Culture of human T cells in stirred bioreactors for cellular immunotherapy applications: shear, proliferation, and the IL-2 receptor

Ex vivo expansion of T cells is a key step of many cellular immunotherapy protocols, which require large numbers of immune cells to eradicate malignant or virally infected cells. The use of stirred culture systems for T cell expansion offers many potential advantages over the static culture systems commonly used today, including homogeneity of culture conditions, ease of sampling, and implementation of control systems. Primary human T cells as well as the transformed TALL103/2 T cell line were cultured in 100-mL spinner flasks as well as 2-L bioreactors to investigate the effects of shear forces produced by agitation and sparging-based aeration on the expansion of T cells. Primary T cells could be successfully grown at agitation rates of up to 120 rpm in the spinner flasks and to 180 rpm in the bioreactors with no immediate detrimental effects on proliferation. Exposure to agitation and sparging did, however, cause a significantly increased rate of downregulation of the interleukin-2 receptor (IL-2R), resulting in lower overall expansion potential from a single stimulation as compared to static controls, with faster IL-2R downregulation occurring at higher agitation rates. For the primary T cells, no significant effects of agitation were found on expression levels of other key surface receptors (CD3, CD28, or CD62L) examined. No significant effects of agitation were observed on primary T cell metabolism or levels of cellular apoptosis in the cultures. The TALL103/2 T cell line was found to be extremely sensitive to agitation, showing severely reduced growth at speeds above 30 rpm in 100-mL spinner flasks. This unexpected increased fragility in the transformed T cell line as compared to primary T cells points out the importance of carefully selecting a model cell line which will accurately represent the characteristics of the cell system of interest.     

Effects of agitation rate on aggregation during beads-to-beads subcultivation of microcarrier culture of human mesenchymal stem cells

With the aim to utilize human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) grown in large scale for regenerative medicine, effects of agitation rate on aggregation during beads-to-beads subcultivation of microcarrier culture of hMSCs were studied. hMSCs could attach and grew on surface-type microcarriers of Cytodex 1, whereas almost no cell elongation and growth were observed on porous type microcarriers of Cytopores. The percentages of aggregated Cytodex 1 microcarriers at an agitation rate of 60 and 90 rpm were lower than that at 30 rpm, which was the lowest agitation rate necessary for the suspension of Cytodex 1 microcarriers, and the cells grew fastest at 60 rpm. hMSC could be subcultivated on Cytodex 1 by the beads-to-beads method at both 30 and 60 rpm without trypsinization. However, agitation at 60 rpm resulted in a markedly lower percentage of aggregated microcarriers not only before but also after subcultivation. The percentages of CD90- and CD166-positive cells among cells grown on Cytodex 1 at 60 rpm (91.5 and 87.6 %) were comparable to those of cells grown in the pre-culture on dishes. In conclusion, hMSCs could be subcultivated on Cytodex 1 by beads-to-beads method maintaining the expressions of the cell surface antigens CD90 and CD166, while adjusting agitation rate could decrease the microcarrier aggregation.     

Protection of human induced pluripotent stem cells against shear stress in suspension culture by Bingham plastic fluid

Suspension culture is an important method used in the industrial preparation of pluripotent stem cells (PSCs), for regenerative therapy and drug screening. Generally, a suspension culture requires agitation to keep PSC aggregates suspended and to promote mass transfer, but agitation also causes cell damage. In this study, we investigated the use of a Bingham plastic fluid, supplemented with a polysaccharide-based polymer, to preserve PSCs from cell damage in suspension culture. Rheometric analysis showed that the culture medium gained yield stress and became a Bingham plastic fluid, after supplementation with the polymer FP003. A growth/death analysis revealed that 2 days of aggregate formation and 2 days of suspension in the Bingham plastic medium improved cell growth and prevented cell death. After the initial aggregation step, whereas strong agitation (120 rpm) of a conventional culture medium resulted in massive cell death, in the Bingham plastic fluid we obtained the same growth as the normal culture with optimal agitation (90 rpm). This indicates that Bingham plastic fluid protected cells from shear stress in suspension culture and could be used to enhance their robustness when developing a large-scale.     

