Mammalian Cell Culture Systems Research Articles

Skin Stem Cells in Silence, Action, and Cancer.

In studying how stem cells make and maintain tissues, nearly every chapter of a cell biology textbook takes on special interest. The field even allows us to venture where no chapters have yet been written. In studying this basic problem, we are continually bombarded by nature's surprises and challenges. Stem cell biology has captured my interest for nearly my entire scientific career. Below, I focus on my laboratory's contributions to this fascinating field, to which so many friends and colleagues have made seminal discoveries equally deserving of this award.

A Y161F Hemagglutinin Substitution Increases Thermostability and Improves Yields of 2009 H1N1 Influenza A Virus in Cells.

Vaccination is the primary strategy for influenza prevention and control. However, egg-based vaccines, the predominant production platform, have several disadvantages, including the emergence of viral antigenic variants that can be induced during egg passage. These limitations have prompted the development of cell-based vaccines, which themselves are not without issue. Most importantly, vaccine seed viruses often do not grow efficiently in mammalian cell lines. Here we aimed to identify novel high-yield signatures for influenza viruses in continuous Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) and Vero cells. Using influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 virus as the testing platform and an integrating error-prone PCR-based mutagenesis strategy, we identified a Y161F mutation in hemagglutinin (HA) that not only enhanced the infectivity of the resultant virus by more than 300-fold but also increased its thermostability without changing its original antigenic properties. The vaccine produced from the Y161F mutant fully protected mice against lethal challenge with wild-type A(H1N1)pdm09. Compared with A(H1N1)pdm09, the Y161F mutant had significantly higher avidity for avian-like and human-like receptor analogs. Of note, the introduction of the Y161F mutation into HA of seasonal H3N2 influenza A virus (IAV) and canine H3N8 IAV also increased yields and thermostability in MDCK cells and chicken embryotic eggs. Thus, residue F161 plays an important role in determining viral growth and thermostability, which could be harnessed to optimize IAV vaccine seed viruses.IMPORTANCE Although a promising complement to current egg-based influenza vaccines, cell-based vaccines have one large challenge: high-yield vaccine seeds for production. In this study, we identified a molecular signature, Y161F, in hemagglutinin (HA) that resulted in increased virus growth in Madin-Darby canine kidney and Vero cells, two cell lines commonly used for influenza vaccine manufacturing. This Y161F mutation not only increased HA thermostability but also enhanced its binding affinity for α2,6- and α2,3-linked Neu5Ac. These results suggest that a vaccine strain bearing the Y161F mutation in HA could potentially increase vaccine yields in mammalian cell culture systems.

Host-regulated Hepatitis B Virus Capsid Assembly in a Mammalian Cell-free System.

The hepatitis B virus (HBV) is an important global human pathogen and represents a major cause of hepatitis, liver cirrhosis and liver cancer. The HBV capsid is composed of multiple copies of a single viral protein, the capsid or core protein (HBc), plays multiple roles in the viral life cycle, and has emerged recently as a major target for developing antiviral therapies against HBV infection. Although several systems have been developed to study HBV capsid assembly, including heterologous overexpression systems like bacteria and insect cells, in vitro assembly using purified protein, and mammalian cell culture systems, the requirement for non-physiological concentrations of HBc and salts and the difficulty in manipulating host regulators of assembly presents major limitations for detailed studies on capsid assembly under physiologically relevant conditions. We have recently developed a mammalian cell-free system based on the rabbit reticulocyte lysate (RRL), in which HBc is expressed at physiological concentrations and assembles into capsids under near-physiological conditions. This system has already revealed HBc assembly requirements that are not anticipated based on previous assembly systems. Furthermore, capsid assembly in this system is regulated by endogenous host factors that can be readily manipulated. Here we present a detailed protocol for this cell-free capsid assembly system, including an illustration on how to manipulate host factors that regulate assembly.

