum cell growth. This was followed by the periodic feeding of supplemental medium designed by utilizing the stoichiometric equation that governs insect cell growth. With this strategy, it was demonstrated that the Sf-21 cell culture reached a cell density in excess of 1.9᎒⁷ cells/ml. During the cultivation process, the utilization of various nutrients and the production of metabolites were also monitored. Further experiments proved that high concentration of recombinant product (such as human interleukin-5) could be achieved by infecting the high density cells (resulting from the designed medium) with recombinant baculoviruses.     

人皮肤成纤维细胞在不同培养系统中的生长代谢特性

大面积烧伤病人及多种皮肤溃疡病人很难用自体皮肤移植来进行治疗.早期治疗方法采用尸体来源的皮肤移植,但由于来源有限、且有传播疾病的危险,因此应用组织工程技术构建生物活性人工皮肤已成为近十几年来在组织工程和创伤治疗领域的研究热点,目前已有几种人工皮肤成功地走向临床[1].然而,在构建大面积皮肤组织过程中,如何大量制备皮肤种子细胞仍然是一大棘手的难题,成为人体皮肤组织工程迫切需要解决的技术关键.获得大量扩增的皮肤细胞,解决种子细胞的供应问题,是构建人工皮肤的一个关键.     

Japanese encephalitis virus production in Vero cells with serum-free medium using a novel oscillating bioreactor.

A novel oscillating bioreactor, BelloCell, was successfully applied for the cultivation of Vero cells using serum-free medium, and the production of Japanese encephalitis virus. The BelloCell requires no air sparging, pumping, or agitation, and thus provides a low shear environment. Owing to its simple design, BelloCell is extremely easy to handle and operate. Using this BelloCell (500 ml culture), Vero cells reached a maximum number of 2.8 x 10(9) cells and the Japanese encephalitis virus yield reached 6.91 x 10(11) PFU, versus 9.0 x 10(8) cells and 2.98 x 10(11) PFU using a spinner flask (500 ml) with microcarriers. The cell yield and virus production using BelloCell were markedly higher than with microcarrier culture. The neutralizing capacity of the Japanese encephalitis virus produced using BelloCell was equal to that using a microcarrier system. Therefore, these benefits should enable BelloCell to be adopted as a simple system for high population density cell culture and virus production.     

Approach toward an efficient inoculum preparation stage for suspension BHK-21 cell culture

Mammalian cells are the most frequently used hosts for biopharmaceutical proteins manufacturing. Inoculum quality is a key element for establishing an efficient bioconversion process. The main objective in inoculation expansion process is to generate large volume of viable cells in the shortest time. The aim of this paper was to optimize the inoculum preparation stage of baby hamster kidney (BHK)-21 cells for suspension cultures in benchtop bioreactors, by means of a combination of static and agitated culture systems. Critical parameters for static (liquid column height: 5, 10, 15 mm) and agitated (working volume: 35, 50, 65 mL, inoculum volume percentage: 10, 30 % and agitation speed: 25, 60 rpm) cultures were study in T-flask and spinner flask, respectively. The optimal liquid column height was 5 mm for static culture. The maximum viable cell concentration in spinner flask cultures was reached with 50 mL working volume and the inoculum volume percentage was not significant in the range under study (10–30 %) at 25 rpm agitation. Agitation speed at 60 rpm did not change the main kinetic parameters with respect to those observed for 25 rpm. These results allowed for a schedule to produce more than 4 × 10⁹ BHK-21 cells from 4 × 10⁶ cells in 13 day with 1,051 mL culture medium.     

