1
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Šprager E, Möller J, Lin Y, Reisinger V, Bratkovič T, Lunder M, Vašl J, Krajnc A. Identification of Acyl-Protein Thioesterase-1 as a Polysorbate-Degrading Host Cell Protein in a Monoclonal Antibody Formulation Using Activity-Based Protein Profiling. J Pharm Sci 2024:S0022-3549(24)00185-0. [PMID: 38772451 DOI: 10.1016/j.xphs.2024.05.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2024] [Revised: 05/13/2024] [Accepted: 05/13/2024] [Indexed: 05/23/2024]
Abstract
Polysorbate (PS) degradation in monoclonal antibody (mAb) formulations poses a significant challenge in the biopharmaceutical industry. PS maintains protein stability during drug product's shelf life but is vulnerable to breakdown by low-abundance residual host cell proteins (HCPs), particularly hydrolytic enzymes such as lipases and esterases. In this study, we used activity-based protein profiling (ABPP) coupled with mass spectrometry to identify acyl-protein thioesterase-1 (APT-1) as a polysorbate-degrading HCP in one case of mAb formulation with stability problems. We validated the role of APT1 by matching the polysorbate degradation fingerprint in the mAb formulation with that of a recombinant APT1 protein. Furthermore, we found an agreement between APT1 levels and PS degradation rates in the mAb formulation, and we successfully halted PS degradation using APT1-specific inhibitors ML348 and ML211. APT1 was found to co-purify with a specific mAb via hitchhiking mechanism. Our work provides a streamlined approach to identifying critical HCPs in PS degradation, supporting quality-by-design principles in pharmaceutical development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ernest Šprager
- University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Pharmacy, Ljubljana, Slovenia; Novartis Technical Research & Development, Biologics Technical Development Mengeš, Novartis Pharmaceutical Manufacturing LLC, Slovenia
| | - Jens Möller
- Novartis Technical Research & Development, Analytical Characterization, Novartis Pharmaceutical Manufacturing GmbH, Kundl, Austria
| | - Yuhsien Lin
- Novartis Technical Research & Development, Analytical Characterization, Novartis Pharmaceutical Manufacturing GmbH, Kundl, Austria
| | - Veronika Reisinger
- Novartis Technical Research & Development, Analytical Characterization, Novartis Pharmaceutical Manufacturing GmbH, Kundl, Austria
| | - Tomaž Bratkovič
- University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Pharmacy, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Mojca Lunder
- University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Pharmacy, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Jožica Vašl
- Novartis Technical Research & Development, Biologics Technical Development Mengeš, Novartis Pharmaceutical Manufacturing LLC, Slovenia
| | - Aleksander Krajnc
- Novartis Technical Research & Development, Biologics Technical Development Mengeš, Novartis Pharmaceutical Manufacturing LLC, Slovenia.
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2
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Panikulam S, Hanke A, Kroener F, Karle A, Anderka O, Villiger TK, Lebesgue N. Host cell protein networks as a novel co-elution mechanism during protein A chromatography. Biotechnol Bioeng 2024; 121:1716-1728. [PMID: 38454640 DOI: 10.1002/bit.28678] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2023] [Revised: 01/29/2024] [Accepted: 02/10/2024] [Indexed: 03/09/2024]
Abstract
Host cell proteins (HCPs) are process-related impurities of therapeutic proteins produced in for example, Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells. Protein A affinity chromatography is the initial capture step to purify monoclonal antibodies or Fc-based proteins and is most effective for HCP removal. Previously proposed mechanisms that contribute to co-purification of HCPs with the therapeutic protein are either HCP-drug association or leaching from chromatin heteroaggregates. In this study, we analyzed protein A eluates of 23 Fc-based proteins by LC-MS/MS to determine their HCP content. The analysis revealed a high degree of heterogeneity in the number of HCPs identified in the different protein A eluates. Among all identified HCPs, the majority co-eluted with less than three Fc-based proteins indicating a drug-specific co-purification for most HCPs. Only ten HCPs co-purified with over 50% of the 23 Fc-based proteins. A correlation analysis of HCPs identified across multiple protein A eluates revealed their co-elution as HCP groups. Functional annotation and protein interaction analysis confirmed that some HCP groups are associated with protein-protein interaction networks. Here, we propose an additional mechanism for HCP co-elution involving protein-protein interactions within functional networks. Our findings may help to guide cell line development and to refine downstream purification strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sherin Panikulam
- Institute of Pharma Technology, University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland, Muttenz, Switzerland
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Alexander Hanke
- Analytical Development and Characterization, Biopharmaceutical Product and Process Development, Technical Research and Development, Novartis Pharma AG, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Frieder Kroener
- Analytical Development and Characterization, Biopharmaceutical Product and Process Development, Technical Research and Development, Novartis Pharma AG, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Anette Karle
- Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, Novartis Pharma AG, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Oliver Anderka
- Analytical Development and Characterization, Biopharmaceutical Product and Process Development, Technical Research and Development, Novartis Pharma AG, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Thomas K Villiger
- Institute of Pharma Technology, University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland, Muttenz, Switzerland
| | - Nicolas Lebesgue
- Analytical Development and Characterization, Biopharmaceutical Product and Process Development, Technical Research and Development, Novartis Pharma AG, Basel, Switzerland
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3
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Dündar Orhan Y, Üstüntanır Dede AF, Duran Ş, Arslanyolu M. Use of E-64 cysteine protease inhibitor for the recombinant protein production in Tetrahymena thermophila. Eur J Protistol 2024; 94:126085. [PMID: 38703600 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejop.2024.126085] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2023] [Revised: 04/24/2024] [Accepted: 04/24/2024] [Indexed: 05/06/2024]
Abstract
Tetrahymena thermophila is an alternative organism for recombinant protein production. However, the production efficiency in T. thermophila is quite low mainly due to the rich cysteine proteases. In this study, we studied whether supplementation of the E-64 inhibitor to T. thermophila cultures increases the recombinant protein production efficiency without any toxic side effects. Our study showed that supplementation of E-64 had no lethal effects on T. thermophila cells in flask culture at 30 °C and 38 °C. In vitro protease activity analysis using secretome as protease enzyme source from E-64-supplemented cell cultures showed a reduced protein substrate degradation using bovine serum albumin, rituximab, and milk lactoglobulin proteins. E-64 also prevented proteolysis of the recombinantly produced and secreted TtmCherry2-sfGFP fusion protein at some level. This reduced inhibitory effect of E-64 could be due to genetic compensation of the inhibited proteases. As a result, the 5 µM concentration of E-64 was found to be a non-toxic protease inhibitory supplement to improve extracellular recombinant protein production efficiency in T. thermophila. This study suggests that the use of E-64 may increase the efficiency of extracellular recombinant protein production by continuously reducing extracellular cysteine protease activity during cultivation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yeliz Dündar Orhan
- Department of Advanced Technologies, Institute of Graduate Programs, Eskisehir Technical University, Yunus Emre Campus, Eskişehir 26470, Turkey.
| | - Ayça Fulya Üstüntanır Dede
- Department of Biology, Institute of Graduate Programs, Eskisehir Technical University, Yunus Emre Campus, Eskişehir 26470, Turkey.
| | - Şeyma Duran
- Department of Molecular Biology, Institute of Graduate Programs, Eskisehir Technical University, Yunus Emre Campus, Eskişehir 26470, Turkey.
| | - Muhittin Arslanyolu
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Eskisehir Technical University, Yunusemre Campus, Eskişehir 26470, Turkey.
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4
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Wu R, Kahl DM, Kloberdanz R, Rohilla KJ, Balasubramanian S. Demonstration of a robust high cell density transient CHO platform yielding mAb titers of up to 2 g/L without medium exchange. Biotechnol Prog 2024:e3435. [PMID: 38329375 DOI: 10.1002/btpr.3435] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2023] [Revised: 01/10/2024] [Accepted: 01/11/2024] [Indexed: 02/09/2024]
Abstract
Biopharmaceuticals like therapeutic monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) and other derived proteins are popular for treating various diseases. Transient gene expression (TGE) is typically used as a fast yet efficient method to generate moderate amounts of material. It has been used to support early stage research and discovery processes. Introduction of a robust high yielding and predictive TGE platform in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) is crucial. It maintains the consistency in cell lines and processes throughout the early drug discovery and downstream manufacturing processes. This helps researchers to identify the issues at an early stage for timely resolution. In this study, we have demonstrated a simple high-titer platform for TGE in CHO based on a dilution process of seeding cells. We achieved titers ranging from 0.8 to 1.9 g/L for eight model mAbs at three scales (1, 30, 100 mL) in 10 days using our new platform. The ability to seed by dilution significantly streamlined the process and dramatically enhanced platform throughput. We observed a modest reduction in titer ranging from 11% to 28% when cells were seeded using dilution compared to when cells were seeded using medium exchange. Further studies revealed that carry over of spent medium into transfection negatively affected the DNA uptake and transcription processes, while the translation and secretion was minimally impacted. In summary, our transient CHO platform using cells prepared by dilution at high densities can achieve high titers of up to 1.9 g/L, which can be further improved by targeting the bottlenecks of transfection and transcription.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rigumula Wu
- Department of Cell Culture and Bioprocess Operations, Genentech, Inc, San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Danielle M Kahl
- Department of Cell Culture and Bioprocess Operations, Genentech, Inc, San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Ronald Kloberdanz
- Department of Cell Culture and Bioprocess Operations, Genentech, Inc, San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Kushal J Rohilla
- Department of Cell Culture and Bioprocess Operations, Genentech, Inc, San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Sowmya Balasubramanian
- Department of Cell Culture and Bioprocess Operations, Genentech, Inc, San Francisco, California, USA
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5
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Oh YH, Mendola KM, Choe LH, Min L, Lavoie AR, Sripada SA, Williams TI, Lee KH, Yigzaw Y, Seay A, Bill J, Li X, Roush DJ, Cramer SM, Menegatti S, Lenhoff AM. Identification and characterization of CHO host-cell proteins in monoclonal antibody bioprocessing. Biotechnol Bioeng 2024; 121:291-305. [PMID: 37877536 PMCID: PMC10842603 DOI: 10.1002/bit.28568] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2023] [Revised: 08/23/2023] [Accepted: 09/22/2023] [Indexed: 10/26/2023]
Abstract
Host-cell proteins (HCPs) are the foremost class of process-related impurities to be controlled and removed in downstream processing steps in monoclonal antibody (mAb) manufacturing. However, some HCPs may evade clearance in multiple purification steps and reach the final drug product, potentially threatening drug stability and patient safety. This study extends prior work on HCP characterization and persistence in mAb process streams by using mass spectrometry (MS)-based methods to track HCPs through downstream processing steps for seven mAbs that were generated by five different cell lines. The results show considerable variability in HCP identities in the processing steps but extensive commonality in the identities and quantities of the most abundant HCPs in the harvests for different processes. Analysis of HCP abundance in the harvests shows a likely relationship between abundance and the reproducibility of quantification measurements and suggests that some groups of HCPs may hinder the characterization. Quantitative monitoring of HCPs persisting through purification steps coupled with the findings from the harvest analysis suggest that multiple factors, including HCP abundance and mAb-HCP interactions, can contribute to the persistence of individual HCPs and the identification of groups of common, persistent HCPs in mAb manufacturing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Young Hoon Oh
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware, USA
| | - Kerri M Mendola
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware, USA
| | - Leila H Choe
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware, USA
| | - Lie Min
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware, USA
| | - Ashton R Lavoie
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
| | - Sobhana A Sripada
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
| | - Taufika Islam Williams
- Molecular Education, Technology, and Research Innovation Center (METRIC), North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
| | - Kelvin H Lee
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware, USA
| | - Yinges Yigzaw
- Purification Process Development, Genentech, Inc., South San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Alexander Seay
- Purification Process Development, Genentech, Inc., South San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Jerome Bill
- Purification Process Development, Genentech, Inc., South San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Xuanwen Li
- Analytical Research and Development, Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, New Jersey, USA
| | - David J Roush
- BPR&D, Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, New Jersey, USA
| | - Steven M Cramer
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York, USA
| | - Stefano Menegatti
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
| | - Abraham M Lenhoff
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware, USA
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6
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Ruppen I, Verscheure L, Vandenheede I, Ortiz A, de Melo IS, Liebig T, Sandra P, Beydon ME, Sandra K. Characterization of mAb size heterogeneity originating from a cysteine to tyrosine substitution using denaturing and native LC-MS. J Pharm Biomed Anal 2023; 236:115743. [PMID: 37757547 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpba.2023.115743] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2023] [Revised: 09/19/2023] [Accepted: 09/20/2023] [Indexed: 09/29/2023]
Abstract
Upon assessing the comparability between a biosimilar mAb and its reference product by non-reducing CE-SDS, increased levels of a heavy-heavy-light chain (HHL) variant, present as a low molecular weight (LMW) peak, were observed. RPLC-MS applied at top, middle-up and bottom-up level revealed the existence of Cys-to-Tyr substitutions, predominantly at position HC226 involved in connecting LC and HC, explaining the abundant HHL levels. Antigen binding was not impacted by the presence of this size variant suggesting a non-covalent association of Tyr substituted HHL and LC. The latter complex is not maintained in the denaturing conditions associated with CE-SDS and RPLC-MS. Its existence could, nevertheless, be confirmed by native SEC-MS which preserves non-covalent protein interactions during separation and electrospray ionization. Amino acid analysis furthermore demonstrated a depletion of Cys during the fed-batch process indicating that the observed size/sequence variant is not of genetic but rather of metabolic origin. Native SEC-MS showed that supplementing the cell culture medium with Cys halts misincorporation of Tyr and promotes the formation of the desired mAb structure. To the best of our knowledge, Cys-to-Tyr substitutions preventing interchain disulfide bridge formation have not been described earlier. This observation adds to the impressive structural heterogeneity reported to date for mAbs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Isabel Ruppen
- mAbxience Research, Manuel Pombo Angulo 28, 28050 Madrid, Spain
| | | | | | - Alexia Ortiz
- RIC group, President Kennedypark 26, 8500 Kortrijk, Belgium
| | | | - Timo Liebig
- mAbxience Research, Manuel Pombo Angulo 28, 28050 Madrid, Spain
| | - Pat Sandra
- RIC group, President Kennedypark 26, 8500 Kortrijk, Belgium
| | | | - Koen Sandra
- RIC group, President Kennedypark 26, 8500 Kortrijk, Belgium.