Significance of agitation-induced shear stress on mycelium morphology and lavendamycin production by engineered Streptomyces flocculus

Lavendamycin methyl ester (LME) is a derivative of a highly functionalized aminoquinone alkaloid lavendamycin and could be used as a scaffold for novel anticancer agent development. This work demonstrated LME production by cultivation of an engineered strain of Streptomyces flocculus CGMCC4.1223 ΔstnB1, while the wild-type strain did not produce. To enhance its production, the effect of shear stress and oxygen supply on ΔstnB1 strain cultivation was investigated in detail. In flask culture, when the shaking speed increased from 150 to 220 rpm, the mycelium was altered from a large pellet to a filamentous hypha, and the LME production was almost doubled, while no significant differences were observed among varied filling volumes, which implied a crucial role of shear stress in the morphology and LME production. To confirm this suggestion, experiments with agitation speed ranging from 400 to 1,000 rpm at a fixed aeration rate of 1.0 vvm were conducted in a stirred tank bioreactor. It was found that the morphology became more hairy with reduced pellet size, and the LME production was enhanced threefolds when the agitation speed increased from 400 to 800 rpm. Further experiments by varying initial k _L a value at the same agitation speed indicated that oxygen supply only slightly affected the physiological status of ΔstnB1 strain. Altogether, shear stress was identified as a major factor affecting the cell morphology and LME production. The work would be helpful to the production of LME and other secondary metabolites by filamentous microorganism cultivation.     

A non-rotational, computer-controlled suspension bioreactor for expansion of umbilical cord blood mononuclear cells

The proliferation and differentiation characteristics of umbilical cord blood mononuclear cells were examined in a non-rotational suspension bioreactor with a fishtail mixer. The system consisted of a glass vessel, a mixer that moved vertically, a data acquisition and control system to continuously monitor pH, temperature and dissolved O₂. The bioreactor provided superior expansion of total HSCs and not total cell number, as well as expression of stemness-related genes which followed with increasing in number of colony-forming cells during 14 days of culture compared to T -lask culture. Vertical agitation thus reduces the total cell number, which may be related to increased shear stress, but has no effect on HSC function.     

一种新型生物反应器在造血干/祖细胞体外扩增中的应用

针对造血干/祖细胞体外扩增对培养环境的需求, 结合静/动态培养的特点, 开发了一种新型的生物反应器用于造血干/祖细胞的体外扩增。在该生物反应器内, 采用SCF+TPO+Flt-3细胞因子组合, 比较了静态和循环培养两种方式体外扩增脐血CD34+细胞的效果。培养7 d后, 总细胞分别扩增了(13.86 ± 4.26)和(7.23 ± 2.67)倍, 显示静态培养有利于总细胞的扩增; CD34+细胞扩增倍数、培养物中CD34+细胞含量均相近, 无显著性差异; 而CD34+CD38-细胞扩增倍数以及培养物中CD34+CD38?细胞的百分含量分别为(1.82 ± 0.58)和(3.90 ± 0.85)倍以及(9.45 ± 4.85)和(37.47 ± 14.06)%, 循环培养明显高于静态培养。可见, 在该生物反应器内, 采用静态和循环两种培养方式, 均能实现造血干/祖细胞的体外扩增, 但静态培养促使造血干细胞向定向祖细胞分化, 而循环培养则更有利于早期造血干细胞的扩增。     

