Extensive knowledge of Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell metabolism is required to improve process productivity and culture performance in biopharmaceutical manufacturing. However, CHO cells show a dynamic metabolism during culturing in batch and fed-batch bioreactors. CHO cell metabolism is generally described as taking place in three stages: exponential growth phase, stationary phase, and death phase. This review aims to summarize the trends of central metabolism for CHO cells during each stage. Additional insights into how culture conditions are related to phase transitions and force metabolic rewiring are provided. Understanding of CHO cell metabolism lends itself to improving culture qualities by, for example, identifying sources of toxic byproducts and pathways for cellular engineering. In summary, this review describes the changes in CHO cell central metabolism over the course of the culture.
Keywords: CHO cells; death phase; exponential growth phase; metabolic trends; stationary phase.
© 2021 American Institute of Chemical Engineers.