The loss of antibody productivity in continuous culture of hybridoma cells.
Two hybridoma lines, HB8178 and AFP-27, were grown in continuous culture. The concentrations of viable cells as well as those of various nutrients and metabolites reached steady-state values. The concentrations of either total IgG or antigen-specific antibody, however, failed to reach steady-state values but rather continuously decreased over the course of the cultures. The fraction of antibody-producing cells in the total cellular population also continuously decreased in the AFP-27 cultures. Comparison of the specific antibody productivity based on either the entire population or the antibody-producing fraction of the population over time suggests that the decrease in productivity was at least partly due to the occurrence of a nonproducing subpopulation of cells.
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Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, USA.
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