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7
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Uçan D, Hales JE, Aoudjane S, Todd N, Dalby PA. Column-free optical deconvolution of intrinsic fluorescence for a monoclonal antibody and its product-related impurities. J Chromatogr A 2023; 1711:464463. [PMID: 37866332 DOI: 10.1016/j.chroma.2023.464463] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2023] [Revised: 10/12/2023] [Accepted: 10/17/2023] [Indexed: 10/24/2023]
Abstract
The quantification of monoclonal antibody (mAb) aggregates and fragments using high pressure liquid chromatography-size exclusion chromatography (HPLC-SEC) typically requires off-line measurements that are time-consuming and therefore not compatible with real-time monitoring. However, it has been crucial to manufacturing and process development, and remains the industrial standard in the assessment of product-related impurities. Here we demonstrate that our previously established intrinsic time-resolved fluorescence (TRF) approach can be used to quantify the bioprocess critical quality attribute (CQA) of antibody product purity at various stages of a typical downstream process, with the potential to be developed for in-line bioprocess monitoring. This was directly benchmarked against industry-standard HPLC-SEC. Strong linear correlations were observed between outputs from TRF spectroscopy and HPLC-SEC, for the monomer and aggregate-fragment content, with R2 coefficients of 0.99 and 0.69, respectively. At total protein concentrations above 1.41 mg/mL, HPLC-SEC UV-Vis chromatograms displayed signs of detector saturation which reduced the accuracy of protein quantification, thus requiring additional sample dilution steps. By contrast, TRF spectroscopy increased in accuracy at these concentrations due to higher signal-to-noise ratios. Our approach opens the potential for reducing the time and labour required for validating aggregate content in mAb bioprocess stages from the several hours required for HPLC-SEC to a few minutes per sample.
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Affiliation(s)
- Deniz Uçan
- Department of Biochemical Engineering, Bernard Katz Building, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - John E Hales
- Department of Biochemical Engineering, Bernard Katz Building, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Samir Aoudjane
- Department of Biochemical Engineering, Bernard Katz Building, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Nathan Todd
- Cytiva, 5 Harbourgate Business Park, Southampton Road, Portsmouth PO6 4BQ, UK
| | - Paul A Dalby
- Department of Biochemical Engineering, Bernard Katz Building, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK.
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8
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Vitharana S, Stillahn JM, Katayama DS, Henry CS, Manning MC. Application of Formulation Principles to Stability Issues Encountered During Processing, Manufacturing, and Storage of Drug Substance and Drug Product Protein Therapeutics. J Pharm Sci 2023; 112:2724-2751. [PMID: 37572779 DOI: 10.1016/j.xphs.2023.08.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2022] [Revised: 07/24/2023] [Accepted: 08/07/2023] [Indexed: 08/14/2023]
Abstract
The field of formulation and stabilization of protein therapeutics has become rather extensive. However, most of the focus has been on stabilization of the final drug product. Yet, proteins experience stress and degradation through the manufacturing process, starting with fermentaition. This review describes how formulation principles can be applied to stabilize biopharmaceutical proteins during bioprocessing and manufacturing, considering each unit operation involved in prepration of the drug substance. In addition, the impact of the container on stabilty is discussed as well.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Joshua M Stillahn
- Legacy BioDesign LLC, Johnstown, CO 80534, USA; Department of Chemistry, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
| | | | - Charles S Henry
- Department of Chemistry, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
| | - Mark Cornell Manning
- Legacy BioDesign LLC, Johnstown, CO 80534, USA; Department of Chemistry, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA.
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9
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Gaikwad M, Richter F, Götz R, Dörrbaum A, Schumacher L, Tonillo J, Frech C, Kellner R, Hopf C. Site-Specific Structural Changes in Long-Term-Stressed Monoclonal Antibody Revealed with DEPC Covalent-Labeling and Quantitative Mass Spectrometry. Pharmaceuticals (Basel) 2023; 16:1418. [PMID: 37895889 PMCID: PMC10609731 DOI: 10.3390/ph16101418] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2023] [Revised: 09/14/2023] [Accepted: 09/25/2023] [Indexed: 10/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Studies of structural changes in mAbs under forced stress and storage conditions are essential for the recognition of degradation hotspots, which can be further remodeled to improve the stability of the respective protein. Herein, we used diethyl pyrocarbonate (DEPC)-based covalent labeling mass spectrometry (CL-MS) to assess structural changes in a model mAb (SILuMAb). Structural changes in the heat-stressed mAb samples were confirmed at specific amino acid positions from the DEPC label mass seen in the fragment ion mass spectrum. The degree of structural change was also quantified by increased or decreased DEPC labeling at specific sites; an increase or decrease indicated an unfolded or aggregated state of the mAb, respectively. Strikingly, for heat-stressed SILuMAb samples, an aggregation-prone area was identified in the CDR region. In the case of longterm stress, the structural consequences for SILuMAb samples stored for up to two years at 2-8 °C were studied with SEC-UV and DEPC-based CL-MS. While SEC-UV analysis only indicated fragmentation of SILuMAb, DEPC-based CL-MS analysis further pinpointed the finding to structural disturbances of disulfide bonds at specific cysteines. This emphasized the utility of DEPC CL-MS for studying disulfide rearrangement. Taken together, our data suggests that DEPC CL-MS can complement more technically challenging methods in the evaluation of the structural stability of mAbs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manasi Gaikwad
- Center for Mass Spectrometry and Optical Spectroscopy (CeMOS), Mannheim University of Applied Sciences, Paul-Wittsack-Str. 10, 68163 Mannheim, Germany; (M.G.); (F.R.)
| | - Florian Richter
- Center for Mass Spectrometry and Optical Spectroscopy (CeMOS), Mannheim University of Applied Sciences, Paul-Wittsack-Str. 10, 68163 Mannheim, Germany; (M.G.); (F.R.)
| | - Rabea Götz
- Center for Mass Spectrometry and Optical Spectroscopy (CeMOS), Mannheim University of Applied Sciences, Paul-Wittsack-Str. 10, 68163 Mannheim, Germany; (M.G.); (F.R.)
| | - Aline Dörrbaum
- Center for Mass Spectrometry and Optical Spectroscopy (CeMOS), Mannheim University of Applied Sciences, Paul-Wittsack-Str. 10, 68163 Mannheim, Germany; (M.G.); (F.R.)
| | - Lena Schumacher
- Center for Mass Spectrometry and Optical Spectroscopy (CeMOS), Mannheim University of Applied Sciences, Paul-Wittsack-Str. 10, 68163 Mannheim, Germany; (M.G.); (F.R.)
| | - Jason Tonillo
- Merck Healthcare KGaA, ADCs & Targeted NBE Therapeutics, Frankfurter Str. 250, 64293 Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Christian Frech
- Faculty of Biotechnology, Mannheim University of Applied Sciences, Paul-Wittsack-Str. 10, 68163 Mannheim, Germany
| | - Roland Kellner
- Merck Healthcare KGaA, ADCs & Targeted NBE Therapeutics, Frankfurter Str. 250, 64293 Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Carsten Hopf
- Center for Mass Spectrometry and Optical Spectroscopy (CeMOS), Mannheim University of Applied Sciences, Paul-Wittsack-Str. 10, 68163 Mannheim, Germany; (M.G.); (F.R.)
- Faculty of Biotechnology, Mannheim University of Applied Sciences, Paul-Wittsack-Str. 10, 68163 Mannheim, Germany
- Medical Faculty, Heidelberg University, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany
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10
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Haltaufderhyde K, Roberts BJ, Khan S, Terry F, Boyle CM, McAllister M, Martin W, Rosenberg A, De Groot AS. Immunoinformatic Risk Assessment of Host Cell Proteins During Process Development for Biologic Therapeutics. AAPS J 2023; 25:87. [PMID: 37697150 DOI: 10.1208/s12248-023-00852-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2023] [Accepted: 08/19/2023] [Indexed: 09/13/2023] Open
Abstract
The identification and removal of host cell proteins (HCPs) from biologic products is a critical step in drug development. Despite recent improvements to purification processes, biologics such as monoclonal antibodies, enzyme replacement therapies, and vaccines that are manufactured in a range of cell lines and purified using diverse processes may contain HCP impurities, making it necessary for developers to identify and quantify impurities during process development for each drug product. HCPs that contain sequences that are less conserved with human homologs may be more immunogenic than those that are more conserved. We have developed a computational tool, ISPRI-HCP, that estimates the immunogenic potential of HCP sequences by evaluating and quantifying T cell epitope density and relative conservation with similar T cell epitopes in the human proteome. Here we describe several case studies that support the use of this method for classifying candidate HCP impurities according to their immunogenicity risk.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Brian J Roberts
- EpiVax, Inc, 188 Valley St #424, Providence, Rhode Island, USA
| | - Sundos Khan
- EpiVax, Inc, 188 Valley St #424, Providence, Rhode Island, USA
| | - Frances Terry
- EpiVax, Inc, 188 Valley St #424, Providence, Rhode Island, USA
| | | | | | - William Martin
- EpiVax, Inc, 188 Valley St #424, Providence, Rhode Island, USA
| | - Amy Rosenberg
- EpiVax, Inc, 188 Valley St #424, Providence, Rhode Island, USA
| | - Anne S De Groot
- EpiVax, Inc, 188 Valley St #424, Providence, Rhode Island, USA.
- Center for Vaccines and Immunology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA.
