In-situ scalable manufacturing of Epstein–Barr virus-specific T-cells using bioreactor with an expandable culture area (BECA)

Abstract

The 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.

Editorial: Fabrication of in-vitro 3D human tissue models—From cell processing to advanced manufacturing

“…However, there are some challenges faced in translating this to widespread use. Successful production of in-vitro tissue models is dependent on two critical aspects–ability to carry out large-scale manufacturing of cells (growing cells in vast quantities within a homogeneous physical and chemical environment) ( Jordan et al, 2018 ; He et al, 2019 ; Chen et al, 2022 ) and advanced manufacturing platforms (highly-automated fabrication of in-vitro tissue models with high throughput rates and repeatability) ( Ozbolat and Hospodiuk, 2016 ; Ng et al, 2019 ; Zhuang et al, 2019 ; Ng et al, 2020a ; Ng et al, 2020b ; Li et al, 2020 ; Ng et al, 2022 ; Suntornnond et al, 2022 ).…”