Novel expression of immunogenic foot-and-mouth disease virus-like particles in Nicotiana benthamiana

Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is a highly contagious disease of cloven-hoofed animals and is endemic in Africa, parts of South America and southern Asia. The causative agent, FMD virus (FMDV) is a member of the genus Aphthovirus, family Picornaviridae. Vaccines currently used against FMDV are chemically inactivated virus strains which are produced under high-level biocontainment facilities, thus raising their cost. The development of recombinant FMDV vaccines has focused predominantly on FMDV virus-like particle (VLP) subunit vaccines for which promising results have been achieved. These VLPs are attractive candidates because they avoid the use of live virus in production facilities, but conserve the complete repertoire of conformational epitopes of the virus. Recombinant FMDV VLPs are formed by the expression and assembly of the three structural proteins VP0, VP1 and VP3. This can be attained by co-expression of the three individual structural capsid proteins or by co-expression of the viral capsid precursor P1-2A together with the viral protease 3C. The latter proteolytically cleaves P1-2A into the respective structural proteins. These VLPS are produced in mammalian or insect cell culture systems, which are expensive and can be easily contaminated. Plants, such as Nicotiana benthamiana, potentially provide a more cost-effective and very highly scalable platform for recombinant protein and VLP production. In this study, P1-2A was transiently expressed in N. benthamiana alone, without the 3C protease. Surprisingly, there was efficient processing of the P1-2A polyprotein into its component structural proteins, and subsequent assembly into VLPs. The yield was ∼0.030μg per gram of fresh leaf material. Partially purified VLPs were preliminarily tested for immunogenicity in mice and shown to stimulate the production of FMDV-specific antibodies. This study, has important implications for simplifying the production and expression of potential vaccine candidates against FMDV in plants, in the absence of 3C expression.

WS07.5 Novel antimicrobial peptides to fight infections in patients with cystic fibrosis

Objectives: In view of the current limitations to treat and reduce pulmonary infections and chronic inflammation in Cystic Fibrosis (CF) patients effectively, we explored the potential of a novel therapeutic approach based upon antimicrobial peptides (AMPs). Novel cathelicidin-like peptides have been designed and were tested for their antimicrobial and cytotoxic properties in vitro and ex vivo. Methods: Several well-established microbiological assays (colony counts, bioscreen kinetics) were applied using different media to test the killing efficacy of the different peptide designs against several isolates of CF-relevant bacterial and fungal species. Different mammalian cell culture systems (bronchial cell lines, primary human nasal cells) were used to screen for toxicity using the WST-1 conversion assay (cell viability). Results: Newly developed AMPs were found to display extraordinary strong antimicrobial activities against several clinical isolates of multi-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus and were shown to be effective against pathogens present in CF-patient-derived pulmonary lavage and sputum. In addition, these peptides possessed strong antifungal properties against Candida albicans and Aspergillus fumigatus, two important fungal pathogens associated with CF. In vitro studies revealed that these AMPs are active under physiological conditions (in the presence of NaCl, CaCl2) and at the lower pH that typically exists in theCFlung. Furthermore, these peptides exhibitedlowcytotoxicity towards several mammalian cell types (e.g. primary human nasal epithelial cells). Conclusion: Novel cathelicidin-inspired peptides show potential as a new anti-infectious therapy to effectively reduce a broad-range of microbial infections in the upper and lower airways of patients suffering from CF. This novel therapeutic approach may help to limit pulmonary inflammation and tissue damage, and will improve clinical outcome in CF-patients.

Plectin is a novel regulator for apical extrusion of RasV12-transformed cells

Several lines of evidence have revealed that newly emerging transformed cells are often eliminated from the epithelium, though the underlying molecular mechanisms of this cancer preventive phenomenon still remain elusive. In this study, using mammalian cell culture systems we have identified plectin, a versatile cytoskeletal linker protein, as a novel regulator for apical extrusion of RasV12-transformed cells. Plectin is accumulated in RasV12 cells when they are surrounded by normal epithelial cells. Similarly, cytoskeletal proteins tubulin, keratin, and Epithelial Protein Lost In Neoplasm (EPLIN) are also accumulated in the transformed cells surrounded by normal cells. Knockdown or functional disruption of one of these molecules diminishes the accumulation of the others, indicating that the accumulation process of the individual protein mutually depends on each other. Furthermore, plectin-knockdown attenuates caveolin-1 (Cav-1) enrichment and PKA activity in RasV12 cells and profoundly suppresses the apical extrusion. These results indicate that the plectin-microtubules-EPLIN complex positively regulates apical elimination of RasV12-transformed cells from the epithelium in a coordinated fashion. Further development of this study would open a new avenue for cancer preventive medicine.

