
The Dish’s Weekly Biotechnology News Wrap Up – April 8, 2016
Cell Culture Events
Ask the Expert:
Culturing airway cells using advanced 3D culture systems for modeling the human airway
The ability to appropriately model the human airway has been greatly impacted by the development of specialized in vitro cell culture techniques that promote the formation of 3D structures recapitulating the morphological and functional characteristics of the airway. Last week’s post Cool Tools – Producing 3D Tissue Models of the Airway Epithelium with PneumaCult detailed the ways in which airway tissue models contribute to the respiratory research field, and how these advanced culture systems are supported by the defined and bovine pituitary extract-free PneumaCult™ culture system. This article discusses the features of the air-liquid-interface (ALI) culture system, which supports extensive cellular differentiation to form a pseudostratified mucociliary epithelium featuring mucus-producing cells, ciliated cells with coordinated cilia movement, and physiological epithelial barrier function. Sphere cultures of airway epithelial cells incorporating a differentiated epithelial cell layer with an open lumen lined with the apical cell surfaces were also discussed in the context of an airway culture model that is easily adaptable to high-throughput investigations. Have questions about modeling the human airway? This week, Dr. Juan Hou will be answering your questions about modeling the human airway, including how to use PneumaCult™-Ex and PneumaCult™-ALI to generate high-quality ALI and sphere cultures. If you have any questions about culturing airway cells using advanced, 3D culture systems, Dr. Hou would be happy to address these, along with any inquiries on how these culture techniques can be applied to various research topics in the respiratory field.Webinars:
Taking control of glycosylation – In vitro Glycoengineering
Thursday, April 14, 2016, 11:00am EST
Overview and Session Highlights:
Glycosylation has the potential to make or prevent market entry of a drug. Unlike the limited manipulation drug fermentation, in vitro glycoengineering enables the creation of high levels of galactosylation or sialylation to unambiguously select and implement the structure with the best therapeutic and pharmacokinetic profile.
Roland Dorn (Roche Custom Biotech IPM), and Marco Thomann (Roche Pharmaceuticals) will share insights on:
- Criteria to assess applicability of in vitroglycoengineering (IVGE) in development and manufacturing of bio-pharmaceuticals
- Integration of IVGE into the downstream process
- 1-pot reaction: combination of galactosylation and sialylation in one reaction
- Scale-ability of IVGE reaction
- Case studies from Roche Pharma
Bioprocess Insights Webinar Series:
Upstream – How to Improve Productivity and Process Economy Through Intensified Seed Train Strategies
Wed, Apr 20, 2016 – Time:11:00 AM EDT – Duration:30 minutes Dr. Andreas Castan will discuss the upstream seed train and will show how a process intensification strategy can be used to compress timelines and decrease the cost for this unit operation. Register Now.