First continuous marine sponge cell line established

Abstract

The potential of sponge-derived chemicals for pharmaceutical applications remains largely unexploited due to limited available biomass. Although many have attempted to culture marine sponge cells in vitro to create a scalable production platform for such biopharmaceuticals, these efforts have been mostly unsuccessful. We recently showed that Geodia barretti sponge cells could divide rapidly in M1 medium. In this study we established the first continuous marine sponge cell line, originating from G. barretti. G. barretti cells cultured in OpM1 medium, a modification of M1, grew more rapidly and to a higher density than in M1. Cells in OpM1 reached 1.74 population doublings after 30 min, more than twofold higher than the already rapid growth rate of 0.74 population doublings in 30 min in M1. The maximum number of population doublings increased from 5 doublings in M1 to at least 98 doublings in OpM1. Subcultured cells could be cryopreserved and used to inoculate new cultures. With these results, we have overcome a major obstacle that has blocked the path to producing biopharmaceuticals with sponge cells at industrial scale for decades.

Whole genome sequence of the deep-sea sponge Geodia barretti (Metazoa, Porifera, Demospongiae)

“…This genome will firmly establish the North Atlantic G. barretti as a prominent deep-sea sponge species for future studies, allowing the generation of new hypotheses about multicellularity, immunity, chemistry, and symbiont/cell recognition and interaction, which could be tested in vitro, thanks to the successful G. barretti cell line and CRISPR/Cas12a gene-editing system ( Hesp et al . 2020 , 2023 ).…”

From friends to foes: fungi could be emerging marine sponge pathogens under global change scenarios

“…Until recently, the lack of sponge cell lines and cultures hindered our understanding of pathogenesis and sponge cellular response to infection. However, recent advancements have demonstrated the successful cultivation of sponge cells in vitro ( Conkling et al, 2019 ; Hesp et al, 2023 ) and 3D cultures that mimic the architecture of sponge tissues ( Urban-Gedamke et al, 2021 ), which should pave the way to more reproducible and mechanistic studies on host-pathogen interactions. The identification of fungi and other microbes that could shift away from mutualism/commensalism to pathogenicity requires the use of mesocosm experiments conducted under controlled conditions using marine simulator systems.…”

Improved Media Formulations for Primary Cell Cultures Derived from a Colonial Urochordate

“…Since the 1960s, over 500 peer-reviewed publications have been published on this topic, with the main focus being on six phyla, which are Porifera, Cnidaria, Crustacea, Mollusca, Echinodermata, and Urochordata [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 ]. However, until recently [ 8 ], not a single continuous cell line was established for any aquatic invertebrate taxon, as all efforts to obtain lasting proliferating cultures from marine invertebrates have inexplicably failed [ 1 , 2 , 9 ], despite the increasing demand of these cultures for a wide range of applications [ 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 10 , 11 ]. Further, it has been repeatedly shown that primary cultures of marine invertebrate cells cease dividing 24–72 h from onset [ 1 , 2 ].…”

“…It is worth noting that a substantial number of unsuccessful attempts to establish primary cell cultures from marine invertebrates are not reported in the scientific literature, resulting in incomplete or fragmented knowledge of effective in vitro protocols [ 7 , 12 ], and researchers often end up revisiting unsuccessful methods and futile experimental protocols [ 1 , 2 ]. Considering the above discussion, a recent advancement in sponge cell culture has emphasized the significance of developing optimized nutrient media for the development of primary cell cultures [ 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 ], a research approach that has led to the succeeded establishment of long-lasting cultures from several sponge species [ 8 , 13 ].…”