Production of Milligram Quantities of H-2K and Thy-1 Alloantigens by Large-Scale Mammalian Cell Culture

Summary A system for the production of milligram quantities of cell-surface alloanti-gens is presented. This system consists of 70- and 200-liter mammalian cell culture vessels capable of growing murine T-cell lines in suspension culture. The two cell lines examined exhibited superior growth properties in these vessels than in small spinner flasks. Expression of H-2Kk and Thy-1 alloantigens were higher on these cell lines than normal thymocytes. Approximately 3 μmole of Thy-1.1 and 500 nmole of H-2Kk antigens were produced in an 8-day period. The potential of the large-scale mammalian cell culture approach is briefly discussed.