Comparison of metabolism of hybridoma cells cultured in media supplemented with whey or fetal calf serum.

The effects of industrial whey on cell physiology were studied in a repeated fed-harvest mode using free-suspended murine hybridoma cells. After several days of culture in medium containing 9% whey and 1% fetal calf serum (FCS), cell growth and viability, carbohydrate, amino acid, energy metabolism, and antibody production rates were investigated. Differences were found between cells cultured in whey medium and those cultured in conventional FCS medium. The cell growth obtained in medium supplemented with fresh whey was similar to that obtained in FCS medium. The viability showed an increase for hybridoma cells cultured in whey medium. Glucose consumption rates were similar, whereas the lactate production rate was higher in whey medium. The metabolic uptake rates of glutamine and ammonia increased in whey medium. More alanine, glutamate, glycine, and proline were produced; their production partly came from glutamine and lactate. The consumption rates of branched amino acids changed little; their utilization was higher in whey medium. Finally, antibody productivity was increased about 20% for cells cultured in medium containing whey.