Transient gene expression: Recombinant protein production with suspension‐adapted HEK293‐EBNA cells

Transient gene expression (TGE) in mammalian cells at the reactor scale is becoming increasingly important for the rapid production of recombinant proteins. We improved a process for transient calcium phosphate‐based transfection of HEK293‐EBNA cells in a 1–3 L bioreactor volume. Cells were adapted to suspension culture using a commercially available medium (BioWhittaker, Walkersville, MD). Process parameters were optimized using a plasmid reporter vector encoding the enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP/CLONTECH, Palo Alto, CA, USA). Using GFP as a marker‐protein, we observed by microscopic examination transfection efficiencies between 70–100%. Three different recombinant proteins were synthesized within a timeframe of 7 days from time of transfection to harvest. The first, a human recombinant IgG 1 ‐type antibody, was secreted into the supernatant of the cell culture and achieved a final concentration of >20 mg/L. An E. coli ‐derived DNA‐binding protein remained intracellular, as expected, but accumulated to such a concentration that the lysate of cells, taken up into the entire culture volume, gave a concentration of 18 mg/L. The third protein, a transmembrane receptor, was expressed at 3–6 × 10 6 molecules/cell. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Biotechnol Bioeng 75: 197–203, 2001.