Talk: 2009/01/16 Prof. Dr. Wei‐Shou Hu, Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Minnesota
Minneapolis, USA

2009/01/16, 15:00

University Main Building, Room T2-227

Toward Genomic Cell Culture Engineering via Physiological Fundamentals

Abstract:

Protein therapeutics produced by recombinant mammalian cells have greatly enhanced health care in
the past two decades. At the heart of the technology is the incredible capability of host cells in
producing high quality product at levels that rival professional protein secretors in vivo. Such
hyperproductivity is a composite of many superior characteristics, including resilience in growth,
enhanced cellular machinery related to protein synthesis and secretion, as well as alteration in many
respects of cellular homeostasis. In the next phase of technological development processes that
generate those products at even higher efficiency will make those therapeutics affordable to greater
populations around the world.
The development of such processes will likely take advantage of recent advances in genomics and cell
engineering. Genomic tools have been applied to characterize cellular responses to favorable process
conditions and to elucidate hyperproductivity traits of production cell lines. Moreover, in the past few
years the importance of metabolic traits on growth kinetics of producing cells is better realized.
Importantly our understanding of the regulation of metabolism and its relation in the cell growth control
network has also been greatly enhanced. The insights gained from such studies have enabled us to
identify key areas of genetic and process manipulations for further advancing therapeutic protein
technology. Riding on these advances cell culture engineering can propel the technology to further
benefit the society in the coming years.