Specific effects of synthetic oligopeptides on cultured animal cells.

Synthetic oligopeptides, tri- to pentaglycine and tri- and tetraalanine, were found to enhance viable cell density and culture viability when applied at concentrations higher than milllimolar to the cultures of a model hybridoma line. Oligoalanines, in addition, enhanced monoclonal antibody yields. Oligoglycines promoted solely the cell growth, unless the batch culture was fed with a medium concentrate. Examination of the effects of various tripeptides composed of glycine, alanine, serine, threonine, lysine, and histidine showed that some of the peptides promoted the growth of the culture, while other peptides suppressed the growth and enhanced the monoclonal antibody yield. Determination of the levels of amino acids and peptides in culture media indicated that the observed changes of culture parameters were caused by intact peptide molecules, rather than by amino acids liberated from the peptides by enzymic cleavage.