Kinetics of growth and ribosome-inactivating protein production from Trichosanthes kirilowii plant cell cultures in a 5-L bioreactor.

Ribosome-inactivating proteins, named for their ability to inhibit protein translation in cell-free systems, are an important class of natural plant defense proteins with potential human therapeutic and agricultural applications. The kinetics of growth, nutrient consumption, and extracellular protein translation inhibitory activity are presented for Trichosanthes kirilowii plant cell suspensions in 5-L bioreactors at two agitation rates (50 and 100 rpm). The cultures had a 7-9.5 day lag phase followed by exponential growth with a doubling time of less than 2 days. Biomass concentrations reached levels of approximately 19 g (dry weight)/L. Protein translation inhibitory activity was observed in the culture broths during the exponential growth phase and reached levels of approximately 50-60 units. No detrimental effects of agitation were observed at 100 rpm. These studies demonstrate the potential for plant cell culture production of ribosome-inactivating proteins in bioreactor systems.