Scale-up of human embryonic stem cell culture using a hollow fibre bioreactor

• DOI: 10.1007/s10529-012-1033-1
• Publication Date: 2012-09-15T04:39:03Z
• Authors: Iwan Roberts; Stefano Baila; R. Brent Rice; Michiel Etienne J...; Kim Nguyen; Nathalie Moens; Ludmila Ruban; Diana Hernandez; Pete Coffey; Chris Mason
• Keywords: 0301 basic medicine; Stage-Specific Embryonic Antigens; 03 medical and health sciences; Bioreactors; Cell Culture Techniques; Gene Expression; Humans; Embryonic Stem Cells

The commercialisation of human embryonic stem cell derived cell therapies for large patient populations is reliant on both minimising expensive and variable manual-handling methods whilst realising economies of scale. The Quantum Cell Expansion System, a hollow fibre bioreactor (Terumo BCT), was used in a pilot study to expand 60 million human embryonic stem cells to 708 million cells. Further improvements can be expected with optimisation of media flow rates throughout the run to better control the cellular microenvironment. High levels of pluripotency marker expression were maintained on the bioreactor, with 97.7 % of cells expressing SSEA-4 when harvested.