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11
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Pearson C, Wang Y, Alkurdi E, Zhang Y, Yin K, Rustandi RR, Loughney JW. Quantitation of host cell proteins in biopharmaceuticals from chinese hamster ovarian and vero cell lines using capillary electrophoresis western blots. J Pharm Biomed Anal 2023; 233:115420. [PMID: 37207489 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpba.2023.115420] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2023] [Revised: 04/12/2023] [Accepted: 04/24/2023] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
Quantitation of host cell proteins (HCPs) is essential in the process of preparation of many biological and vaccine products. Common methods of quantitation include the widely applied enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs), mass spectrometry (MS) and other orthogonal assays. Prior to using these techniques, critical reagents need to be evaluated, for example, antibodies need to be assessed for HCP coverage. Percent of HCP coverage is often established by denatured 2D Western blot. However, ELISAs measure the amount of HCP only in a native state. There are limited studies linking reagents validated by 2D-Western to ensure adequate coverage in the final ELISA. ProteinSimple's newly developed capillary Western blot technology allows for separation, blotting, and detection of proteins in a semi-automated and simplified format. Capillary Westerns are similar to slab Westerns, with the added benefit of being quantitative. Here we outline the capillary Western method that links the 2D Western coverage and ultimately ELISAs for more efficient HCP quantitation. This study describes the development of the capillary Western analytical method to quantitively evaluate HCPs in Vero and Chinese Hamster Ovarian (CHO) cell lines. The amount of CHO HCPs decreases as the sample is purified as expected. Using this approach, we determined that the detected Vero HCPs amount was similar irrespective of denatured (capillary Western) versus native assay format (ELISA). This new method can also be potentially employed to quantitatively assess the anti-HCP antibody reagent coverage used in commercial HCP ELISA kits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cara Pearson
- Analytical Research & Development Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA
| | - Yi Wang
- Analytical Research & Development Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA
| | - Eman Alkurdi
- Analytical Research & Development Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA
| | - Young Zhang
- Analytical Research & Development Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA
| | - Kuo Yin
- Analytical Research & Development Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA
| | | | - John W Loughney
- Analytical Research & Development Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA.
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12
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Glinšek K, Bozovičar K, Bratkovič T. CRISPR Technologies in Chinese Hamster Ovary Cell Line Engineering. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:ijms24098144. [PMID: 37175850 PMCID: PMC10179654 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24098144] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2023] [Revised: 04/26/2023] [Accepted: 04/28/2023] [Indexed: 05/15/2023] Open
Abstract
The Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell line is a well-established platform for the production of biopharmaceuticals due to its ability to express complex therapeutic proteins with human-like glycopatterns in high amounts. The advent of CRISPR technology has opened up new avenues for the engineering of CHO cell lines for improved protein production and enhanced product quality. This review summarizes recent advances in the application of CRISPR technology for CHO cell line engineering with a particular focus on glycosylation modulation, productivity enhancement, tackling adventitious agents, elimination of problematic host cell proteins, development of antibiotic-free selection systems, site-specific transgene integration, and CRISPR-mediated gene activation and repression. The review highlights the potential of CRISPR technology in CHO cell line genome editing and epigenetic engineering for the more efficient and cost-effective development of biopharmaceuticals while ensuring the safety and quality of the final product.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katja Glinšek
- Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Ljubljana, Aškerčeva 7, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Krištof Bozovičar
- Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Ljubljana, Aškerčeva 7, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Tomaž Bratkovič
- Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Ljubljana, Aškerčeva 7, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
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13
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Tuameh A, Harding SE, Darton NJ. Methods for addressing host cell protein impurities in biopharmaceutical product development. Biotechnol J 2023; 18:e2200115. [PMID: 36427352 DOI: 10.1002/biot.202200115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2022] [Revised: 11/18/2022] [Accepted: 11/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
The high demand for monoclonal antibody (mAb) therapeutics in recent years has resulted in significant efforts to improve their costly manufacturing process. The high cost of manufacturing mAbs derives mainly from the purification process, which contributes to 50%-80% of the total manufacturing cost. One of the main challenges facing industry at the purification stage is the clearance of host cell proteins (HCPs) that are produced and often co-purified with the desired mAb product. One of the issues HCPs can cause is the degradation of the final mAb protein product. In this review, techniques are considered that can be used at different stages (upstream and downstream) of mAb manufacture to improve HCP clearance. In addition to established techniques, many new approaches for HCP removal are discussed that have the potential to replace current methods for improving HCP reduction and thereby the quality and stability of the final mAb product.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abdulrahman Tuameh
- National Centre for Macromolecular Hydrodynamics, School of Biosciences, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington, UK
| | - Stephen E Harding
- National Centre for Macromolecular Hydrodynamics, School of Biosciences, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington, UK
| | - Nicholas J Darton
- Dosage Form Design and Development, BioPharmaceuticals R&D, AstraZeneca, Cambridge, UK
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14
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Lu Y, Lin J, Bian T, Chen J, Liu D, Ma M, Gao Z, Chen J, Ju D, Wang X. Risk control of host cell proteins in one therapeutic antibody produced by concentrated fed-batch (CFB) mode. Eng Life Sci 2023; 23:e2200060. [PMID: 36874608 PMCID: PMC9978904 DOI: 10.1002/elsc.202200060] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2022] [Revised: 12/26/2022] [Accepted: 01/24/2023] [Indexed: 02/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Multiple control strategies, including a downstream purification process with well-controlled parameters and a comprehensive release or characterization for intermediates or drug substances, were implemented to mitigate the potential risk of host cell proteins (HCPs) in one concentrated fed-batch (CFB) mode manufactured product. A host cell process specific enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method was developed for the quantitation of HCPs. The method was fully validated and showed good performance including high antibody coverage. This was confirmed by 2D Gel-Western Blot analysis. Furthermore, a LC-MS/MS method with non-denaturing digestion and a long gradient chromatographic separation coupled with data dependent acquisition (DDA) on a Thermo/QE-HF-X mass spectrometer was developed as an orthogonal method to help identify the specific types of HCPs in this CFB product. Because of the high sensitivity, selectivity and adaptability of the new developed LC-MS/MS method, significantly more species of HCP contaminants were able to be identified. Even though high levels of HCPs were observed in the harvest bulk of this CFB product, the development of multiple processes and analytical control strategies may greatly mitigate potential risks and reduce HCPs contaminants to a very low level. No high-risk HCP was identified and the total amount of HCPs was very low in the CFB final product.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yiling Lu
- Department of Analytical ScienceFormulation & Quality Control, Genor Biopharma Co., Ltd.ShanghaiChina
| | - Jun Lin
- Department of Biological Medicines & Shanghai Engineering Research Center of ImmunotherapeuticsFudan University School of PharmacyShanghaiChina
- Department of Analytical ScienceFormulation & Quality Control, Genor Biopharma Co., Ltd.ShanghaiChina
| | - Tianze Bian
- Department of Analytical ScienceFormulation & Quality Control, Genor Biopharma Co., Ltd.ShanghaiChina
| | - Jin Chen
- Department of Analytical ScienceFormulation & Quality Control, Genor Biopharma Co., Ltd.ShanghaiChina
| | - Dan Liu
- Department of Analytical ScienceFormulation & Quality Control, Genor Biopharma Co., Ltd.ShanghaiChina
| | - Mingjun Ma
- Department of Analytical ScienceFormulation & Quality Control, Genor Biopharma Co., Ltd.ShanghaiChina
| | - Zhen Gao
- Department of Analytical ScienceFormulation & Quality Control, Genor Biopharma Co., Ltd.ShanghaiChina
| | - Jiemin Chen
- Department of Analytical ScienceFormulation & Quality Control, Genor Biopharma Co., Ltd.ShanghaiChina
| | - Dianwen Ju
- Department of Biological Medicines & Shanghai Engineering Research Center of ImmunotherapeuticsFudan University School of PharmacyShanghaiChina
| | - Xing Wang
- Array Bridge Inc.St. LouisMissouriUSA
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15
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Cain P, Huang L, Tang Y, Anguiano V, Feng Y. Impact of IgG subclass on monoclonal antibody developability. MAbs 2023; 15:2191302. [PMID: 36945111 PMCID: PMC10038059 DOI: 10.1080/19420862.2023.2191302] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/23/2023] Open
Abstract
IgG-based monoclonal antibody therapeutics, which are mainly IgG1, IgG2, and IgG4 subclasses or related variants, have dominated the biotherapeutics field for decades. Multiple laboratories have reported that the IgG subclasses possess different molecular characteristics that can affect their developability. For example, IgG1, the most popular IgG subclass for therapeutics, is known to have a characteristic degradation pathway related to its hinge fragility. However, there remains a paucity of studies that systematically evaluate the IgG subclasses on manufacturability and long-term stability. We thus conducted a systematic study of 12 mAbs derived from three sets of unrelated variable regions, each cloned into IgG1, an IgG1 variant with diminished effector functions, IgG2, and a stabilized IgG4 variant with further reduced FcγR interaction, to evaluate the impact of IgG subclass on manufacturability and high concentration stability in a common formulation buffer matrix. Our evaluation included Chinese hamster ovary cell productivity, host cell protein removal efficiency, N-linked glycan structure at the conserved N297 Fc position, solution appearance at high concentration, and aggregate growth, fragmentation, charge variant profile change, and post-translational modification upon thermal stress conditions or long-term storage at refrigerated temperature. Our results elucidated molecular attributes that are common to all IgG subclasses, as well as those that are unique to certain Fc domains, providing new insight into the effects of IgG subclass on antibody manufacturability and stability. These learnings can be used to enable a balanced decision on IgG subclass selection for therapeutic antibodies and aid in acceleration of their product development process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul Cain
- Biotechnology Discovery Research, Lilly Research Laboratories, Lilly Technology Center North, Indianapolis, IN, USA
| | - Lihua Huang
- Bioproduct Research & Development, Lilly Research Laboratories, Lilly Technology Center North, Indianapolis, IN, USA
| | - Yu Tang
- Pharmaceutical Development and Manufacturing, Syndax Pharmaceuticals, Waltham, MA, USA
| | - Victor Anguiano
- Bioproduct Research & Development, Lilly Research Laboratories, Lilly Technology Center North, Indianapolis, IN, USA
| | - Yiqing Feng
- Biotechnology Discovery Research, Lilly Research Laboratories, Lilly Technology Center North, Indianapolis, IN, USA
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16
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Knight TJ, Povey JF, Vito D, Mohindra A, Jaques CM, Smales CM. Manipulation of mRNA translation elongation influences the fragmentation of a biotherapeutic Fc-fusion protein produced in CHO cells. Biotechnol Bioeng 2022; 119:3408-3420. [PMID: 36082414 PMCID: PMC9826484 DOI: 10.1002/bit.28230] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2022] [Revised: 08/05/2022] [Accepted: 09/01/2022] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
Mammalian cells, particularly Chinese hamster ovary cells, are the dominant system for the production of protein-based biotherapeutics, however, product degradation, particularly of Fc-fusion proteins, is sometimes observed that impacts the quality of the protein generated. Here, we identify the site of fragmentation of a model immunoglobulin G1 Fc-fusion protein, show that the observed clipping and aggregation are decreased by reduced temperature culturing, that the fragmentation/clipping is intracellular, and that reduced clipping at a lower temperature (<37°C) relates to mesenger RNA (mRNA) translation elongation. We subsequently show that reduced fragmentation can be achieved at 37°C by addition of chemical reagents that slow translation elongation. We then modified mRNA translation elongation speeds by designing different transcript sequences for the Fc-fusion protein based on alternative codon usage and improved the product yield at 37°C, and the ratio of intact to a fragmented product. Our data suggest that rapid elongation results in misfolding that decreases product fidelity, generating a region susceptible to degradation/proteolysis, whilst the slowing of mRNA translation improves the folding, reducing susceptibility to fragmentation. Manipulation of mRNA translation and/or the target Fc-fusion transcript is, therefore, an approach that can be applied to potentially reduce fragmentation of clipping-prone Fc-fusion proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tanya J. Knight
- School of Biosciences, Industrial Biotechnology CentreUniversity of KentCanterbury, KentUK
| | - Jane F. Povey
- School of Biosciences, Industrial Biotechnology CentreUniversity of KentCanterbury, KentUK
| | - Davide Vito
- School of Biosciences, Industrial Biotechnology CentreUniversity of KentCanterbury, KentUK
| | | | | | - C. Mark Smales
- School of Biosciences, Industrial Biotechnology CentreUniversity of KentCanterbury, KentUK,National Institute for Bioprocessing Research and TrainingBlackrock Co.DublinIreland
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17
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Immunoreactivity Profiling of Anti-Chinese Hamster Ovarian Host Cell Protein Antibodies by Isobaric Labeled Affinity Purification-Mass Spectrometry Reveals Low-Recovery Proteins. J Chromatogr A 2022; 1685:463645. [DOI: 10.1016/j.chroma.2022.463645] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2022] [Revised: 11/08/2022] [Accepted: 11/09/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
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18
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Monoclonal Antibody Sequence Variants Disguised as Fragments: Identification, Characterization, and Their Removal by Purification Process Optimization. J Pharm Sci 2022; 111:3009-3016. [PMID: 35940243 DOI: 10.1016/j.xphs.2022.08.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2022] [Revised: 08/02/2022] [Accepted: 08/02/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
During early stage development of a therapeutic IgG1 monoclonal antibody, high levels of low molecular weight (LMW) peaks were observed by high performance size-exclusion chromatography and capillary electrophoresis. Further characterization of the LMW peak enriched HPSEC fractions using reversed phase liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry showed these LMW species were 47 kDa and 50 kDa in size. However, the measured masses could not be matched to any fragments resulting from peptide bond hydrolysis. To identify these unknown LMW species, molecular characterization methods were employed, including high-throughput sequencing of RNA. Transcriptomic analysis revealed the LMW species were generated by mis-splicing events in the heavy chain transcript, which produced truncated heavy chain products that assembled with the light chain to mimic the appearance of fragments identified by routine purity assays. In an effort to improve product quality, an optimized purification process was developed. Characterization of the process intermediates confirmed removal of both LMW species by the optimized process. Our study demonstrates that deep-dive analytical characterization of biotherapeutics is critical to ensure product quality and inform process development. Transcriptomic analysis tools can help identify the cause of unknown species, and plays a key role in product and process characterization.