在静态和动态培养条件下杂交瘤细胞的生长和代谢

通过对WuT3杂交瘤细胞在静态和动态培养条件下的比较,发现细胞生长和代谢有很大不同。在静态培养条件下,细胞培养周期较长,细胞密度较高;但在动态培养条件下,细胞代谢更加旺盛,葡萄糖、氨基酸等营养物质的消耗加快,乳酸、氨、丙氨酸等代谢产物的比生成速率较大。     

Comparison of Trichoplusia ni BTI-Tn-5B1-4 (high five) and Spodoptera frugiperda Sf-9 insect cell line metabolism in suspension cultures

Nutrient utilization and byproduct accumulation were monitored in Spodoptera frugiperda Sf-9 and Trichoplusia ni BTI-Tn-5B1-4 (High Fivetrade mark) cell lines during growth and following viral infection in suspension cultures in order to develop a better understanding of cell metabolism and to acquire information relevant to large scale fed-batch bioreactors. The utilization of glucose, dissolved oxygen, and amino acids were monitored in Sf-9 cell cultures grown in Sf-900 II serum-free medium (SFM) and in High Fivetrade mark cell cultures grown in both Sf-900 II and Express Five SFM. Using the optimal medium for each cell line, i.e., Sf-900 II SFM for Sf-9 cells and Express Five SFM for High Fivetrade mark cells, the cell growth rate, maximum cell density, specific glucose and glutamine utilization rates, and specific alanine production rate were comparable during cell growth. In addition, the expression level of recombinant human tissue plasminogen activator was comparable in the two cell lines on a per cell basis. It was found, however, that lactate and ammonia accumulated in High Fivetrade mark cell cultures, but not in Sf-9 cell cultures. In addition, High Fivetrade mark cells utilized asparagine more rapidly than glutamine, whereas Sf-9 cells consumed only minimal asparagine, and the oxygen utilization rate was significantly higher in High Fivetrade mark cell cultures. It was also found that the medium had a significant effect on High Fivetrade mark cell metabolism, e.g., the specific glucose utilization rate and the specific lactate and alanine production rates were significantly higher in Sf-900 II SFM than in Express Five SFM. In addition, the maximum cell density and specific asparagine utilization rate were significantly higher in Express Five SFM. (c) 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Biotechnol Bioeng 55:909-920, 1997.     

High cell density fed batch and perfusion processes for stable non-viral expression of secreted alkaline phosphatase (SEAP) using insect cells: comparison to a batch Sf-9-BEV system

The development of insect cells expressing recombinant proteins in a stable continuous manner is an attractive alternative to the BEV system for recombinant protein production. High cell density fed batch and continuous perfusion processes can be designed to maximize the productivity of stably transformed cells. A cell line (Sf-9SEAP) expressing high levels of the reporter protein SEAP stably was obtained by lipid-mediated transfection of Sf-9 insect cells and further selection and screening. The expression of the Sf-9SEAP cells was compared with the BEVS system. It was observed that, the yield obtained in BEVS was similar to the batch Sf-9SEAP at 8 and 7 IU/mL, respectively. The productivity of this foreign gene product with the stable cells was enhanced by bioprocess intensification employing the fed-batch and perfusion modes of culture to increase the cell density in culture. The fed batch process yielded a maximum cell density of 28 x 10(6) cells/mL and 12 IU/mL of SEAP. Further improvements in the productivity could be made using the perfusion process, which demonstrated a stable production rate for extended periods of time. The process was maintained for 43 days, with a steady-state cell density of 17-20 x 10(6) cells/mL and 7 IU/mL SEAP. The total yield obtained in the perfusion process (394 IU) was approximately 22 and 8 times higher than that obtained in a batch (17.6 IU) and fed batch (46.1 IU) process, respectively.     

Enhanced growth of Sf-9 cells to a maximum density of 5.2 x 10(7) cells per mL and production of beta-galactosidase at high cell density by fed batch culture

Significant improvement in cell growth and protein production has been achieved in Sf-9 insect cell cultures using pulse additions of multicomponent nutrient feed concentrates (Bédard et al., 1994; Chan et al., 1998). The present work focuses on investigating an alternative feeding strategy wherein the nutrients are fed in a semi continuous manner. Fed batch culture experiments were carried out to compare the two different feeding strategies, pulse and semi continuous and a process developed to achieve a cell density of 5.2 x 10(7) cells/mL of Sf-9 cells in a 3.5 L bioreactor. Production of recombinant protein beta-galactosidase was carried out by infecting the cells with baculovirus at a MOI of 10 at cell densities of 17 x 10(6)cells/mL. Specific productivity could be maintained at cell densities as high as 14 x 10(6) cells/mL. The results presented indicate that the feeding method can provide significant improvements in the performance with a reduction in the amount of total nutrients added. On-line monitoring of the culture using the capacitance probe showed that the capacitance probe can be used successfully to monitor the biomass and infection process even at higher cell densities.     

