Advances in cell culture: anchorage dependence

Anchorage-dependent cells are of great interest for various biotechnological applications. (i) They represent a formidable production means of viruses for vaccination purposes at very large scales (in 1000-6000 l reactors) using microcarriers, and in the last decade many more novel viral vaccines have been developed using this production technology. (ii) With the advent of stem cells and their use/potential use in clinics for cell therapy and regenerative medicine purposes, the development of novel culture devices and technologies for adherent cells has accelerated greatly with a view to the large-scale expansion of these cells. Presently, the really scalable systems--microcarrier/microcarrier-clump cultures using stirred-tank reactors--for the expansion of stem cells are still in their infancy. Only laboratory scale reactors of maximally 2.5 l working volume have been evaluated because thorough knowledge and basic understanding of critical issues with respect to cell expansion while retaining pluripotency and differentiation potential, and the impact of the culture environment on stem cell fate, etc., are still lacking and require further studies. This article gives an overview on critical issues common to all cell culture systems for adherent cells as well as specifics for different types of stem cells in view of small- and large-scale cell expansion and production processes.