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19
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Hu L, Liu S, Xia L, Cong X, Xu C, Wang L, Li Y. CHO cathepsin B identified as the protease responsible for a target bispecific antibody fragmentation. Protein Expr Purif 2022; 199:106144. [PMID: 35839975 DOI: 10.1016/j.pep.2022.106144] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2022] [Revised: 06/28/2022] [Accepted: 07/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
In a previous work we demonstrated that CHO protease caused fragmentation of an expressed bispecific antibody (bsAb) and this detrimental host cell protein (HCP) can be effectively removed through an optimized Protein A wash step. In addition, preliminary evidence suggested that the responsible protease belongs to the threonine or cysteine protease family. In the current study, this protease was further identified as cathepsin B. First, we identified several CHO proteases in the further fractionated Protein A wash using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), and this allowed us to select four candidate proteases. Next, by examining the cleavage pattern of each individual protease and comparing it with that observed during purification, cathepsin B was identified as the protease responsible for the observed bsAb fragmentation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lixia Hu
- Technology and Process Development (TPD), WuXi Biologics, 288 Fute Zhong Road, Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone, Shanghai, 200131, China
| | - Shanshan Liu
- ,Analytical Sciences (AS), WuXi Biologics, 288 Fute Zhong Road, Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone, Shanghai, 200131, China
| | - Lisha Xia
- Technology and Process Development (TPD), WuXi Biologics, 288 Fute Zhong Road, Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone, Shanghai, 200131, China
| | - Xiaoji Cong
- Technology and Process Development (TPD), WuXi Biologics, 288 Fute Zhong Road, Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone, Shanghai, 200131, China
| | - Chu Xu
- ,Analytical Sciences (AS), WuXi Biologics, 288 Fute Zhong Road, Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone, Shanghai, 200131, China
| | - Li Wang
- Technology and Process Development (TPD), WuXi Biologics, 288 Fute Zhong Road, Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone, Shanghai, 200131, China
| | - Yifeng Li
- Technology and Process Development (TPD), WuXi Biologics, 288 Fute Zhong Road, Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone, Shanghai, 200131, China.
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20
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Process- and Product-Related Foulants in Virus Filtration. Bioengineering (Basel) 2022; 9:bioengineering9040155. [PMID: 35447715 PMCID: PMC9030149 DOI: 10.3390/bioengineering9040155] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2022] [Revised: 04/01/2022] [Accepted: 04/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Regulatory authorities place stringent guidelines on the removal of contaminants during the manufacture of biopharmaceutical products. Monoclonal antibodies, Fc-fusion proteins, and other mammalian cell-derived biotherapeutics are heterogeneous molecules that are validated based on the production process and not on molecular homogeneity. Validation of clearance of potential contamination by viruses is a major challenge during the downstream purification of these therapeutics. Virus filtration is a single-use, size-based separation process in which the contaminating virus particles are retained while the therapeutic molecules pass through the membrane pores. Virus filtration is routinely used as part of the overall virus clearance strategy. Compromised performance of virus filters due to membrane fouling, low throughput and reduced viral clearance, is of considerable industrial significance and is frequently a major challenge. This review shows how components generated during cell culture, contaminants, and product variants can affect virus filtration of mammalian cell-derived biologics. Cell culture-derived foulants include host cell proteins, proteases, and endotoxins. We also provide mitigation measures for each potential foulant.
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21
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Malm M, Kuo CC, Barzadd MM, Mebrahtu A, Wistbacka N, Razavi R, Volk AL, Lundqvist M, Kotol D, Tegel H, Hober S, Edfors F, Gräslund T, Chotteau V, Field R, Varley PG, Roth RG, Lewis NE, Hatton D, Rockberg J. Harnessing secretory pathway differences between HEK293 and CHO to rescue production of difficult to express proteins. Metab Eng 2022; 72:171-187. [PMID: 35301123 PMCID: PMC9189052 DOI: 10.1016/j.ymben.2022.03.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2021] [Revised: 02/09/2022] [Accepted: 03/10/2022] [Indexed: 10/31/2022]
Abstract
Biologics represent the fastest growing group of therapeutics, but many advanced recombinant protein moieties remain difficult to produce. Here, we identify metabolic engineering targets limiting expression of recombinant human proteins through a systems biology analysis of the transcriptomes of CHO and HEK293 during recombinant expression. In an expression comparison of 24 difficult to express proteins, one third of the challenging human proteins displayed improved secretion upon host cell swapping from CHO to HEK293. Guided by a comprehensive transcriptomics comparison between cell lines, especially highlighting differences in secretory pathway utilization, a co-expression screening of 21 secretory pathway components validated ATF4, SRP9, JUN, PDIA3 and HSPA8 as productivity boosters in CHO. Moreover, more heavily glycosylated products benefitted more from the elevated activities of the N- and O-glycosyltransferases found in HEK293. Collectively, our results demonstrate the utilization of HEK293 for expression rescue of human proteins and suggest a methodology for identification of secretory pathway components for metabolic engineering of HEK293 and CHO.
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Affiliation(s)
- Magdalena Malm
- Dept. of Protein Science, KTH - Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, SE-106 91, Sweden
| | - Chih-Chung Kuo
- Departments of Pediatrics and Bioengineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA; The Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability at the University of California, San Diego, CA, 92093, USA
| | - Mona Moradi Barzadd
- Dept. of Protein Science, KTH - Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, SE-106 91, Sweden
| | - Aman Mebrahtu
- Dept. of Protein Science, KTH - Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, SE-106 91, Sweden
| | - Num Wistbacka
- Dept. of Protein Science, KTH - Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, SE-106 91, Sweden
| | - Ronia Razavi
- Dept. of Protein Science, KTH - Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, SE-106 91, Sweden
| | - Anna-Luisa Volk
- Dept. of Protein Science, KTH - Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, SE-106 91, Sweden
| | - Magnus Lundqvist
- Dept. of Protein Science, KTH - Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, SE-106 91, Sweden
| | - David Kotol
- Science for Life Laboratory, KTH - Royal Institute of Technology, Solna, 171 65, Sweden
| | - Hanna Tegel
- Dept. of Protein Science, KTH - Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, SE-106 91, Sweden
| | - Sophia Hober
- Dept. of Protein Science, KTH - Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, SE-106 91, Sweden
| | - Fredrik Edfors
- Science for Life Laboratory, KTH - Royal Institute of Technology, Solna, 171 65, Sweden
| | - Torbjörn Gräslund
- Dept. of Protein Science, KTH - Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, SE-106 91, Sweden
| | - Veronique Chotteau
- Dept. of Industrial Biotechnology, KTH - Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, SE-10691, Sweden
| | - Ray Field
- Cell Culture and Fermentation Sciences, BioPharmaceutical Development, BioPharmaceuticals R&D, AstraZeneca, Cambridge, UK
| | - Paul G Varley
- Cell Culture and Fermentation Sciences, BioPharmaceutical Development, BioPharmaceuticals R&D, AstraZeneca, Cambridge, UK
| | - Robert G Roth
- Discovery Biology, Discovery Sciences, BioPharmaceuticals R&D, AstraZeneca, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Nathan E Lewis
- Departments of Pediatrics and Bioengineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA; The Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability at the University of California, San Diego, CA, 92093, USA.
| | - Diane Hatton
- Cell Culture and Fermentation Sciences, BioPharmaceutical Development, BioPharmaceuticals R&D, AstraZeneca, Cambridge, UK
| | - Johan Rockberg
- Dept. of Protein Science, KTH - Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, SE-106 91, Sweden.
