Experimental and modelling study of different process modes for retroviral production in a fixed bed reactor

Pseudotype vectors are promising for gene transfer in many gene therapy approaches, however, low-vector concentration in batch cultures and high temperature-dependent decay do limit sufficiently large-scale production. To overcome these obstacles, the kinetic relations of cell growth and vector formation in different culture modes need to be understood. Effective optimisation of process modes is needed to achieve sufficient yields. Experimental and modelling studies were carried out in order to analyse the impact of different process modes such as perfusion, perfused fed-batch or repeated-batch on vector titer and productivity. Retroviral pseudotype vector, derived from the murine leukaemia virus carrying the HIV-1 envelop protein MLV (HIV-1) were produced using a 200 ml fixed bed reactor for high cell density cultivation on macroporous carriers. After starting the cultivation in batch mode, the reactor was either run in perfusion, perfused fed-batch or repeated-batch. A mathematical model of the bioreaction was developed on the basis of experimental data measured in culture dishes. The ability of the model to describe all different process modes of fixed-bed cultivation without additional fitting of the parameters was proven by three long-term cultivations for more than 400 h. The results of optimisation with the aid of the model, leads to the conclusion that perfusion with optimised harvest cycles and fed flows, result in a higher yield in comparison to batch or fed batch culture.