On-line monitoring of respiration in recombinant-baculovirus infected and uninfected insect cell bioreactor cultures

Respiration rates in Spodoptera frugiperda (Sf-9) cell bioreactor cultures were successfully measured on-line using two methods: The O(2) uptake rate (OUR) was determined using gas phase pO(2) values imposed by a dissolved oxygen controller and the CO(2) evolution rate (CER) was measured using an infrared detector. The measurement methods were accurate, reliable, and relatively inexpensive. The CER was routinely determined in bioreactor cultures used for the production of several recombinant proteins. Simple linear relationships between viable cell densities and both OUR and CER in exponentially growing cultures were used to predict viable cell density. Respiration measurements were also used to follow the progress of baculoviral infections in Sf-9 cultures. Infection led to increases in volumetric and per-cell respiration rates. The relationships between respiration and several other culture parameters, including viable cell density, cell protein, cell volume, glucose consumption, lactate production, viral titer, and recombinant beta-galactosidase accumulation, were examined. The extent of the increase in CER following infection and the time postinfection at which maximum CER was attained were negatively correlated with the multiplicity of infection (MOI) at multiplicities below the level required to infect all the cells in a culture. Delays in the respiration peak related to the MOI employed were correlated with delays in the peak in recombinant protein accumulation. DO levels in the range 5-100% did not exert any major effects on viable cell densities, CER, or product titer in cultures infected with a baculovirus expressing recombinant beta-galactosidase. (c) 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Design of a bubble-swawm bioreactor for animal cell culture

A stationary bubble-swarm has been used to aerate a mammalian cell culture bioreactor with an extremely low gas flow rate. Prolonging the residence time of the gas bubbles within the medium improved the efficiency of the gas transfer into the liquid phase and suppressed foam formation. An appropriate field of speed gradients prevented the bubbles from rising to the surface. This aeration method achieves an almost 90% transfer of oxygen supplied by the bubbles. Consequently, it is able to supply cells with oxygen even at high cell densities, while sparging with a gas flow of only 0.22·10^–3–1.45·10^–3 vvm (30–200 ml/h).The reactor design, the oxygen transfer rates and the high efficiency of the system are presented. Two repeated batch cultures of a rat-mouse hybridoma cell line are compared with a surface-aerated spinner culture. The used cell culture medium was serum-free, either with or without BSA and did not contain surfactants or other cell protecting agents. One batch is discussed in detail for oxygen supply, amino acid consumption and specific antibody production.     

Defined Essential 8? Medium and Vitronectin Efficiently Support Scalable Xeno-Free Expansion of Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells in Stirred Microcarrier Culture Systems

Human induced pluripotent stem (hiPS) cell culture using Essential 8™ xeno-free medium and the defined xeno-free matrix vitronectin was successfully implemented under adherent conditions. This matrix was able to support hiPS cell expansion either in coated plates or on polystyrene-coated microcarriers, while maintaining hiPS cell functionality and pluripotency. Importantly, scale-up of the microcarrier-based system was accomplished using a 50 mL spinner flask, under dynamic conditions. A three-level factorial design experiment was performed to identify optimal conditions in terms of a) initial cell density b) agitation speed, and c) to maximize cell yield in spinner flask cultures. A maximum cell yield of 3.5 is achieved by inoculating 55,000 cells/cm² of microcarrier surface area and using 44 rpm, which generates a cell density of 1.4x10⁶ cells/mL after 10 days of culture. After dynamic culture, hiPS cells maintained their typical morphology upon re-plating, exhibited pluripotency-associated marker expression as well as tri-lineage differentiation capability, which was verified by inducing their spontaneous differentiation through embryoid body formation, and subsequent downstream differentiation to specific lineages such as neural and cardiac fates was successfully accomplished. In conclusion, a scalable, robust and cost-effective xeno-free culture system was successfully developed and implemented for the scale-up production of hiPS cells.     