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22
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Hecht ES, Mehta S, Wecksler AT, Aguilar B, Swanson N, Phung W, Dubey Kelsoe A, Benner WH, Tesar D, Kelley RF, Sandoval W, Sreedhara A. Insights into ultra-low affinity lipase-antibody noncovalent complex binding mechanisms. MAbs 2022; 14:2135183. [PMID: 36284469 PMCID: PMC9621051 DOI: 10.1080/19420862.2022.2135183] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Detection of host cell protein (HCP) impurities is critical to ensuring that recombinant drug products, including monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), are safe. Mechanistic characterization as to how HCPs persist in drug products is important to refining downstream processing. It has been hypothesized that weak lipase-mAb interactions enable HCP lipases to evade drug purification processes. Here, we apply state-of-the-art methods to establish lipase-mAb binding mechanisms. First, the mass spectrometry (MS) approach of fast photochemical oxidation of proteins was used to elucidate putative binding regions. The CH1 domain was identified as a conserved interaction site for IgG1 and IgG4 mAbs against the HCPs phospholipase B-like protein (PLBL2) and lysosomal phospholipase A2 (LPLA2). Rationally designed mutations in the CH1 domain of the IgG4 mAb caused a 3- to 70-fold KD reduction against PLBL2 by surface plasmon resonance (SPR). LPLA2-IgG4 mutant complexes, undetected by SPR and studied using native MS collisional dissociation experiments, also showed significant complex disruption, from 16% to 100%. Native MS and ion mobility (IM) determined complex stoichiometries for four lipase-IgG4 complexes and directly interrogated the enrichment of specific lipase glycoforms. Confirmed with time-course and exoglycosidase experiments, deglycosylated lipases prevented binding, and low-molecular-weight glycoforms promoted binding, to mAbs. This work demonstrates the value of integrated biophysical approaches to characterize micromolar affinity complexes. It is the first in-depth structural report of lipase-mAb binding, finding roles for the CH1 domain and lipase glycosylation in mediating binding. The structural insights gained offer new approaches for the bioengineering of cells or mAbs to reduce HCP impurity levels.Abbreviations: CAN, Acetonitrile; AMAC, Ammonium acetate; BFGS, Broyden-Fletcher-Goldfarb-Shanno; CHO, Chinese Hamster Ovary; KD, Dissociation constant; DTT, Dithiothreitol; ELISA, Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; FPOP, Fast photochemical oxidation of proteins; FA, Formic acid; F(ab'), Fragment antibodies; HCP, Host cell protein; IgG, Immunoglobulin; IM, Ion mobility; LOD, Lower limit of detection; LPLA2, Lysosomal phospholipase A2; Man, Mannose; MS, Mass spectrometry; MeOH, Methanol; MST, Microscale thermophoresis; mAbs, Monoclonal antibodies; PPT1, Palmitoyl protein thioesterase; ppm, Parts per million; PLBL2, Phospholipase B-like protein; PLD3, Phospholipase D3; PS-20, Polysorbate-20; SP, Sphingomyelin phosphodiesterase; SPR, Surface plasmon resonance; TFA, Trifluoroacetic acid.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth Sara Hecht
- Microchemistry, Proteomics, and Lipidomics, Genentech, IncSouth San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Shrenik Mehta
- Pharmaceutical Development, Genentech, IncSouth San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Aaron T. Wecksler
- Protein Analytical Chemistry, Genentech, IncSouth San Francisco, CA, USA
| | | | - Nathaniel Swanson
- Pharmaceutical Development, Genentech, IncSouth San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Wilson Phung
- Microchemistry, Proteomics, and Lipidomics, Genentech, IncSouth San Francisco, CA, USA
| | | | | | - Devin Tesar
- Pharmaceutical Development, Genentech, IncSouth San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Robert F. Kelley
- Pharmaceutical Development, Genentech, IncSouth San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Wendy Sandoval
- Microchemistry, Proteomics, and Lipidomics, Genentech, IncSouth San Francisco, CA, USA,CONTACT Wendy Sandoval Microchemistry, Proteomics, and Lipidomics, Genentech, Inc South San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Alavattam Sreedhara
- Pharmaceutical Development, Genentech, IncSouth San Francisco, CA, USA,Alavattam Sreedhara Pharmaceutical Development, Genentech, Inc, 1 DNA Way, South San Francisco, CA94080, USA
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23
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Yang F, Li D, Kufer R, Cadang L, Zhang J, Dai L, Guo J, Wohlrab S, Greenwood-Goodwin M, Shen A, Duan D, Li H, Yuk IH. Versatile LC-MS-Based Workflow with Robust 0.1 ppm Sensitivity for Identifying Residual HCPs in Biotherapeutic Products. Anal Chem 2021; 94:723-731. [PMID: 34927411 DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.1c03095] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Residual host cell proteins (HCPs) in the drug product can affect product quality, stability, and/or safety. In particular, highly active hydrolytic enzymes at sub-ppm levels can negatively impact the shelf life of drug products but are challenging to identify by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry/mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) due to their high dynamic range between HCPs and biotherapeutic proteins. We employed new strategies to address the challenge: (1) native digest at a high protein concentration; (2) sodium deoxycholate added during the reduction step to minimize the inadvertent omission of HCPs observed with native digestion; and (3) solid phase extraction with 50% MeCN elution prior to LC-MS/MS analysis to ensure effective mAb removal. A 50 cm long nanoflow charged surface hybrid column was also packed to allow for higher sample load for increased sensitivity. Our workflow has increased the sensitivity for HCP identification by 10- to 100-fold over previous reports and showed the robustness as low as 0.1 ppm for identifying HCPs (34.5 to 66.2 kDa MW). The method capability was further confirmed by consistently identifying >85% of 48 UPS-1 proteins (0.10 to 1.34 ppm, 6.3 to 82.9 kDa MW) in a monoclonal antibody (mAb) and the largest number (746) of mouse proteins from NIST mAb reported to date by a single analysis. Our work has filled a significant gap in HCP analysis for detecting and demonstrating HCP clearance, in particular, extremely low-level hydrolases in drug process development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Feng Yang
- Protein Analytical Chemistry, Genentech, A Member of the Roche Group, 1 DNA Way, South San Francisco, California 94080, United States
| | - Delia Li
- Protein Analytical Chemistry, Genentech, A Member of the Roche Group, 1 DNA Way, South San Francisco, California 94080, United States
| | - Regina Kufer
- Pharma Technical Development Analytics, Roche Diagnostics GmbH, Penzberg 82377, Germany
| | - Lance Cadang
- Protein Analytical Chemistry, Genentech, A Member of the Roche Group, 1 DNA Way, South San Francisco, California 94080, United States
| | - Jennifer Zhang
- Protein Analytical Chemistry, Genentech, A Member of the Roche Group, 1 DNA Way, South San Francisco, California 94080, United States
| | - Lu Dai
- Protein Analytical Chemistry, Genentech, A Member of the Roche Group, 1 DNA Way, South San Francisco, California 94080, United States
| | - Jia Guo
- Analytical Operations, Genentech, A Member of the Roche Group, 1 DNA Way, South San Francisco, California 94080, United States
| | - Stefanie Wohlrab
- Pharma Technical Development Analytics, Roche Diagnostics GmbH, Penzberg 82377, Germany
| | - Midori Greenwood-Goodwin
- Analytical Operations, Genentech, A Member of the Roche Group, 1 DNA Way, South San Francisco, California 94080, United States
| | - Amy Shen
- Cell Culture and Bioprocess Operations, Genentech, A Member of the Roche Group, 1 DNA Way, South San Francisco, California 94080, United States
| | - Dana Duan
- Cell Culture and Bioprocess Operations, Genentech, A Member of the Roche Group, 1 DNA Way, South San Francisco, California 94080, United States
| | - Hong Li
- Protein Chemistry, Genentech, A Member of the Roche Group, 1 DNA Way, South San Francisco, California 94080, United States
| | - Inn H Yuk
- Cell Culture and Bioprocess Operations, Genentech, A Member of the Roche Group, 1 DNA Way, South San Francisco, California 94080, United States
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24
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Kato K, Nakayoshi T, Ishikawa Y, Kurimoto E, Oda A. Computational Analysis of the Mechanism of Nonenzymatic Peptide Bond Cleavage at the C-Terminal Side of an Asparagine Residue. ACS OMEGA 2021; 6:30078-30084. [PMID: 34778679 PMCID: PMC8582265 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.1c04821] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2021] [Accepted: 10/14/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
The nonenzymatic peptide bond cleavage at the C-terminal side of Asn residues is a protein post-translational modification that occurs under physiological conditions. This reaction proceeds much slower than the deamidation of the Asn side chain and causes denaturation and hypofunction of proteins. The peptide bond cleavage of Asn is detected primarily in crystallins and aquaporin 0 in the eye lens. Therefore, cleavage is thought to be involved in age-related cataracts. In this study, to clarify the mechanism underlying succinimide formation for the peptide bond cleavage of the Asn residue, we performed quantum chemical calculations on the model compound Ace-Asn-Gly-Nme (Ace = acetyl and Nme = methylamino). The density functional theory with the B3LYP/6-31+G(d,p) level of theory was used to obtain optimized geometries. The results suggested that the reaction proceeds through two steps, cyclization and C-terminal fragment release, and the required proton transfers can be mediated by H2PO4 - and HCO3 - ions. The conformational change of the main chain on the N-terminal side of Asn was needed for the C-terminal fragmentation step, and a separate conformational change at the C-terminal side was required for the cyclization step. Furthermore, the calculated activation barriers of the reactions catalyzed by the H2PO4 - ion (130 kJ mol-1) and the HCO3 - ion (123 kJ mol-1) were sufficiently low for the reactions to occur under normal physiological conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Koichi Kato
- Faculty
of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Shonan University
of Medical Sciences, 16-48 Kamishinano, Totsuka-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa 244-0806, Japan
- College
of Pharmacy, Kinjo Gakuin University, 2-1723 Omori, Moriyama-ku, Nagoya, Aichi 463-8521, Japan
- Faculty
of Pharmacy, Meijo University, 150 Yagotoyama,
Tempaku-ku, Nagoya, Aichi 468-8503, Japan
| | - Tomoki Nakayoshi
- Faculty
of Pharmacy, Meijo University, 150 Yagotoyama,
Tempaku-ku, Nagoya, Aichi 468-8503, Japan
- Graduate
School of Information Sciences, Hiroshima
City University, 3-4-1 Ozukahigasi, Asaminami-ku, Hiroshima, Hiroshima 731-3194, Japan
| | - Yoshinobu Ishikawa
- Faculty
of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Shonan University
of Medical Sciences, 16-48 Kamishinano, Totsuka-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa 244-0806, Japan
| | - Eiji Kurimoto
- Faculty
of Pharmacy, Meijo University, 150 Yagotoyama,
Tempaku-ku, Nagoya, Aichi 468-8503, Japan
| | - Akifumi Oda
- Faculty
of Pharmacy, Meijo University, 150 Yagotoyama,
Tempaku-ku, Nagoya, Aichi 468-8503, Japan
- Institute
for Protein Research, Osaka University, 3-2 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan
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25
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Wilson LJ, Lewis W, Kucia-Tran R, Bracewell DG. Identification and classification of host cell proteins during biopharmaceutical process development. Biotechnol Prog 2021; 38:e3224. [PMID: 34751518 DOI: 10.1002/btpr.3224] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2021] [Revised: 10/20/2021] [Accepted: 11/02/2021] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
As significant improvements in volumetric antibody productivity have been achieved by advances in upstream processing over the last decade, and harvest material has become progressively more difficult to recover with these intensified upstream operations, the segregation of upstream and downstream processing has remained largely unchanged. By integrating upstream and downstream process development, product purification issues are given consideration during the optimization of upstream operating conditions, which mitigates the need for extensive and expensive clearance strategies downstream. To investigate the impact of cell culture duration on critical quality attributes, CHO-expressed IgG1 was cultivated in two 2 L bioreactors with samples taken on days 8, 10, 13, 15, and 17. The material was centrifuged, filtered and protein A purified on a 1 ml HiTrap column. Host cell protein (HCP) identification by mass spectrometry (MS) was applied to this system to provide insights into cellular behavior and HCP carryover during protein A purification. It was shown that as cultivation progressed from day 8 to 17 and antibody titer increased, product quality declined due to an increase in post-protein A HCPs (from 72 to 475 peptides detected by MS) and a decrease in product monomer percentage (from 98% to 95.5%). Additionally, the MS data revealed an increase in the abundance of several classes of post-protein A HCPs (e.g., stress response proteins and indicators of cell age), particularly on days 15 and 17 of culture, which were associated with significant increases in total overall HCP levels. This provides new insight into the specific types of HCPs that are retained during mAb purification and may be used to aid process development strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Louisa J Wilson
- The Advanced Centre for Biochemical Engineering, Department of Biochemical Engineering, University College London, London, UK.,GlaxoSmithKline, Stevenage, Hertfordshire, UK
| | - Will Lewis
- GlaxoSmithKline, Stevenage, Hertfordshire, UK
| | | | - Daniel G Bracewell
- The Advanced Centre for Biochemical Engineering, Department of Biochemical Engineering, University College London, London, UK
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26
