Cell Culture as an Alternative Expression System to Whole Plants

Cell Culture as an Alternative Expression System to Whole Plants 

Possible contamination by chemical or biological substances is one of the most important concerns when producing pharmaceutical proteins. Plant cell cultures ensure the production of the desired protein in a controlled, sterile and sealed environment and can be adapted to cGMP conditions. Therefore, the risk of contamination is minimized and the production conditions can be modified more easily in a contained reactor than in the field. Another advantage is the ability to freeze plant suspension cells in liquid nitrogen [66, 67] so that master and working cell banks can be established, a prerequisite for cGMP procedures [68]. 

Although plant cell culture is not as cost effective as plant cultivation in the open field, it will become an economical process if higher protein yields can be achieved [58]. The cultivation medium of plants is chemically defined, consisting of a carbon source, minerals, vitamins and phytohormones [69]. Furthermore, it is protein-free and relatively inexpensive. In contrast, animal cells often require complex supplements such as fetal calf serum and/or expensive growth factors, although serum-free cultivation is possible in case of Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells [70]. 

Protein Regulatory elements Additional elements of the construct Species Accumulation level Literature 

Human erythropoietin CaMV 35S promoter/CaMV 35S terminator Native LP N. tabacum cv BY-2 26 ng g 1 TSP 81 

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