HEK vs CHO for Protein Production
| HEK | CHO |
|---|---|
| 293 cells are highly transfectable with most transfection reagents | Suspension growth in serum-free media |
| Growth attached in basic media or suspension (requiring more expensive, protein-free media) | 30-50% less protein than HEK |
| Protein Expression for structural studies eg X-ray crystallography | Lower transfection efficiency |
| – | Choice for biopharmaceuticals = GMP validated |
| Attached | Suspension |
|---|---|
| HEK | CHO |
| Limited by surface area of culture flask | Use of bags |
| Scalable for secreted products | Scalable |
| Requires trypsinization, inexpensive media eg DMEM | Use expensive media eg (serum free) |
Stable vs Transient Cell Systems
| Stable | Transient |
|---|---|
| Time consuming/Labour intensive due to generation of stable cell lines: 2-6 months | Timeframe: 2-3 weeks |
| High Levels of Expression. Good for long-term production due to less variations. | Can be scaled up to many litres (1-5 mg/L typical) |
| No flexibility | Yield limited by expression levels |