Michiyuki Tokashiki

Continuous production of monoclonal antibody with immobilized hybridoma cells in an expanded bed fermentor

SummaryContinuous production of monoclonal antibody was achieved in serum-free medium by hybridoma cells immobilized by calcium alginate. The cells were cultivated in an expanded bed fermentor under mild flow conditions which reduced destruction of the immobilized gel particles. Monoclonal antibody was produced continuously for more than 40 days.

High density culture of hybridoma cells using a perfusion culture vessel with an external centrifuge.

The influence of centrifugal force on the growth of cells was examined by exposing the cells of the mouse-human hybridoma X87 line to centrifugal force (100–500 G) for ten minutes twice a day and comparing the static culture with that of unexposed cells. In this experiment, both cell proliferation and specific antibody productivity were independent of the centrifugal effect, and gave the same results as in the case of no exposure to centrifugal force. High density cultivation of the mouse-human hybridoma X87 line was obtained by a perfusion system where the cells were separated from the culture medium by continuous centrifugation. In the serum-free culture, the maximum viable cell density exceeded 107 cells/ml, and monoclonal antibody was stably produced for 37 days. The results in this culture were equivalent to those obtained by intermittent centrifugal cell separation from the culture medium, and separation by gravitational settlement.

High cell density perfusion culture of hybridoma cells recycling high molecular weight components

We have developed a high cell density and high product concentration culture system recycling high molecular weight components. The production of monoclonal antibodies in high concentration was performed by this culture system with mouse human hybridoma H2 and V6 cells in serum-free defined media.The concentration of IgG after 48 days culture of H2 cells in ITES-eRDF reached 2 mg/ml and the purity of IgG in culture fluid was 61%. In addition, high molecular weight components in serum-free media, such as transferrin or BSA, could be reduced to 5% of the original concentration.

High cell density perfusion culture of mouse-human hybridomas

SummaryFive mouse-human hybridomas, H2, H3, V1, V2 and V6 cells secreting anti-virus human monoclonal immunoglobulin G (IgG) were cultured in serum-free media at high density in a settling perfusion culture vessel with an inner cell sedimentation zone. The H2, H3 and V6 cells reached a density of 107 cells/ml in 0.5% (w/v) BSA-ITES-eRDF (see Materials and methods). The H2 cells reached only 6.8 × 106 cells/ml in the absence of bovine serum albumin (BSA), but the addition of 0.2% (w/v) Pluronic F68 increased the maximum cell density to 1.1 × 107 cells/ml, which was the same level as in BSA including medium. On the other hand, Pluronic F68 showed no stimulative effect on the growth of H2 cells in static culture. Pluronic F68 also increased the maximum cell density of V2 cells from 4.6 × 106 cells/ml to 6.9 × 106 cells/ml even in the presence of 0.5% (w/v) BSA.

High density culture of mouse-human hybridoma cells using a perfusion culture apparatus with multi-settling zones to separate cells from the culture medium.

Mouse-human hybridoma X87X cells were cultivated using a novel perfusion culture apparatus provided with three-settling zones to separate the cells from the culture medium by gravitational settling. The maximum viable cell density in a serum-free culture medium attained 3.0×107 cells/ml, when the specific perfusion rate was set to 2.3 vol day-1, and monoclonal antibody was continuously produced. These results were almost the same as those in the perfusion culture vessel with one settling zone and revealed that the process with a plurality of settling zones is a promising one for scale-up of a gravitation type of perfusion culture vessel.

Perfusion culture apparatus for suspended mammalian cells

A variety of processes have been proposed for mammalian cell culture in the commercial production of useful substances (e.g., monoclonal antibodies, therapeutic and diagnostics proteins). Among them, the perfusion culture of suspended non-immobilized cells is the most advantageous. Perfusion culture can be classified by the separation process of suspended cells from the culture mixture into three types, namely filtration, gravitational settling and centrifugation. From a commercial point of view, the present situation and technical problems of suspended-cell perfusion culture will be reviewed based on the three types, The recent development of perfusion culture has been carried out mainly on the filtration separation process, but the centrifugation process seems to have a promising future because of operation stability and scale-up feasibility. The reasons will be explained in details.

Large-scale perfusion culture process for suspended mammalian cells that uses a centrifuge with multiple settling zones

A high-cell-density perfusion culture process, using a novel centrifuge, was developed. The centrifuge has spiral multiple settling zones to separate cells from culture medium. Because of the multiple zones, the separation area can be efficiently increased without enlarging the diameter of the centrifuge. The centrifuge used in this study had a separation capacity of 2600 ml culture medium min−1 at 100g of the centrifugal force. A new cell separation and withdrawal method was also developed. The cells separated in the centrifuge can be withdrawn easily from the centrifuge with no cell clogging by feeding a liquid carrier such as a perfluorocarbon into the centrifuge and pushing the cells out with the liquid carrier. By this culture process, monoclonal antibodies were produced with mouse-human hybridoma X87X at a cell density of about 8 × 106 cells ml−1 for 25 days. This centrifuge culture shows promise as a large-scale perfusion culture process.

Production of human-mouse chimeric antibody by high cell density perfusion culture.

Two mouse myeloma cell lines which were transfected with chimeric mouse variable-human constant immunoglobulin heavy and light chain genes have been cultured at high cell density in a settling perfusion culture vessel to produce chimeric antibody specific for human common acute lymphocytic leukemia antigen (cALLA).J558L transfectant proliferated well in a serum-free medium (ITES-eRDF) to a viable cell density of 3.7×107 cells/ml and produced chimeric antibody to a maximum value of 60 μg/ml in 120 ml scale vessel. X63Ag8.653 transfectant reached a density of 1.9×107 cells/ml in 1.2 I scale vessel in serum supplemented medium (10% FCS-eRDF) and produced chimeric antibody which consisted of chimeric gamma and chimeric kappa chains to a maximum value of 5.8 μg/ml.

50L Scale Perfusion Culture of Hybridoma Cells by Gravitational Settling for Cell Separation

A mouse - human hybridoma, X32 was cultured in a perfusion system with a gravitational settling zone for cell separation. The viable cell density and IgG concentration reached 107 cells/mL and 30 mg/L respectively in 50L scale, which were almost equivalent to those in the smaller culture.

High Density Culture of Hybridoma Cells using a Perfusion Culture Apparatus with Multi-settling Zones

ABSTRACT Mouse-human hybridoma X32 cells were cultivated using a perfusion culture apparatus provided with three settling zones where the cells were separated from the culture medium by gravitational settling, as oxygen was supplied using a perfluorocarbon. Viable cell density reached about 2 × 10 cells·ml–1 at 2.0 vol·vol–1·d–1 specific perfusion rate, and the monoclonal antibody was continuously produced. This viable cell density was significantly higher than in the perfusion culture of a gravitational settling type provided with one settling zone, as oxygen was directly sparged (about 1 × 107 cell·ml–1).