Enhanced recombinant M-CSF production in CHO cells by glycerol addition: model and validation

Addition of stimulatory chemical such as glycerol was found to increase recombinant protein production in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells. However, glycerol influenced cell mitosis and reduced cell growth rate. We developed a controlled proliferation strategy to utilize the stimulation of glycerol on recombinant protein production and mitigate the problem of growth inhibition. The approach is to apply a two-stage process, where cells are cultured without glycerol for a period of time in order to obtain enough cell density and then glycerol is added to achieve high specific productivity. In addition, a model for predicting the profiles of cell proliferation and recombinant protein production was developed and validated. A two-stage process, addition of 1% glycerol after 1 day of growth, could increase the final production of macrophage-colony stimulating factor (M-CSF) by 38% compared with the value obtained without addition of glycerol.