Rab5-regulated endocytosis plays a crucial role in apical extrusion of transformed cells

Newly emerging transformed cells are often eliminated from epithelial tissues. Recent studies have revealed that this cancer-preventive process involves the interaction with the surrounding normal epithelial cells; however, the molecular mechanisms underlying this phenomenon remain largely unknown. In this study, using mammalian cell culture and zebrafish embryo systems, we have elucidated the functional involvement of endocytosis in the elimination of RasV12-transformed cells. First, we show that Rab5, a crucial regulator of endocytosis, is accumulated in RasV12-transformed cells that are surrounded by normal epithelial cells, which is accompanied by up-regulation of clathrin-dependent endocytosis. Addition of chlorpromazine or coexpression of a dominant-negative mutant of Rab5 suppresses apical extrusion of RasV12 cells from the epithelium. We also show in zebrafish embryos that Rab5 plays an important role in the elimination of transformed cells from the enveloping layer epithelium. In addition, Rab5-mediated endocytosis of E-cadherin is enhanced at the boundary between normal and RasV12 cells. Rab5 functions upstream of epithelial protein lost in neoplasm (EPLIN), which plays a positive role in apical extrusion of RasV12 cells by regulating protein kinase A. Furthermore, we have revealed that epithelial defense against cancer (EDAC) from normal epithelial cells substantially impacts on Rab5 accumulation in the neighboring transformed cells. This report demonstrates that Rab5-mediated endocytosis is a crucial regulator for the competitive interaction between normal and transformed epithelial cells in mammals.

ATF for cell culture harvest clarification: mechanistic modelling and comparison with TFF

AbstractBACKGROUNDExtracellular expression of proteins in mammalian cell culture systems requires clarification in order to separate the cell mass from soluble expressed protein. This task is typically accomplished by membrane based separations. This paper explores the use of alternating tangential flow (ATF) filtration for clarification.RESULTSThe superiority of ATF over the conventional tangential flow filtration (TFF) has been demonstrated with respect to the required sizing of the filter and both processes have been modeled. Modeling of TFF is based on assumptions of constant conditions of pressure, concentration of foulant, or flux. Modeling of ATF involved simultaneous variations in all three parameters and hence the traditional models that describe fouling of membranes under constant pressure filtration were appropriately modified to incorporate these variations. The resulting models are amenable to ‘exponent analysis’ and allow identification of the mechanism of ATF fouling among pore blocking, intermediate pore blocking, pore constriction, and cake formation. Complete pore blocking has been identified as the dominant mechanism for the system at hand involving clarification of mammalian cell culture harvests using ATF as well as TFF.CONCLUSIONSATF has been implemented and successfully demonstrated to be superior to TFF for mammalian cell culture clarification. The mechanism of fouling with ATF as well as TFF has been identified successfully. The modeling approach proposed here can be applied to a variety of industrial systems to determine the mode of fouling and to mitigate it. Also, sizing predictions based on mechanistic modeling can be useful for process optimization. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry

CRISPR Libraries and Screening.

CRISPR-Cas9 technology has revolutionized large-scale functional genomic screening in mammalian cell-culture systems. Due in part to optimized lentiviral delivery vectors; it is now possible to perform CRISPR-Cas9 screens in animals in order to study biological processes in the context of a whole organism and within more physiologically relevant environment. This chapter focuses primarily on mouse models of human cancers; viral vectors used for simultaneous tumor initiation and genome editing and sgRNA library design considerations. Experience with direct and indirect in vivo RNAi screens in the literature is also discussed in order to highlight the challenges of delivering diverse libraries of small RNAs in vivo.

Sources of Error in Mammalian Genetic Screens.