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Cao M, Jiao Y, Parthemore C, Korman S, Ma J, Hunter A, Kilby G, Chen X. Identification of a CE-SDS shoulder peak as disulfide-linked fragments from common C H2 cleavages in IgGs and IgG-like bispecific antibodies. MAbs 2021; 13:1981806. [PMID: 34719342 PMCID: PMC8565840 DOI: 10.1080/19420862.2021.1981806] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Fragmentation is a well-characterized degradation pathway of therapeutic antibodies and is usually monitored by capillary electrophoresis–sodium dodecyl sulfate (CE-SDS). Although fragments due to cleavage in CH2 domains linked by intrachain disulfide bonds are common and can be detected by reduced reversed-phase – liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (RP-LCMS) and reduced CE-SDS methods, their separation in nonreduced CE-SDS (nrCE-SDS) has not been reported but speculated as comigrating with intact IgG. A shoulder peak in nrCE-SDS was observed in the stability samples of an IgG-like bispecific antibody and was determined to be mainly caused by fragments from clipping at the C-terminus of leucine (L)306 or L309 (EU numbering) in the CH2 domain of both heavy chains (HCs) and, to a lesser degree, at the C-terminus of L182 in the CH1 domain of the knob HC. Subunit LCMS analysis verified that the crystallizable fragment contained variants with one or multiple mass additions of ~18 Da due to clipping. Further investigation revealed that CH2 clippings at L306 and L309 were largely due to proteolytic activity, and cleavages were present at various levels in all in-house IgG1 and IgG4 molecules studied. Our study shows that CH2 domain cleavages, with complementary fragments still linked by intrachain disulfide, can be electrophoretically resolved as a front shoulder of the main peak in nrCE-SDS. Given the high occurrence of CH2 cleavages in antibodies, these findings will have broad applicability and could help manufacturers of therapeutic antibodies in process improvement, product characterization, investigations, formulation stability, and stability comparability studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mingyan Cao
- Analytical Sciences, Biopharmaceutical Development, Biopharmaceuticals R&D, AstraZeneca, Gaithersburg, MD, USA
| | - Yang Jiao
- Analytical Sciences, Biopharmaceutical Development, Biopharmaceuticals R&D, AstraZeneca, Gaithersburg, MD, USA
| | - Conner Parthemore
- Analytical Sciences, Biopharmaceutical Development, Biopharmaceuticals R&D, AstraZeneca, Gaithersburg, MD, USA
| | - Samuel Korman
- Analytical Sciences, Biopharmaceutical Development, Biopharmaceuticals R&D, AstraZeneca, Gaithersburg, MD, USA
| | - Jiao Ma
- Analytical Sciences, Biopharmaceutical Development, Biopharmaceuticals R&D, AstraZeneca, Gaithersburg, MD, USA
| | - Alan Hunter
- Purification Process Sciences, Biopharmaceutical Development, Biopharmaceuticals R&D, AstraZeneca, Gaithersburg, MD, USA
| | - Greg Kilby
- Analytical Sciences, Biopharmaceutical Development, Biopharmaceuticals R&D, AstraZeneca, Gaithersburg, MD, USA
| | - Xiaoyu Chen
- Analytical Sciences, Biopharmaceutical Development, Biopharmaceuticals R&D, AstraZeneca, Gaithersburg, MD, USA
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27
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Pilely K, Johansen MR, Lund RR, Kofoed T, Jørgensen TK, Skriver L, Mørtz E. Monitoring process-related impurities in biologics-host cell protein analysis. Anal Bioanal Chem 2021; 414:747-758. [PMID: 34595561 PMCID: PMC8483941 DOI: 10.1007/s00216-021-03648-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2021] [Revised: 08/28/2021] [Accepted: 09/02/2021] [Indexed: 12/03/2022]
Abstract
During biologics development, manufacturers must demonstrate clearance of host cell impurities and contaminants to ensure drug purity, manufacturing process consistency, and patient safety. Host cell proteins (HCPs) are a major class of process-related impurities and require monitoring and documentation of their presence through development and manufacturing. Even in residual amounts, they are known to affect product quality and efficacy as well as patient safety. HCP analysis using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (HCP-ELISA) is the standard technique, due to its simple handling, short analysis time, and high sensitivity for protein impurities. Liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC–MS) is an orthogonal method for HCP analysis and is increasingly included in regulatory documentation. LC–MS offers advantages where HCP-ELISA has drawbacks, e.g., the ability to identify and quantify individual HCPs. This article summarizes the available knowledge about monitoring HCPs in biologics and presents the newest trends in HCP analysis with current state-of-the-art HCP measurement tools. Through case studies, we present examples of HCP control strategies that have been used in regulatory license applications, using an MS-based coverage analysis and HCP-ELISA and LC–MS for HCP quantification. This provides novel insight into the rapid evolving strategy of HCP analysis. Improvements in technologies to evaluate HCP-ELISA suitability and the implementation of orthogonal LC–MS methods for HCP analysis are important to rationally manipulate, engineer, and select suitable cell lines and downstream processing steps to limit problematic HCPs.
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28
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Factors affecting the quality of therapeutic proteins in recombinant Chinese hamster ovary cell culture. Biotechnol Adv 2021; 54:107831. [PMID: 34480988 DOI: 10.1016/j.biotechadv.2021.107831] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2021] [Revised: 06/21/2021] [Accepted: 08/30/2021] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells are the most widely used mammalian host cells for the commercial production of therapeutic proteins. Fed-batch culture is widely used to produce therapeutic proteins, including monoclonal antibodies, because of its operational simplicity and high product titer. Despite technical advances in the development of culture media and cell cultures, it is still challenging to maintain high productivity in fed-batch cultures while also ensuring good product quality. In this review, factors that affect the quality attributes of therapeutic proteins in recombinant CHO (rCHO) cell culture, such as glycosylation, charge variation, aggregation, and degradation, are summarized and categorized into three groups: culture environments, chemical additives, and host cell proteins accumulated in culture supernatants. Understanding the factors that influence the therapeutic protein quality in rCHO cell culture will facilitate the development of large-scale, high-yield fed-batch culture processes for the production of high-quality therapeutic proteins.
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29
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Waldera-Lupa DM, Jasper Y, Köhne P, Schwichtenhövel R, Falkenberg H, Flad T, Happersberger P, Reisinger B, Dehghani A, Moussa R, Waerner T. Host cell protein detection gap risk mitigation: quantitative IAC-MS for ELISA antibody reagent coverage determination. MAbs 2021; 13:1955432. [PMID: 34347561 PMCID: PMC8344763 DOI: 10.1080/19420862.2021.1955432] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Host cell proteins (HCPs) must be sufficiently cleared from recombinant biopharmaceuticals during the downstream process (DSP) to ensure product quality, purity, and patient safety. For monitoring of HCP clearance, the typical method chosen is an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using polyclonal anti-HCP antibodies obtained from an immunization campaign. This polyclonal reagent is a critical factor for functionality and confidence of the ELISA. Therefore, it is important to ensure that the pool of ELISA antibodies covers a broad spectrum of the HCPs that potentially could persist in the final drug substance. Typically, coverage is determined by gel-based approaches. Here, we present a quantitative proteomics approach combined with purification of HCPs by immunoaffinity chromatography (qIAC-MS) for assessment of ELISA coverage. The cell culture fluid (CCF) of a mock fermentation and a recombinant monoclonal antibody product were characterized in detail to investigate whether the HCPs used for immunization of animals accurately represent HCPs that are relevant to the process. Using the qIAC-MS approach, the ELISA antibody coverage was determined for mock fermentation and product CCF, as well as several different DSP intermediates. Here, the use of different controls facilitated the identification and quantification of HCPs present in the polyclonal reagent and those that nonspecifically bound to IAC material. This study successfully demonstrates that the described qIAC-MS approach is not only a suitable orthogonal method to commonly used 2D SDS-PAGE-based analysis for evaluating ELISA antibody coverage, but that it further identifies HCPs covered as well as missed by the ELISA, enabling an improved risk assessment of HCP ELISA.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Yvonne Jasper
- Bioanalytics, Protagen Protein Services GmbH, Dortmund, Germany
| | - Pia Köhne
- Bioanalytics, Protagen Protein Services GmbH, Dortmund, Germany
| | | | | | - Thomas Flad
- Bioanalytics, Protagen Protein Services GmbH, Dortmund, Germany
| | - Peter Happersberger
- Analytical Development Biologicals, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co. KG, Biberach, Germany
| | - Bernd Reisinger
- Analytical Development Biologicals, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co. KG, Biberach, Germany
| | - Alireza Dehghani
- Analytical Development Biologicals, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co. KG, Biberach, Germany
| | - Roland Moussa
- Bioanalytics, Protagen Protein Services GmbH, Dortmund, Germany
| | - Thomas Waerner
- Analytical Development Biologicals, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co. KG, Biberach, Germany
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30
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Jones M, Palackal N, Wang F, Gaza-Bulseco G, Hurkmans K, Zhao Y, Chitikila C, Clavier S, Liu S, Menesale E, Schonenbach NS, Sharma S, Valax P, Waerner T, Zhang L, Connolly T. "High-risk" host cell proteins (HCPs): A multi-company collaborative view. Biotechnol Bioeng 2021; 118:2870-2885. [PMID: 33930190 DOI: 10.1002/bit.27808] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2020] [Revised: 04/08/2021] [Accepted: 04/08/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Host cell proteins (HCPs) are process-related impurities that may copurify with biopharmaceutical drug products. Within this class of impurities there are some that are more problematic. These problematic HCPs can be considered high-risk and can include those that are immunogenic, biologically active, or enzymatically active with the potential to degrade either product molecules or excipients used in formulation. Some have been shown to be difficult to remove by purification. Why should the biopharmaceutical industry worry about these high-risk HCPs? What approach could be taken to understand the origin of its copurification and address these high-risk HCPs? To answer these questions, the BioPhorum Development Group HCP Workstream initiated a collaboration among its 26-company team with the goal of industry alignment around high-risk HCPs. The information gathered through literature searches, company experiences, and surveys were used to compile a list of frequently seen problematic/high-risk HCPs. These high-risk HCPs were further classified based on their potential impact into different risk categories. A step-by-step recommendation is provided for establishing a comprehensive control strategy based on risk assessments for monitoring and/or eliminating the known impurity from the process that would be beneficial to the biopharmaceutical industry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marisa Jones
- GlaxoSmithKline, CMC Analytical, Structure & Function Characterization, Collegeville, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Nisha Palackal
- Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc., Protein Biochemistry, Tarrytown, New York, USA
| | - Fengqiang Wang
- Merck & Co. Inc., Analytical Research & Development, Kenilworth, New Jersey, USA
| | | | - Karen Hurkmans
- AbbVie Bioresearch Center, Protein Analytics, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Yiwei Zhao
- Takeda Pharmaceuticals, Pharmaceutical science, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Carmelata Chitikila
- Janssen R&D LLC, BioTherapeutics Development and Supply, Analytical Development, Bioassay Methods Development, Malvern, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Severine Clavier
- Sanofi R&D, BioAnalytics, Biologics Development, Vitry-sur-seine, France
| | - Suli Liu
- Biogen, Analytical Development, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Emily Menesale
- Biogen, Analytical Development, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Nicole S Schonenbach
- Pfizer, Downstream Process Development, Bioprocess R&D, Chesterfield, Missouri, USA
| | - Satish Sharma
- Bristol Meyers Squibb, Analytical Development, New York, New York, USA
| | - Pascal Valax
- Merck KGaA, Global Healthcare Operations, Development and Launch, Biotech Process Sciences, Merck BioDevelopment, Martillac, France
| | - Thomas Waerner
- Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma, GmbH & Co. KG, Analytical Development, Biologicals, Biberach, Germany
| | - Lei Zhang
- Bristol Meyers Squibb, Analytical Development, New York, New York, USA
| | - Trish Connolly
- Development Group Phorum, BioPhorum, The Gridiron building, One Pancras Square, London, UK
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31
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Hu L, Tang J, Zhang X, Li Y. Sodium caprylate wash during Protein A chromatography as an effective means for removing protease(s) responsible for target antibody fragmentation. Protein Expr Purif 2021; 186:105907. [PMID: 34022391 DOI: 10.1016/j.pep.2021.105907] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2021] [Revised: 05/12/2021] [Accepted: 05/13/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
For recombinant proteins produced in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells, fragmentation is a common phenomenon that results in generation of product-related low-molecular-weight (LMW) species. Recently while purifying a bispecific antibody (bsAb), we observed that the target protein experienced cleavage at a couple of potential sites, leading to truncated products. Further studies suggest that the cleavage can likely be attributed to residual CHO cell protease activity. In order to maximally remove potential protease(s) that contribute fragmentation, we optimized Protein A chromatography by adding sodium caprylate (SC) to the wash buffer. Upon optimization, fragmentation of Protein A eluate happened to a much lesser degree as compared to that of eluate from unoptimized process, and the increased sample stability is in accordance with significantly reduced host cell protein (HCP) level. Taken together, the data suggest that SC wash during Protein A chromatography is an effective means for removing HCPs including endogenous protease(s) that are responsible for target antibody fragmentation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lixia Hu
- Technology and Process Development (TPD), WuXi Biologics, 288 Fute Zhong Road, Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone, Shanghai, 200131, China
| | - Jiaqin Tang
- Technology and Process Development (TPD), WuXi Biologics, 288 Fute Zhong Road, Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone, Shanghai, 200131, China
| | - Xudong Zhang
- Technology and Process Development (TPD), WuXi Biologics, 288 Fute Zhong Road, Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone, Shanghai, 200131, China
| | - Yifeng Li
- Technology and Process Development (TPD), WuXi Biologics, 288 Fute Zhong Road, Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone, Shanghai, 200131, China.
