Cellular mechanisms of human monoclonal antibody production.

The objective of this study is to determine the influence of single steps of production on the overall productivity. In the long run our goal is to identify parameters that enable the biotechnological engineer to control cellular productivity. In addition, the knowledge thus acquired will be helpful in deciding which cell line or production system to choose for a given product. Flow cytometry is regarded as an ideally suited method for cell physiological studies as a statistically significant number of cells can easily be handled. In this project we want to determine how different cell lines producing the same protein respond to different culture conditions with respect to their production kinetics and intracellular control mechanisms. Firstly identifying the parameters which influence productivity, we intend to follow up these aspects in projects that will be proposed in the future.