Tag: <span>virus stock</span>

Baculovirus, particularly AcMNPV (Autographa californica multiple nucleocapsids polyhedrosis virus), is widely used for heterologous protein expression. There are several shortcomings in the current practice of preserving and scaling up baculovirus: 1) extracellular baculovirus stocks, routinely prepared in large volumes and stored at 4º C, are often unstable; 2) laborious and time-consuming steps to amplify and titer the baculovirus stocks are often necessary, and generally recommended, for achieving consistent viral infection and protein expression; 3) once prepared, the baculovirus is suspended and stored in conditioned medium. Given the complex, undefined, and unstable nature of the spent media components, including proteases and nucleases, protein expression tends to vary even when steps are taken to titer the virus stock and adjust the amount of stock used for infection. Here, we will report a new method for preserving and scaling up baculoviruses that: 1) provides a new form of viral stock more stable than the traditional, extracellular stock; 2) eliminates the need for virus amplification and retitering; 3) drastically reduces the turn-around time and resources required for scale-up; and 4) improves yield and consistency in protein expression.

Baculovirus Expression Technology

Variation of viral titre and recombinant product yields reported for the baculovirus expression vector system have been attributed to many specific infection variables. These include multiplicity of infection (MOI) and cell density at time of infection and time of harvest, as well as virus bank quality and efficiency. The MOI is defined as the number of plaque forming units (pfu) per cell that are added at the time of infection. Virus titre (pfu/ml) is determined by the plaque assay method. The MOI parameter is easily manipulated and may be important in optimising recombinant protein yields. Other sources of variation during both cell growth and viral infection phases may be responsible for the range of reported yields. Past studies in our laboratory compared the behaviour of cells infected with high and low MOI values, specifically regarding nutrient limitation and deprivation. In addition to these aspects, the quality of the virus bank may be an important factor which influences heterologous protein yields in the insect cell baculovirus system. Thus, production yields may be correlated to virus efficiency…

Baculovirus Expression Technology Biologics Production