Genetic screens are invaluable tools for dissection of biological phenomena. Optimization of such screens to enhance discovery of candidate genes and minimize false positives is thus a critical aim. Here, we report several sources of error common to pooled genetic screening techniques used in mammalian cell culture systems, and demonstrate methods to eliminate these errors. We find that reverse transcriptase-mediated recombination during retroviral replication can lead to uncoupling of molecular tags, such as DNA barcodes (BCs), from their associated library elements, leading to chimeric proviral genomes in which BCs are paired to incorrect ORFs, shRNAs, etc. This effect depends on the length of homologous sequence between unique elements, and can be minimized with careful vector design. Furthermore, we report that residual plasmid DNA from viral packaging procedures can contaminate transduced cells. These plasmids serve as additional copies of the PCR template during library amplification, resulting in substantial inaccuracies in measurement of initial reference populations for screen normalization. The overabundance of template in some samples causes an imbalance between PCR cycles of contaminated and uncontaminated samples, which results in a systematic artifactual depletion of GC-rich library elements. Elimination of contaminating plasmid DNA using the bacterial endonuclease Benzonase can restore faithful measurements of template abundance and minimize GC bias.

고분자필름과 금속막 의료소재에 대한 생체적합성 및 독성 평가를 위한 새로운 세포배양시스템의 개발 및 적용

고분자(polymer), 금속(metal), 세라믹(ceramic), 합성물(composite) 등과 같은 바이오소소재(Biomaterials)는 그들의 물리화학적 성질 때문에 의료용섬유(medical fibers), 인공혈관(artificial blood vessels), 인공관절(artificial joints), 임플란트(implants), 연조직(soft tissue), 인공성형물(plastic surgery materials) 등 의료용으로 많이 사용되며, 개발연구도 활발히 진행되고 있다. 그러나, 필름(film)이나 판(plate)형태의 바이오소재에 대한 생체적합성(biocompatibility)이나 독성(toxicity)을 포유동물세포를 이용하여 평가하는 것은 적절한 평가용 장치가 없기 때문에 매우 어려운 상황이다. 따라서 이러한 문제를 해결하기 위해서, 본 연구에서는 고분자필름이나 금속판에 유용하게 적용할 수 있는 실리콘링, 상판(top panel), 하판(bottom panel)으로 구성된 새로운 포유동물배양시스템을 개발하고, 이를 실제 적용하고자 하였다. 개발된 시스템은 평가하고자 하는 시료를 상판과 하판사이에 조립하는 샌드위치시스템을 기반으로 한다. 세포배양장치의 조립 후, SK-MEL-2세포를 3가지 시료; Styela Clava Tunic (SCT)- PF, NaHCO₃-added SCT (SCTN)-PF, magnesium MP (MMP)에 적용하고 37℃ 이산화탄소 배양기에서 24시간과 48시간 동안 배양하였다. MTT분석결과에서, 세포생존율(cell viability)은 24시간과 48시간 동안 SCT-PF배양그룹에서 정상적으로 유지되었지만 48시간 동안 SCTN-PF배양그룹에서는 급격하게 감소되었다. 더불어, MMP배양그룹에서 세포생존율은 24시간과 48시간 배양 후에 대조군과 유사하게 유지되었다. 이러한 결과는 본 연구에서 새롭게 개발된 샌드위치형태의 포유동물세포배양장치는 고분자필름이나 금속판형태의 바이오소재에 대한 독성이나 생체적합성을 평가하기 위한 우수한 잠재력을 보유하고 있음을 제시하고 있다. Biomaterials including polymer, metal, ceramic, and composite have been widely applied for medical uses as medical fibers, artificial blood vessels, artificial joints, implants, soft tissue, and plastic surgery materials owing to their physicochemical properties. However, the biocompatibility and toxicity for film- and plate-form biomaterials is difficult to measure in mammalian cells because there is no appropriate incubation system. To solve these problems, we developed a novel mammalian cell culture system consisting of a silicone ring, top panel, and bottom panel and we applied two polymer films (PF) and one metal plate (MP). This system was based on the principal of sandwiching a test sample between the top panel and the bottom panel. Following the assembly of the culture system, SK-MEL-2 cells were seeded onto Styela Clava Tunic (SCT)-PF, NaHCO₃-added SCT (SCTN)-PF, and magnesium MP (MMP) and incubated at 37℃ for 24 hr and 48 hr. An MTT assay revealed that cell viability was maintained at a normal level in the SCT-PF culture group at 24 or 48 hr, although it rapidly decreased in the SCTN-PF culture group at 48 hr. Furthermore, the cell viability in the MMP culture group was very similar to that of the control group after incubation for 24 hr and 48 hr. Together, these results suggest the sandwich-type mammalian culture system developed here has the potential for the evaluation of the biocompatibility and toxicity of cells against PF- and MP-form biomaterials.

