How many adenovirus particles can be made in one HEK293 cell?

HEK293 cells can produce over 100,000 adenovirus particles per cell when using optimized protocols and transfection methods.

Here’s a more detailed explanation:

High Yield: HEK293 cells are a common choice for producing adenoviral vectors due to their ability to efficiently replicate and package adenoviruses.
Transfection Method: A common method involves transfecting HEK293 cells with plasmids containing the viral genome and helper functions, leading to high viral particle yields.
Vector Genome Containing Particles (vg): Studies have shown that using the triple transfection method, HEK293 cells can generate greater than 1 × 105 vg/cell.
Scalability: This method can be scaled up to generate large volumes of viral vectors, with some manufacturers routinely producing up to 500L per bioreactor.
Optimized Conditions: Yields can be further improved by optimizing parameters like initial cell density, harvesting time, and the addition of buffers.
Example: One study achieved a yield of 8 × 10^11 infective particles under optimized conditions.
Limitations: While HEK293 cells are a good choice, some limitations exist, such as the potential for contaminating replication-competent AdV due to homologous recombination.