First continuous marine sponge cell line established

Kylie Hesp*, Jans M.E. van der Heijden, Stephanie Munroe, Detmer Sipkema, Dirk E. Martens, Rene H. Wijffels, Shirley A. Pomponi

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

8 Citations (Scopus)

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.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)5766
JournalScientific Reports
Volume13
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 8 Apr 2023

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'First continuous marine sponge cell line established'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this