ESTABLISHING A SPONGE HYBRIDOMA FOR THE IN VITRO PRODUCTION OF A MARINE NATURAL PRODUCT

Marine sponges are one of the most prolific sources of chemical compounds with pharmaceutical importance. To establish a supply of such compounds large enough for clinical development, in vitro production methodology was investigated. Since all sponge cells do not divide in culture, it was hypothesized that the fusion of rapidly dividing cells of a sponge that does not produce any compounds of interest with cells of a nondividing but compound-producing sponge would result in a hybridoma that produces the compound of interest. In this study, hybridomas have been produced with cells of two marine sponges, Axinella corrugata, which produces the antitumor compound stevensine, and Geodia neptuni, which divides rapidly in a nutrient medium optimized for sponge cell culture. Successful hybridization and subsequent cell division and in vitro stevensine production may unlock the potential for sustainable mass production of other sponge-derived compounds.