Characterization of HEK293 and Namalwa cells for the development of human cell line

초록

Diverse human cell lines have been studied as host cells for the production of humanized protein biopharmaceuticals, which have human glycosylation with higher efficacy and less immunogenicity. Among them, F2N78, a human somatic hybrid cell line, is known to have desirable characteristics considering the production and quality of glycoproteins. It is derived from a fusion of human embryonic kidney 293 cells (HEK293) and human Burkitt`s lymphoma cells (Namalwa). F2N78 has the advantages of both cell lines such as the high transfection efficacy of HEK293 cells and the capability of easy suspension of Namalwa cells. EBV genome is also inserted during the cell fusion. In this study, to compare the properties of HEK293 and Namalwa cells efficiently, the culture characteristics of each cell line were investigated. Serum-free adaptation was applied for HEK293 in advance because it was an adherent cell line. Effects of major carbon and energy sources on each cell and the accumulation of byproducts such as lactate and ammonia were compared. In addition, optimal utilization of hydrolysates instead of fetal bovine serum (FBS) was performed through Design of Experiment (DOE). Apparent differences in metabolism were found between HEK293 and Namalwa cells. The formation of aggregates related to glutamine concentration was apparent in Namalwa cells. The supplement of hydrolysates showed positive effects on the growth performances of HEK293 cells. On the contrary, Namalwa cells showed negative effects. In conclusion, characterization of growth performances is useful for the prediction of the properties of fused human cell line and these results can be applied for the optimization of culture medium.