一种新型生物反应器在造血干/祖细胞体外扩增中的应用

针对造血干/祖细胞体外扩增对培养环境的需求, 结合静/动态培养的特点, 开发了一种新型的生物反应器用于造血干/祖细胞的体外扩增.在该生物反应器内, 采用SCF TPO Flt-3细胞因子组合, 比较了静态和循环培养两种方式体外扩增脐血CD34 细胞的效果.培养7 d后, 总细胞分别扩增了(13.86 ± 4.26)和(7.23 ± 2.67)倍, 显示静态培养有利于总细胞的扩增; CD34 细胞扩增倍数、培养物中CD34 细胞含量均相近, 无显著性差异; 而CD34 CD38-细胞扩增倍数以及培养物中CD34 CD38-细胞的百分含量分别为(1.82 ± 0.58)和(3.90 ± 0.85)倍以及(9.45 ± 4.85)和(37.47 ± 14.06)%, 循环培养明显高于静态培养.可见, 在该生物反应器内, 采用静态和循环两种培养方式, 均能实现造血干/祖细胞的体外扩增, 但静态培养促使造血干细胞向定向祖细胞分化, 而循环培养则更有利于早期造血干细胞的扩增.     

Use of moving aeration membrane bioreactor for the efficient production of tissue type plasminogen activator in serum free medium

A moving aeration-membrane (MAM) bioreactor was employed for the production of 2 μg/mL of tissue type Plasminogen Activator (tPA) in serum free medium from normal human fibroblast cells. This system could maintain high cell density for long periods of steady state conditions in perfusion cultivation. Under normal operating conditions, shear stress was as low as 0.65 dynes/cm² at the agitation speed of 80 rpm. Even though cell density gradually decreased with increasing agitation speed, tPA production increased linearly with increasing shear stress within a moderate range. This culture system allowed production of 2 μg tPA/mL while maintaining a high cell density of 1.0×10⁷ viable cells/mL.     

Demonstrating the Manufacture of Human CAR‐T Cells in an Automated Stirred‐Tank Bioreactor

Chimeric antigen receptor T‐cell (CAR‐T) therapies have proven clinical efficacy for the treatment of hematological malignancies. However, CAR‐T cell therapies are prohibitively expensive to manufacture. The authors demonstrate the manufacture of human CAR‐T cells from multiple donors in an automated stirred‐tank bioreactor. The authors successfully produced functional human CAR‐T cells from multiple donors under dynamic conditions in a stirred‐tank bioreactor, resulting in overall cell yields which were significantly better than in static T‐flask culture. At agitation speeds of 200 rpm and greater (up to 500 rpm), the CAR‐T cells are able to proliferate effectively, reaching viable cell densities of >5 × 10⁶ cells ml‐1 over 7 days. This is comparable with current expansion systems and significantly better than static expansion platforms (T‐flasks and gas‐permeable culture bags). Importantly, engineered T‐cells post‐expansion retained expression of the CAR gene and retained their cytolytic function even when grown at the highest agitation intensity. This proves that power inputs used in this study do not affect cell efficacy to target and kill the leukemia cells. This is the first demonstration of human CAR‐T cell manufacture in stirred‐tank bioreactors and the findings present significant implications and opportunities for larger‐scale allogeneic CAR‐T production.     

Development of a fixed bed bioreactor for the expansion of human hematopoietic progenitor cells

The ex vivo expansion of hematopoietic progenitor cells is of great interest for a variety of clinical applications, e.g. bone marrow transplantation or gene therapy. Therefore it is of general interest to develop a culture system, able to mimic the in vivo hematopoesis, which is a prerequisite for long-term hematopoietic culture. Our approach was to modify a continuously perfused bioreactor for cultivation and expansion of human hematopoietic stem cells. Therefore we immobilized stromal cells (human primary stromal cells or the murine cell line M2-10B4) in porous glass carriers in a fixed bed reactor and cocultivated human hematopoietic progenitor cells for several weeks. After inoculation of mononuclear cells derived from umbilical cord blood or peripheral blood stem cells both adherent and non adherent cells were harvested and analyzed by flow cytometry and short-term colony assays. During cultivation there was a permanent production of progenitor cells and mature blood cells derived from the immobilized cells in the carriers. We could demonstrate the immobilization of hematopoietic progenitor cells of the myeloid system detectable in short-term colony assays. Additionally we could observe the expansion of very early progenitor cells (CFU-GEMM) up to 4.2-fold and later progenitor cells (CFU-GM and BFU-E) up to 7-fold and 1.8-fold, respectively. P.M. and B.S. contributed equal parts to this work. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

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.     

