Effect of Carbon Dioxide Levels on Albumin-EPO Production by Recombinant CHO Cells

초록

Various experiments have been performed to increase the production of therapeutic proteins in mammalian cell culture. Process parameters such as pH, osmolarity and carbon dioxide (CO2) level have been shown to exert a significant effect on the performance of cell line. The levels of CO2 during the culture have been reported to have important influences on general mammalian cell culture processes. In this study, application of various CO2 levels to the production of albumin-erythropoietin (Alb-EPO) fusion protein by recombinant Chinese hamster ovary (rCHO) cells in suspension was investigated. The cell growth and Alb-EPO secretion of the culture without CO2 supply were much lower than those of culture grown with CO2 supply (both 5% and 10% CO2). In addition, differences in CO2 levels did not show significant effect on cell growth and Alb-EPO production. However, each CO2 concentration was found to influence the other parameters (pH and osmolarity). This means that CO2 condition has to be taken into consideration for a design of experiment and a control of culture process although CO2 levels did not directly influence the cultivation of rCHO cells expressing Alb-EPO. In conclusion, we demonstrated that a simple programming of CO2 supply to an incubator could control culture conditions remarkably, without any apparent change in Alb-EPO quality.