Large-Scale Purification of r28M: A Bispecific scFv Antibody Targeting Human Melanoma Produced in Transgenic Cattle.

Background30 years ago, the potential of bispecific antibodies to engage cytotoxic T cells for the lysis of cancer cells was discovered. Today a variety of bispecific antibodies against diverse cell surface structures have been developed, the majority of them produced in mammalian cell culture systems. Beside the r28M, described here, no such bispecific antibody is known to be expressed by transgenic livestock, although various biologicals for medical needs are already harvested—mostly from the milk—of these transgenics. In this study we investigated the large-scale purification and biological activity of the bispecific antibody r28M, expressed in the blood of transgenic cattle. This tandem single-chain variable fragment antibody is designed to target human CD28 and the melanoma/glioblastoma-associated cell surface chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan 4 (CSPG4).ResultsWith the described optimized purification protocol an average yield of 30 mg enriched r28M fraction out of 2 liters bovine plasma could be obtained. Separation of this enriched fraction by size exclusion chromatography into monomers, dimers and aggregates and further testing regarding the biological activity revealed the monomer fraction as being the most appropriate one to continue working with. The detailed characterization of the antibody’s activity confirmed its high specificity to induce the killing of CSPG4 positive cells. In addition, first insights into tumor cell death pathways mediated by r28M-activated peripheral blood mononuclear cells were gained. In consideration of possible applications in vivo we also tested the effect of the addition of different excipients to r28M.ConclusionSumming up, we managed to purify monomeric r28M from bovine plasma in a large-scale preparation and could prove that its biological activity is unaffected and still highly specific and thus, might be applicable for the treatment of melanoma.

678. Increasing AAV Vector Yield By Riboswitch-Mediated Attenuation of Toxic Transgene Effects in HEK-293 Producer Cells

Adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors are among the most promising viral vector systems for human gene therapy and have also been used extensively to investigate gene function in preclinical research. Achievement of high-titer vector yields regardless of the packaged transgene hence is a key goal of process optimization. However, transgenes expressed by constitutive, ubiquitously active promoters (such as the CMV promoter) often impair producer cell performance due to cytotoxic, anti-proliferative or other unknown effects, resulting in low vector yield.In our study, we explored artificial aptazyme riboswitches as novel RNA-intrinsic tools to regulate vector transgene activity during AAV production in HEK-293 cells. To this end, we integrated the guanine-responsive GuaM8HDV aptazyme in the UTR of a standard AAV transgene cassette and explored switching behavior under AAV production conditions.Our results demonstrate that transgene expression can be efficiently attenuated by a single addition of guanine in a routine medium exchange step during AAV production, thereby decreasing producer cell performance-impairing transgene effects such as cytotoxicity. In a proof-of-concept study using transgenes with both known (e.g. pro-apoptotic) as well as unknown modes of producer cell impairment, AAV vector yields could be boosted up to 23-fold with the riboswitch approach as compared to conventional vectors. As expected, this effect worked independently of the AAV serotype/capsid variant used. Importantly, GuaM8HDV-harboring AAV vectors preserved functionality (i.e. the ability to express the transgene) in vivo, as demonstrated in a mouse model of AAV-TGFb1-induced pulmonary fibrosis. Contrary to other inducible systems for gene expression control, the riboswitch system presented here does not require expression of additional transcription factors, but works in a small-molecule regulatable, RNA-intrinsic manner. Moreover, the riboswitch sequence only occupies ≈100 base pairs of plasmid space – a particular advantage for AAV vectors. Finally, this approach should in principle be expandable to other viral vector systems produced in mammalian cell culture such as Adenoviral vectors.Thus, we propose riboswitches as novel tools to foster transgeneindependent, high-titer production of viral vectors in mammalian cell culture systems. Moreover, our study further supports exploration of this technology for other purposes such as studying transgene dynamics and controlling transgene expression as a safety module in next-generation gene therapy vectors.