Damaging agitation intensities increase DNA synthesis rate and alter cell-cycle phase distributions of CHO cells

The effects of fluid-mechanical force (agitation) on the cell cycle kinetics of Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells cultured in suspension in 2-L bioreactors has been examined. A two-color flow cytometry method was used to determine the fraction rate of DNA synthesis. With increased agitation intensity, cell viability decreased as a result of increased cell death. However, increased agitation induced the viable cells of the culture to a higher proliferative state relative to a control culture. The fraction of viable cells of the high-agitation culture (250 rpm) in S phase was higher (up to 45%) and in G1 phase was lower (up to 50%) compared with the viable cells of the control culture (80 rpm). The DNA synthesis rate per viable S-phase cell of the high-agitation culture was confirmed by recovery experiments, which were conducted to measure the apparent specific growth rate and the cell cycle kinetics of the high-agitation culture upon reduction in the agitation rate from 250 rpm back to 80 rpm. The apparent specific growth rate of the test culture, calculated for the first 12 h of the recovery period, was greater than the apparent specific growth rate of the control culture. Furthermore, the proliferative state of the viable cells of the test culture, which had become higher relative to the control culture during the high agitation period, gradually approached the level of the control culture during recovery. Results also show that the magnitude of the agitation intensity; the culture agitated at 250 rpm attained a greater proliferative state than a parallel culture agitated at 235 rpm. The 250-rpm culture had a higher fraction of S-phase and a lower fraction of G1-phase cells than the 235-rpm culture. The DNA sunthesis rate per viable S-phase cell of the 250-rpm culture was greater than of the 235-rpm culture. (c) 1992 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Human hematopoietic progenitor cells grow faster under rotational laminar flows

We report significant and reproducible growth acceleration of human progenitor cells when exposed to rotational flow when compared with stationary conditions. Nonenriched CD34+ umbilical cord derived human hematopoietic progenitor cells were cultured in Petri dishes located at different radial distances with respect to the central axis of a rotating platform. Growth dynamics under 3 or 5 rpm agitation was compared against that observed under typical stationary conditions. Cells cultured at 3 or 5 rpm exhibited (a) the absence of a latency phase, (b) an increase in final cell concentrations by 54–58.5%, and (c) reduced doubling time in their exponential phase by 12–16% in comparison with stationary culture. Cells grown under rotational agitation were confirmed to remain CD34+ by PCR. These results document a significant positive effect of exposure to laminar flow fields on the growth of human hematopoietic progenitor cells. © 2010 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 2010     

Effect of agitation speed on the morphology of Aspergillus niger HFD5A-1 hyphae and its pectinase production in submerged fermentation

AIM: To investigate the impact of agitation speed on pectinase production and morphological changing of Aspergillus niger(A. niger) HFD5A-1 in submerged fermentation. METHODS: A. niger HFM5A-1 was isolated from a rotted pomelo. The inoculum preparation was performed by adding 5.0 m L of sterile distilled water containing 0.1% Tween 80 to a sporulated culture. Cultivation was carried out with inoculated 1 × 107 spores/m L suspension and incubated at 30 ℃ with different agitation speed for 6 d. The samples were withdrawn after 6 d cultivation time and were assayed for pectinase activity and fungal growth determination. The culture broth was filtered through filter paper(Whatman No. 1, London) to separate the fungal mycelium. The cell-free culture filtrate containing the crude enzyme was then assayed for pectinase activity. The biomass was dried at 80 ℃ until constant weight. The fungal cell dry weight was then expressed as g/L. The 6 d old fungal mycelia were harvested from various agitation speed, 0, 50, 100, 150, 200 and 250 rpm. The morphological changing of samples was then viewed under the light microscope and scanning electron microscope.RESULTS: In the present study, agitation speed was found to influence pectinase production in a batch cultivation system. However, higher agitation speeds than the optimal speed(150 rpm) reduced pectinase production which due to shear forces and also collision among the suspended fungal cells in the cultivation medium. Enzyme activity increased with the increasing of agitation speed up to 150 rpm, where it achieved its maximal pectinase activity of 1.559 U/m L. There were significant different(Duncan, P 0.05) of the pectinase production with the agitation speed at static, 50, 100, 200 and 250 rpm. At the static condition, a well growth mycelial mat was observed on the surface of the cultivation medium and sporulation occurred all over the fungal mycelial mat. However with the increased in agitation speed, the mycelial mat turned slowly to become a single circular pellet. Thus, it was found that agitation speed affected the morphological characteristics of the fungal hyphae/mycelia of A. niger HFD5A-1 by altering their external as well as internal cell structures.CONCLUSION: Exposure to higher shear stress with an increasing agitation speed could result in lower biomass yields as well as pectinase production by A. niger HFD5A-1.     