An actively mixed mini-bioreactor for protein production from suspended animal cells

Biopharmaceutical production would benefit from rapid methods to optimize production of therapeutic proteins by screening host cell line/vector combination, culture media, and operational parameters such as timing of induction. Miniaturized bioreactors are an emerging research area aiming at improving the development speed. In this work, a 3 mm thick mini-bioreactor including two 12 mm wide culture chambers connected by a 5 mm wide channel is described. Active mixing is achieved by pressure shuttling between the two chambers. Gas-liquid phase exchange for oxygen and carbon dioxide is realized by molecular diffusion through 50 microm thick polymethylpentene membranes. With this unique design, a velocity difference between the middle area and the side areas at the interfaces of the culture chambers and the connecting channel is created, which enhances the mixing efficiency. The observed mixing time is on the order of 100 s. The combination of high permeability toward oxygen of polymethylpentene membranes and fluid movement during active pressure shuttling enables higher volumetric oxygen transfer coefficients, 5.7 +/- 0.4-14.8 +/- 0.6 h(-1), to be obtained in the mini-bioreactors than the values found in traditional 50 mL spinner flasks, 2.0-2.5 h(-1). Meanwhile, the calculated volume averaged shear stress, in the range of 10(-2)-10(-1) N/m(2), is within the typical tolerable range of animal cells. To demonstrate the applicability of this mini-bioreactor to culture suspended animal cells, the insect cell, Spodoptera frugiperda, is cultured in mini-bioreactors operated under a K(L)a value of 14.8 +/- 0.6 h(-1) and compared to the same cells cultured in 50 mL spinner flasks operated under a K(L)a value of 2.2 h(-1). Sf-21 cells cultured in the mini-bioreactors present comparable length of lag phases and growth rates to their counterparts cultured in 50 mL spinner flasks, but achieve a higher maximum cell density of 5.3 +/- 0.9 x 10(6) cell/mL than the value of 3.4 +/- 0.4 x 10(6) cell/mL obtained by cells cultured in 50 mL spinner flasks. Sf-21 cells infected with SEAP-baculovirus produce a maximum SEAP concentration of 11.3 +/- 0.7 U/mL when cultured in the mini-bioreactor. In contrast, infected Sf-21 cells cultured in 50 mL spinner flasks produce a maximum SEAP concentration of 7.4 +/- 0.9 U/mL and onset of production is delayed from 18 h in minibioreactor to 40 h in spinner flasks.     

Further studies of the culture of mouse hybridomas in an agitated bioreactor with and without continuous sparging.

TB/C3 mouse hybridoma cells have been grown at 2 controlled dO2 conditions by headspace and sparged oxygenation. Also a variety of sparging rates and sparger sizes and positions have been employed. Headspace oxygenation at dO2 levels from 5% to 100% of saturation give essentially the same performance as controls. Sparging is generally damaging to cells, the extent of damage decreasing with reduced sparging rate until at below about 0.02 vvm results equivalent to the unsparged conditions are obtained. Damage is clearly linked with bubble-cell interactions at the air-medium interface where bubbles bursting in clusters and of a size less than 5 mm appear to be the most lethal. When the interaction of air sparging with the agitator flow leads to an increase in the number of smaller bubbles and cluster bursts, cell damage is further increased. Pluronic F-68 reduces damage very significantly. Biological aspects are briefly discussed in the light of various biological tests. The practical implications of this work for large scale, free suspension cell culture are outlined.