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32
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Römer J, Stolz A, Kiessig S, Moritz B, Neusüß C. Online top-down mass spectrometric identification of CE(SDS)-separated antibody fragments by two-dimensional capillary electrophoresis. J Pharm Biomed Anal 2021; 201:114089. [PMID: 33940498 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpba.2021.114089] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2021] [Revised: 04/01/2021] [Accepted: 04/19/2021] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
Size heterogeneity analysis by capillary sieving electrophoresis utilizing sodium dodecyl sulfate (CE(SDS)) with optical detection is a major method applied for release and stability testing of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) in biopharmaceutical applications. Identification of mAb-fragments and impurities observed with CE(SDS) is of outstanding importance for the assessment of critical quality attributes and development of the analytical control system. Mass spectrometric (MS) detection is a powerful tool for protein identification and characterization. Unfortunately, CE(SDS) is incompatible with online MS-hyphenation due to strong ionization suppression of SDS and other separation buffer components. Here, we present a comprehensive platform for full characterization of individual CE(SDS)-separated peaks by CE(SDS)-capillary zone electrophoresis-top-down-MS. The peak of interest is transferred from the first to the second dimension via an 8-port valve to remove MS-incompatible components. Full characterization of mAb byproducts is performed by intact mass determination and fragmentation by electron transfer dissociation, higher-energy collisional dissociation, and ultraviolet photodissociation. This enables online determination of intact mass as well as sequence verification of individual CE(SDS)-separated peaks simultaneously. A more substantiated characterization of unknown CE(SDS) peaks by exact localization of modifications without prior digestion is facilitated. High sensitivity is demonstrated by successful mass and sequence verification of low abundant, unknown CE(SDS) peaks from two stressed mAb samples. Good fragmentation coverages are obtained by MS2, enabling unequivocal identification of these mAb-fragments. Also, the differentiation of reduced/non-reduced intra-protein disulfide bonds is demonstrated. In summary, a reliable and unambiguous online MS2 identification of unknown compounds of low-abundant individual CE(SDS) peaks is enabled.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer Römer
- Faculty of Chemistry, Aalen University, Beethovenstraße 1, 73430, Aalen, Germany; Institute of Analytical Chemistry, Chemo- and Biosensors, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Alexander Stolz
- Faculty of Chemistry, Aalen University, Beethovenstraße 1, 73430, Aalen, Germany; Department of Pharmaceutical/Medicinal Chemistry, Friedrich Schiller University, Jena, Germany
| | - Steffen Kiessig
- F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd, Grenzacherstraße 124, 4070, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Bernd Moritz
- F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd, Grenzacherstraße 124, 4070, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Christian Neusüß
- Faculty of Chemistry, Aalen University, Beethovenstraße 1, 73430, Aalen, Germany.
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33
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Nie S, Greer T, O'Brien Johnson R, Zheng X, Torri A, Li N. Simple and Sensitive Method for Deep Profiling of Host Cell Proteins in Therapeutic Antibodies by Combining Ultra-Low Trypsin Concentration Digestion, Long Chromatographic Gradients, and BoxCar Mass Spectrometry Acquisition. Anal Chem 2021; 93:4383-4390. [PMID: 33656852 DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.0c03931] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (LC-MS) is a powerful tool for the analysis of host cell proteins (HCP) during antibody drug process development due to its sensitivity, selectivity, and adaptability. However, the enormous dynamic range between the therapeutic antibody and accompanying HCPs poses a significant challenge for LC-MS based detection of these low abundance impurities. To address this challenge, enrichment of HCPs via immunoaffinity, protein A, 2D-LC, or other strategies is typically performed. However, these enrichments are time-consuming and sometimes require a large quantity of sample. Here, we report a simple and sensitive strategy to analyze HCPs in therapeutic antibody samples without cumbersome enrichment by combining an ultra-low trypsin concentration during digestion under nondenaturing conditions, a long chromatographic gradient, and BoxCar acquisition (ULTLB) on a quadrupole-Orbitrap mass spectrometer. Application of this strategy to the NIST monoclonal antibody standard (NISTmAb) resulted in the identification of 453 mouse HCPs, which is a significant increase in the number of identified HCPs without enrichment compared to previous reports. Known amounts of HCPs were spiked into the purified antibody drug substance, demonstrating that the method sensitivity is as low as 0.5 ppm. Thus, the ULTLB method represents a sensitive and simple platform for deep profiling of HCPs in antibodies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Song Nie
- Analytical Chemistry, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc., 777 Old Saw Mill River Road, Tarrytown, New York 10591-6707, United States
| | - Tyler Greer
- Analytical Chemistry, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc., 777 Old Saw Mill River Road, Tarrytown, New York 10591-6707, United States
| | - Reid O'Brien Johnson
- Analytical Chemistry, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc., 777 Old Saw Mill River Road, Tarrytown, New York 10591-6707, United States
| | - Xiaojing Zheng
- Analytical Chemistry, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc., 777 Old Saw Mill River Road, Tarrytown, New York 10591-6707, United States
| | - Albert Torri
- Analytical Chemistry, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc., 777 Old Saw Mill River Road, Tarrytown, New York 10591-6707, United States
| | - Ning Li
- Analytical Chemistry, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc., 777 Old Saw Mill River Road, Tarrytown, New York 10591-6707, United States
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34
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Trauchessec M, Hesse AM, Kraut A, Berard Y, Herment L, Fortin T, Bruley C, Ferro M, Manin C. An innovative standard for LC-MS-based HCP profiling and accurate quantity assessment: Application to batch consistency in viral vaccine samples. Proteomics 2021; 21:e2000152. [PMID: 33459490 DOI: 10.1002/pmic.202000152] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2020] [Revised: 10/10/2020] [Accepted: 12/18/2020] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
Biotherapeutics, molecules produced from biological systems, require rigorous purification steps to remove impurities including host cell proteins (HCPs). Regulatory guidelines require manufacturers to monitor process-related impurities along the purification workflow. Mass spectrometry (MS) has recently been considered as a complementary method to the well-established ELISA for HCPs quantification, since it has the advantage of unambiguously identifying individual HCP. In this study, we developed an innovative standard dedicated to MS-based HCP profiling analysis in order to monitor the consistency of viral vaccine intermediate purification samples. This standard, termed the HCP-PROFILER standard, is composed of a water-soluble bead (READYBEADS technology) which, after being added into the sample, releases unlabeled peptides in controlled amounts. The standard meets three desired criteria: (1) it is composed of multiple peptides, at different concentration levels, allowing construction of a calibration curve covering the dynamic range of HCPs present in the target sample, ensuring quantification accuracy; (2) it demonstrates high batch-to-batch reproducibility, ensuring quantification robustness and consistency over time; and (3) it is easy to use and avoids user-induced analytical biases. In this study, we present the use of the HCP-PROFILER standard for vaccine batches comparison and downstream process performance studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mathieu Trauchessec
- ANAQUANT, Villeurbanne, France.,CEA, 17 av. des Martyrs, Grenoble, 38000, France
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Myriam Ferro
- CEA, 17 av. des Martyrs, Grenoble, 38000, France
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35
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Kumar R, Shah RL, Ahmad S, Rathore AS. Harnessing the power of electrophoresis and chromatography: Offline coupling of reverse phase liquid chromatography-capillary zone electrophoresis-tandem mass spectrometry for analysis of host cell proteins in monoclonal antibody producing CHO cell line. Electrophoresis 2021; 42:735-741. [PMID: 33348443 DOI: 10.1002/elps.202000252] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2020] [Revised: 12/04/2020] [Accepted: 12/14/2020] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
Host cell proteins (HCPs) are widely regarded as a critical quality attribute for a biotherapeutic product. Bottom up MS is the present gold standard for HCP analysis but suffers from incomplete protein identification due to complex nature of the HCP mixture and limited separation efficiency of the preceding LC-based systems. In this paper, we present for the first time an application involving use of LC-CE-MS/MS platform for analysis of HCPs. It has been demonstrated that the proposed platform has been able to successfully identify 397 HCPs from the supernatants of recombinant Chinese hamster ovary cells, twice and thrice the number of proteins identified by the state-of-the-art LC-MS/MS (189 HCPs) and CE-MS/MS (128 HCPs) analyses, respectively. Of these, 225 HCPs were unique to the LC-CE-MS/MS approach and were not identified by either LC-MS/MS or CE-MS/MS. It is observed that the LC-CE-MS/MS platform combines the benefits of LC-MS/MS and CE-MS/MS techniques and identifies peptides in a wider range of size, pI, and hydrophobicity. Additionally, LC-CE-MS/MS also identified more HCPs associated with cellular components, molecular functions, biological processes, peptidases, and secretory proteins. The proposed approach would thus be a useful addition in HCP analysis and secretome studies of mAb-producing Chinese hamster ovary cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ramesh Kumar
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, New Delhi, India
| | - Rohan L Shah
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, New Delhi, India
| | | | - Anurag S Rathore
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, New Delhi, India
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36
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Li D, Farchone A, Zhu Q, Macchi F, Walker DE, Michels DA, Yang F. Fast, Robust, and Sensitive Identification of Residual Host Cell Proteins in Recombinant Monoclonal Antibodies Using Sodium Deoxycholate Assisted Digestion. Anal Chem 2020; 92:11888-11894. [PMID: 32786500 DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.0c02258] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Residual host cell proteins (HCPs) present in biotherapeutics can pose potential safety risks for patients or affect product stability, thus prompting a critical need to monitor HCPs in drug substance or product to ensure product safety and quality. Current approaches for robust HCP identification at or above 10 ppm levels require either concatenated peptide fractionation or enrichment via antibody depletion, which challenges the direct quantitation of HCPs. This paper describes a simple, fast sample preparation method without the need for sample fractionation or enrichment; instead, we utilize trypsin-friendly sodium deoxycholate (SDC) as an advantageous denaturant that can be effectively removed following acidification at the end of sample digestion. This new approach enables the end-to-end one-dimensional liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (1D LC-MS/MS) workflow (i.e., from sample preparation to HCP identification) to be completed in 7-8 h while demonstrating the ability to consistently identify HCPs across a broad molecular weight range at 10 ppm or above.