Influence of oxygen transfer on <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pseudomonas putida</Emphasis> effects on growth rate and biodesulfurization capacity

The growth rate and desulfurization capacity accumulated by the cells during the growth of Pseudomonas putida KTH2 under different oxygen transfer conditions in a stirred and sparged tank bioreactor have been studied. Hydrodynamic conditions were changed using different agitation conditions. During the culture, several magnitudes associated to growth, such as the specific growth rate, the dissolved oxygen concentration and the carbon source consumption have been measured. Experimental results indicate that cultures are influenced by the fluid dynamic conditions into the bioreactor. An increase in the stirrer speed from 400 to 700 rpm has a positive influence on the cell growth rate. Nevertheless, the increase of agitation from 700 to 2000 rpm hardly has any influence on the growth rate. The effect of fluid dynamics on the cells development of the biodesulfurization (BDS) capacity of the cells during growth is different. The activities of the intracellular enzymes involved in the 4S pathway change with dissolved oxygen concentration. The enzyme activities have been evaluated in cells at several growth time and different hydrodynamic conditions. An increase of the agitation from 100 to 300 rpm has a positive influence on the development of the overall BDS capacity of the cells during growth. This capacity shows a decrease for higher stirrer speeds and the activity of the enzymes monooxygenases DszC and DszA decreases dramatically. The highest value of the activity of DszB enzyme was obtained with cells cultured at 100 rpm, while this activity decreases when the stirrer speed was increased higher than this value.     

Large‐scale culture of a megakaryocytic progenitor cell line with a single‐use bioreactor system

The increasing application of regenerative medicine has generated a growing demand for stem cells and their derivatives. Single‐use bioreactors offer an attractive platform for stem cell expansion owing to their scalability for large‐scale production and feasibility of meeting clinical‐grade standards. The current work evaluated the capacity of a single‐use bioreactor system (1 L working volume) for expanding Meg01 cells, a megakaryocytic (MK) progenitor cell line. Oxygen supply was provided by surface aeration to minimize foaming and orbital shaking was used to promote oxygen transfer. Oxygen transfer rates (k_La) of shaking speeds 50, 100, and 125 rpm were estimated to be 0.39, 1.12, and 10.45 h^?1, respectively. Shaking speed was a critical factor for optimizing cell growth. At 50 rpm, Meg01 cells exhibited restricted growth due to insufficient mixing. A negative effect occurred when the shaking speed was increased to 125 rpm, likely caused by high hydrodynamic shear stress. The bioreactor culture achieved the highest growth profile when shaken at 100 rpm, achieving a total expansion rate up to 5.7‐fold with a total cell number of 1.2 ± 0.2 × 10⁹ cells L^?1. In addition, cells expanded using the bioreactor system could maintain their potency to differentiate following the MK lineage, as analyzed from specific surface protein and morphological similarity with the cells grown in the conventional culturing system. Our study reports the impact of operational variables such as shaking speed for growth profile and MK differentiation potential of a progenitor cell line in a single‐use bioreactor. © 2017 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 34:362–369, 2018     