MXS-Chaining: A Highly Efficient Cloning Platform for Imaging and Flow Cytometry Approaches in Mammalian Systems.

The continuous improvement of imaging technologies has driven the development of sophisticated reporters to monitor biological processes. Such constructs should ideally be assembled in a flexible enough way to allow for their optimization. Here we describe a highly reliable cloning method to efficiently assemble constructs for imaging or flow cytometry applications in mammalian cell culture systems. We bioinformatically identified a list of restriction enzymes whose sites are rarely found in human and mouse cDNA libraries. From the best candidates, we chose an enzyme combination (MluI, XhoI and SalI: MXS) that enables iterative chaining of individual building blocks. The ligation scar resulting from the compatible XhoI- and SalI-sticky ends can be translated and hence enables easy in-frame cloning of coding sequences. The robustness of the MXS-chaining approach was validated by assembling constructs up to 20 kb long and comprising up to 34 individual building blocks. By assessing the success rate of 400 ligation reactions, we determined cloning efficiency to be 90% on average. Large polycistronic constructs for single-cell imaging or flow cytometry applications were generated to demonstrate the versatility of the MXS-chaining approach. We devised several constructs that fluorescently label subcellular structures, an adapted version of FUCCI (fluorescent, ubiquitination-based cell cycle indicator) optimized to visualize cell cycle progression in mouse embryonic stem cells and an array of artificial promoters enabling dosage of doxycyline-inducible transgene expression. We made publicly available through the Addgene repository a comprehensive set of MXS-building blocks comprising custom vectors, a set of fluorescent proteins, constitutive promoters, polyadenylation signals, selection cassettes and tools for inducible gene expression. Finally, detailed guidelines describe how to chain together prebuilt MXS-building blocks and how to generate new customized MXS-building blocks.

Proteomic challenges: sample preparation techniques for microgram-quantity protein analysis from biological samples.

Proteins regulate many cellular functions and analyzing the presence and abundance of proteins in biological samples are central focuses in proteomics. The discovery and validation of biomarkers, pathways, and drug targets for various diseases can be accomplished using mass spectrometry-based proteomics. However, with mass-limited samples like tumor biopsies, it can be challenging to obtain sufficient amounts of proteins to generate high-quality mass spectrometric data. Techniques developed for macroscale quantities recover sufficient amounts of protein from milligram quantities of starting material, but sample losses become crippling with these techniques when only microgram amounts of material are available. To combat this challenge, proteomicists have developed micro-scale techniques that are compatible with decreased sample size (100 μg or lower) and still enable excellent proteome coverage. Extraction, contaminant removal, protein quantitation, and sample handling techniques for the microgram protein range are reviewed here, with an emphasis on liquid chromatography and bottom-up mass spectrometry-compatible techniques. Also, a range of biological specimens, including mammalian tissues and model cell culture systems, are discussed.

Recent advances in the understanding of biological implications and modulation methodologies of monoclonal antibody N-linked high mannose glycans.

With the prevalence of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) in the biopharmaceutical industry, the use of mammalian cell culture systems, particularly Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells, has become the main method for the production of therapeutics. Despite their similarity to human cells, one major challenge of mammalian cell based biopharmaceutical production is controlling aberrant glycosylation, especially glycans with five to nine mannose residues-high mannose glycoforms. Glycosylation plays a critical role in determining the therapeutic profile of therapeutic glycoproteins; high mannose glycoforms in particular have been shown to have a significant impact on clinical efficacy and pharmacokinetics. Thus, producing glycoform profiles with consistent levels of high mannose is necessary to reduce batch-to-batch therapeutic variability and to meet regulatory standards. Studies have shown that high mannose glycoforms can be modulated through the genetic engineering of cell lines, addition of inhibitors to key enzymes in the glycosylation pathways, and varying cell culture conditions. Focusing on these three types of techniques, this review will examine and critically assess current methods for high mannose glycosylation control and future developments in this area.