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37
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Esser-Skala W, Segl M, Wohlschlager T, Reisinger V, Holzmann J, Huber CG. Exploring sample preparation and data evaluation strategies for enhanced identification of host cell proteins in drug products of therapeutic antibodies and Fc-fusion proteins. Anal Bioanal Chem 2020; 412:6583-6593. [PMID: 32691086 PMCID: PMC7442769 DOI: 10.1007/s00216-020-02796-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2020] [Revised: 06/22/2020] [Accepted: 06/30/2020] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
Abstract
Manufacturing of biopharmaceuticals involves recombinant protein expression in host cells followed by extensive purification of the target protein. Yet, host cell proteins (HCPs) may persist in the final drug product, potentially reducing its quality with respect to safety and efficacy. Consequently, residual HCPs are closely monitored during downstream processing by techniques such as enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) or high-performance liquid chromatography combined with tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS). The latter is especially attractive as it provides information with respect to protein identities. Although the applied HPLC-MS/MS methodologies are frequently optimized with respect to HCP identification, acquired data is typically analyzed using standard settings. Here, we describe an improved strategy for evaluating HPLC-MS/MS data of HCP-derived peptides, involving probabilistic protein inference and peptide detection in the absence of fragment ion spectra. This data analysis workflow was applied to data obtained for drug products of various biotherapeutics upon protein A affinity depletion. The presented data evaluation strategy enabled in-depth comparative analysis of the HCP repertoires identified in drug products of the monoclonal antibodies rituximab and bevacizumab, as well as the fusion protein etanercept. In contrast to commonly applied ELISA strategies, the here presented workflow is process-independent and may be implemented into existing HPLC-MS/MS setups for drug product characterization and process development. Graphical abstract ![]()
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Affiliation(s)
- Wolfgang Esser-Skala
- Bioanalytical Research Labs, Department of Biosciences, University of Salzburg, Hellbrunner Straße 34, 5020, Salzburg, Austria.,Christian Doppler Laboratory for Innovative Tools for Biosimilar Characterization, University of Salzburg, Hellbrunner Straße 34, 5020, Salzburg, Austria
| | - Marius Segl
- Bioanalytical Research Labs, Department of Biosciences, University of Salzburg, Hellbrunner Straße 34, 5020, Salzburg, Austria.,Christian Doppler Laboratory for Innovative Tools for Biosimilar Characterization, University of Salzburg, Hellbrunner Straße 34, 5020, Salzburg, Austria
| | - Therese Wohlschlager
- Bioanalytical Research Labs, Department of Biosciences, University of Salzburg, Hellbrunner Straße 34, 5020, Salzburg, Austria.,Christian Doppler Laboratory for Innovative Tools for Biosimilar Characterization, University of Salzburg, Hellbrunner Straße 34, 5020, Salzburg, Austria
| | - Veronika Reisinger
- Christian Doppler Laboratory for Innovative Tools for Biosimilar Characterization, University of Salzburg, Hellbrunner Straße 34, 5020, Salzburg, Austria.,Technical Development Biosimilars, Global Drug Development, Novartis, Sandoz GmbH, Biochemiestraße 10, 6250, Kundl, Austria
| | - Johann Holzmann
- Christian Doppler Laboratory for Innovative Tools for Biosimilar Characterization, University of Salzburg, Hellbrunner Straße 34, 5020, Salzburg, Austria.,Technical Development Biosimilars, Global Drug Development, Novartis, Sandoz GmbH, Biochemiestraße 10, 6250, Kundl, Austria
| | - Christian G Huber
- Bioanalytical Research Labs, Department of Biosciences, University of Salzburg, Hellbrunner Straße 34, 5020, Salzburg, Austria. .,Christian Doppler Laboratory for Innovative Tools for Biosimilar Characterization, University of Salzburg, Hellbrunner Straße 34, 5020, Salzburg, Austria.
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38
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Johnson RO, Greer T, Cejkov M, Zheng X, Li N. Combination of FAIMS, Protein A Depletion, and Native Digest Conditions Enables Deep Proteomic Profiling of Host Cell Proteins in Monoclonal Antibodies. Anal Chem 2020; 92:10478-10484. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.0c01175] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Reid O’Brien Johnson
- Analytical Chemistry, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc., 777 Old Saw Mill River Road, Tarrytown, New York 10591-6707, United States
| | - Tyler Greer
- Analytical Chemistry, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc., 777 Old Saw Mill River Road, Tarrytown, New York 10591-6707, United States
| | - Milos Cejkov
- Analytical Chemistry, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc., 777 Old Saw Mill River Road, Tarrytown, New York 10591-6707, United States
| | - Xiaojing Zheng
- Analytical Chemistry, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc., 777 Old Saw Mill River Road, Tarrytown, New York 10591-6707, United States
| | - Ning Li
- Analytical Chemistry, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc., 777 Old Saw Mill River Road, Tarrytown, New York 10591-6707, United States
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39
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Abd-Aziz N, Tan BC, Rejab NA, Othman RY, Khalid N. A New Plant Expression System for Producing Pharmaceutical Proteins. Mol Biotechnol 2020; 62:240-251. [PMID: 32108286 DOI: 10.1007/s12033-020-00242-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
In the past decade, interest in the production of recombinant pharmaceutical proteins in plants has tremendously progressed because plants do not harbor mammalian viruses, are economically competitive, easily scalable, and capable of carrying out complex post-translational modifications required for recombinant pharmaceutical proteins. Mucuna bracteata is an essential perennial cover crop species widely planted as an underground cover in oil palm and rubber plantations. As a legume, they have high biomass, thrive in its habitat, and can fix nitrogen. Thus, M. bracteata is a cost-efficient crop that shows ideal characteristics as a platform for mass production of recombinant protein. In this study, we established a new platform for the transient production of a recombinant protein in M. bracteata via vacuum-assisted agro-infiltration. Five-week-old M. bracteata plants were vacuum infiltrated with Agrobacterium tumefaciens harboring a plasmid that encodes for an anti-toxoplasma immunoglobulin (IgG) under different parameters, including trifoliate leaf positional effects, days to harvest post-infiltration, and the Agrobacterium strain used. Our results showed that vacuum infiltration of M. bracteata plant with A. tumefaciens strain GV3101 produced the highest concentration of heterologous protein in its bottom trifoliate leaf at 2 days post-infiltration. The purified anti-toxoplasma IgG was then analyzed using Western blot and ELISA. It was demonstrated that, while structural heterogeneity existed in the purified anti-toxoplasma IgG from M. bracteata, its transient expression level was two-fold higher than the model platform, Nicotiana benthamiana. This study has laid the foundation towards establishing M. bracteata as a potential platform for the production of recombinant pharmaceutical protein.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nazrin Abd-Aziz
- Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Boon Chin Tan
- Centre for Research in Biotechnology for Agriculture, University of Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Nur Ardiyana Rejab
- Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
- Centre for Research in Biotechnology for Agriculture, University of Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Rofina Yasmin Othman
- Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
- Centre for Research in Biotechnology for Agriculture, University of Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
| | - Norzulaani Khalid
- Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
- Centre for Research in Biotechnology for Agriculture, University of Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
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40
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Zacchi LF, Recinos DR, Otte E, Aitken C, Hunt T, Sandford V, Lee YY, Schulz BL, Howard CB. S-Trap Eliminates Cell Culture Media Polymeric Surfactants for Effective Proteomic Analysis of Mammalian Cell Bioreactor Supernatants. J Proteome Res 2020; 19:2149-2158. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.jproteome.0c00106] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Lucia F. Zacchi
- ARC Training Centre for Biopharmaceutical Innovation, Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | - Dinora Roche Recinos
- ARC Training Centre for Biopharmaceutical Innovation, Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Queensland 4072, Australia
- CSL Limited, Parkville, Victoria 3052, Australia
| | - Ellen Otte
- CSL Limited, Parkville, Victoria 3052, Australia
| | | | - Tony Hunt
- CSL Limited, Parkville, Victoria 3052, Australia
| | | | - Yih Yean Lee
- CSL Limited, Parkville, Victoria 3052, Australia
| | - Benjamin L. Schulz
- ARC Training Centre for Biopharmaceutical Innovation, Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Queensland 4072, Australia
- School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | - Christopher B. Howard
- ARC Training Centre for Biopharmaceutical Innovation, Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Queensland 4072, Australia
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41
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Pilely K, Nielsen SB, Draborg A, Henriksen ML, Hansen SWK, Skriver L, Mørtz E, Lund RR. A novel approach to evaluate ELISA antibody coverage of host cell proteins-combining ELISA-based immunocapture and mass spectrometry. Biotechnol Prog 2020; 36:e2983. [PMID: 32087048 PMCID: PMC7507178 DOI: 10.1002/btpr.2983] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2019] [Revised: 01/28/2020] [Accepted: 02/17/2020] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Monitoring host cell proteins (HCPs) is one of the most important analytical requirements in production of recombinant biopharmaceuticals to ensure product purity and patient safety. Enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) is the standard method for monitoring HCP clearance. It is important to validate that the critical reagent of an ELISA, the HCP antibody, covers a broad spectrum of the HCPs potentially present in the purified drug substance. Current coverage methods for assessing HCP antibody coverage are based on 2D‐Western blot or immunoaffinity‐purification combined with 2D gel electrophoresis and have several limitations. In the present study, we present a novel coverage method combining ELISA‐based immunocapture with protein identification by liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS): ELISA‐MS. ELISA‐MS is used to accurately determine HCP coverage of an early process sample by three commercially available anti‐Escherichia coli HCP antibodies, evading the limitations of current methods for coverage analysis, and taking advantage of the benefits of MS analysis. The results obtained comprise a list of individual HCPs covered by each HCP antibody. The novel method shows high sensitivity, high reproducibility, and enables tight control of nonspecific binding through inclusion of a species‐specific isotype control antibody. We propose that ELISA‐MS will be a valuable supplement to existing coverage methods or even a replacement. ELISA‐MS will increase the possibility of selecting the best HCP ELISA, thus improving HCP surveillance and resulting in a final HCP profile with the lowest achievable risk. Overall, this will be beneficial to both the pharmaceutical industry and patient safety.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Anette Draborg
- Alphalyse A/S, Odense, Denmark.,Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
| | - Maiken L Henriksen
- Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
| | - Søren W K Hansen
- Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
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42
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Das TK, Narhi LO, Sreedhara A, Menzen T, Grapentin C, Chou DK, Antochshuk V, Filipe V. Stress Factors in mAb Drug Substance Production Processes: Critical Assessment of Impact on Product Quality and Control Strategy. J Pharm Sci 2020; 109:116-133. [DOI: 10.1016/j.xphs.2019.09.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2019] [Revised: 09/29/2019] [Accepted: 09/30/2019] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
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43
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Schneck NA, Ivleva VB, Rosales-Zavala E, Wang X, Gollapudi D, Cooper JW, Lei QP. Using LC-MS to Identify Clipping in Self-Assembled Nanoparticles During Vaccine Development. JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR MASS SPECTROMETRY 2019; 30:2576-2579. [PMID: 31595432 PMCID: PMC7780558 DOI: 10.1007/s13361-019-02318-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2019] [Revised: 07/21/2019] [Accepted: 08/10/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
A hemagglutinin stabilized stem nanoparticle (HA-SS-np) that is designed to provide broad protection against influenza is being developed as a potential vaccine. During an early formulation screening study, reducing gel (rCGE) analysis indicated product degradation in a few candidate buffers at the first-week accelerated stability point, whereas no change was shown in the size exclusion chromatography (SEC) measurement. A LC-MS workflow was therefore applied to investigate the integrity of this large HA-SS-np vaccine molecule (≈ 1 MDa). Application of LC-MS was critical to rationalize the conflicting results from the rCGE and SEC assays and led to the discovery that (1) an unexpected sequence clipping in the HA-SS-np subunits occurred, explaining the atypical reducing gel profile, and (2) an undisrupted disulfide bond held the two fragments together, explaining the unchanged SEC profile. This analytical case study led to a formulation buffer redesign, which mitigated the issue.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicole A Schneck
- Vaccine Production Program, Vaccine Research Center, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, 9 West Watkins Mill Rd., Gaithersburg, MD, 20878, USA
| | - Vera B Ivleva
- Vaccine Production Program, Vaccine Research Center, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, 9 West Watkins Mill Rd., Gaithersburg, MD, 20878, USA
| | - Erwin Rosales-Zavala
- Vaccine Production Program, Vaccine Research Center, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, 9 West Watkins Mill Rd., Gaithersburg, MD, 20878, USA
| | - Xiangchun Wang
- Vaccine Production Program, Vaccine Research Center, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, 9 West Watkins Mill Rd., Gaithersburg, MD, 20878, USA
| | - Deepika Gollapudi
- Vaccine Production Program, Vaccine Research Center, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, 9 West Watkins Mill Rd., Gaithersburg, MD, 20878, USA
| | - Jonathan W Cooper
- Vaccine Production Program, Vaccine Research Center, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, 9 West Watkins Mill Rd., Gaithersburg, MD, 20878, USA
| | - Q Paula Lei
- Vaccine Production Program, Vaccine Research Center, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, 9 West Watkins Mill Rd., Gaithersburg, MD, 20878, USA.
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44
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Schiermeyer A. