Chen, S., Bin Abdul Rahim, A. A., Wang, W.-W., Cheong, R., Prabhu, A. V., Tan, J. Z. Y., Naing, M. W., Toh, H. C., & Liu, D. (2022). In-situ scalable manufacturing of Epstein–Barr virus-specific T-cells using bioreactor with an expandable culture area (BECA). Scientific Reports, 12(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-11015-z
Abstract:
AbstractThe ex-vivo expansion of antigen-specific T-cells for adoptive T-cell immunotherapy requires active interaction between T-cells and antigen-presenting cells therefore culture density and environment become important variables to control. Maintenance of culture density in a static environment is traditionally performed by the expansion of the culture area through splitting of culture from a single vessel into multiple vessels—a highly laborious process. This study aims to validate the use and efficacy of a novel bioreactor, bioreactor with an expandable culture area—dual chamber (BECA-D), that was designed and developed with a cell chamber with expandable culture area (12–108 cm2) and a separate media chamber to allow for in-situ scaling of culture with maintenance of optimum culture density and improved nutrient and gas exchange while minimizing disturbance to the culture. The performance of BECA-D in the culture of Epstein–Barr virus-specific T-cells (EBVSTs) was compared to the 24-well plate. BECA-D had 0.9–9.7 times the average culture yield of the 24-well plates across 5 donor sets. BECA-D was able to maintain the culture environment with relatively stable glucose and lactate levels as the culture expanded. This study concludes that BECA-D can support the culture of ex-vivo EBVSTs with lower manufacturing labour and time requirements compared to the use of the 24-well plate. BECA-D and its adaptation into a closed system with an automated platform (currently being developed) provides cell therapy manufacturers and developers with a closed scale-out solution to producing adoptive cell therapy for clinical use.
License type:
Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
Funding Info:
This research / project is supported by the A*STAR - Industry Alignment Fund – Pre-Positioning Programme
Grant Reference no. : H18/01/a0/022