Microscale acoustic disruption of mammalian cells for intracellular product release

High-throughput microscale models for cell culture are critical for biopharmaceutical process development and drug discovery compound screening. While analytical methods are readily available for quantifying cell number and secreted product concentration, the recovery and measurement of intracellular products are significantly affected by the method of cell disruption. For example, the detergents often used in product extraction are incompatible with lipid-enveloped viruses. To provide an alternative to detergent-mediated disruption of mammalian cells, we have developed an effective yet gentle mechanical method compatible with 96-well plates using adaptive focused acoustics technology. This method was adapted for the release of Varicella–Zoster virus from MRC-5 cells and then applied to investigate infectious virus yield as a function of the cell density at infection. This microscale, high-throughput mechanical cell disruption method may be applicable to a variety of mammalian cell culture systems and intracellular products, thus expanding the scope of high-throughput screening.

Cell cycle and apoptosis: a map for the GS-NS0 cell line at the genetic level and the link to environmental stress

Background Large scale mammalian cell culture systems, especially fed-batch systems, are currently utilised to manufacture monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) in order to meet the continuously growing global demand [1]. Nutrient deprivation and toxic metabolite accumulation commonly encountered in such systems influence the cell cycle and trigger apoptosis, resulting in shorter culture times and a lower final MAb titre. Control of the cell cycle has been previously studied in order to achieve higher titre through apoptosis inhibition by bcl-2 overexpression and cell cycle arrest in G1/G0 by p21 transfection. However, the above mentioned strategies have not always been successful; no improvement in titre was often observed though bcl-2 over-expression helped prolong the culture viability whereby the majority of cells were arrested at G1/G0 to avoid apoptosis [2-4]. Thus, a systematic insight of the dynamic relation between metabolic stress, cell cycle and apoptosis is still required. To this end, we aim to establish a novel map of the dynamic interplay between cell cycle and apoptosis at the genetic level, and provide a link with the culture conditions at the metabolic level.

C. elegans Aging Is Modulated by Hydrogen Sulfide and the sulfhydrylase/cysteine Synthase cysl-2

Exogenous hydrogen sulfide (H2S) administration and endogenous H2S metabolism were explored in the nematode C. elegans. Chronic treatment with a slow-releasing H2S donor, GYY4137, extended median survival by 17-23% and increased tolerance towards oxidative and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress. Also, cysl-2, a sulfhydrylase/cysteine synthase in C. elegans, was transcriptionally upregulated by GYY4137 treatment and the deletion of cysl-2 resulted in a significant reduction in lifespan which was partially recovered by the supplementation of GYY4137. Likewise, a mammalian cell culture system, GYY4137 was able to protect bovine aortic endothelial cells (BAECs) from oxidative stress and (H2O2)-induced cell death. Taken together, this provides further support that H2S exerts a protective function which is consistent with the longevity dividend theory. Overall, this study underlines the therapeutic potential of a slow-releasing H2S donor as regulators of the aging and cellular stress pathways.

Clarification of recombinant proteins from high cell density mammalian cell culture systems using new improved depth filters

Increasingly high cell density, high product titer cell cultures containing mammalian cells are being used for the production of recombinant proteins. These high productivity cultures are placing a larger burden on traditional downstream clarification and purification operations due to higher product and impurity levels. Controlled flocculation and precipitation of mammalian cell culture suspensions by acidification or using polymeric flocculants have been employed to enhance clarification throughput and downstream filtration operations. While flocculation is quite effective in agglomerating cell debris and process related impurities such as (host cell) proteins and DNA, the resulting suspension is generally not easily separable solely using conventional depth filtration techniques. As a result, centrifugation is often used for clarification of cells and cell debris before filtration, which can limit process configurations and flexibility due to the investment and fixed nature of a centrifuge. To address this challenge, novel depth filter designs were designed which results in improved primary and secondary direct depth filtration of flocculated high cell density mammalian cell cultures systems feeds, thereby providing single-use clarification solution. A framework is presented here for optimizing the particle size distribution of the mammalian cell culture systems with the pore size distribution of the gradient depth filter using various pre-treatment conditions resulting in increased depth filter media utilization and improved clarification capacity. Feed conditions were optimized either by acidification or by polymer flocculation which resulted in the increased average feed particle-size and improvements in throughput with improved depth filters for several mammalian systems.