The effect of hydrodynamic stress on the growth of Xanthomonas campestris cultures in a stirred and sparged tank bioreactor

The specific growth and the xanthan production rates by the bacterium Xanthomonas campestris under different shear levels in shake flasks and in a stirred and sparged tank bioreactor have been studied. The shake flask has been used as a reference for studying the shear effects. An effectiveness factor expressed by the ratio of the observed growth rate and the growth rate without oxygen limitation or cell damage was calculated in both modes of cultures. It was observed that the effectiveness factor was strongly dependent on the operational conditions. A strong oxygen transfer limitation at low stirring rates, indicated by a 54 % decrease in the effectiveness factor was observed. In contrast, at higher stirrer speed, cell damage was caused by hydrodynamic stress in the turbulent bulk of the broth, yielding again a decrease in the effectiveness factor values for stirrer speeds higher than 500 rpm. Cell morphological changes were also observed depending on the agitation conditions, differences in morphology being evident at high shear stress.     

Enhanced riboflavin production by recombinant Bacillus subtilis RF1 through the optimization of agitation speed

Dissolved oxygen is one of the most important bioprocess parameters that could affect cell growth and product formation, and it is easy to control by changing agitation speed. In this work, the effects of agitation speed on the performance of riboflavin production by recombinant Bacillus subtilis RF1 was investigated in fed-batch fermentation. The lower agitation speed (600 rpm) was beneficial for cell growth and riboflavin biosynthesis in the initial phase of fermentation process. While, during the later phase, higher agitation speed (900 rpm) was favor for cell growth and riboflavin biosynthesis. Thus, a two-stage agitation speed control strategy was proposed based on kinetic analysis, in which the agitation speed was controlled at 600 rpm in the first 26 h and then switched to 900 rpm to maintain high μ for cell growth and high q _p for riboflavin production during the entire fermentation process. However, it was observed that a sharp increase of agitation speed resulted in an adverse effect on cell growth and riboflavin synthesis within a short time. To avoid this phenomenon, a multi-stage agitation speed control strategy was set up based on the two-stage control strategy, the maximum concentration of riboflavin reached 9.4 g l^?1 in 48 h with the yield of 0.051 g g^?1 by applying this strategy, which were 20.5 and 21.4 % over the best results controlled by constant agitation speeds.     

Limiting cell aggregation during mesenchymal stem cell expansion on microcarriers

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) are known to be a valuable cell source for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. However, one of the main limiting steps in their clinical use is the amplification step. MSC expansion on microcarriers has emerged during the last few years, fulfilling the lack of classical T‐flasks expansion. Even if the therapeutic potential of MSC as aggregates has been recently highlighted, cell aggregation during expansion has to be avoided. Thus, MSC culture on microcarriers has still to be improved, notably concerning cell aggregation prevention. The aim of this study was to limit cell aggregation during MSC expansion on Cytodex‐1^®, by evaluating the impact of several culture parameters. First, MSC cultures were performed at different agitation rates (0, 25, and 75 rpm) and different initial cell densities (25 and 50 × 10⁶ cell g^?1 Cytodex‐1^®). Then, the MSC aggregates were put into contact with additional available surfaces (T‐flask, fresh and used Cytodex‐1^®) at different times (before and after cell aggregation). The results showed that cell aggregation was partly induced by agitation and prevented in static cultures. Moreover, cell aggregation was dependent on cell density and correlated with a decrease in the total cell number. It was however shown that the aggregated organization could be dissociated when in contact with additional surfaces such as T‐flasks or fresh Cytodex‐1^® carriers. Finally, cell aggregation could be successfully limited in spinner flask by adding fresh Cytodex‐1^® carriers before its onset. Those results indicated that MSC expansion on agitated Cytodex‐1^® microcarriers could be performed without cell aggregation, avoiding a decrease in total cell number. © 2012 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 2012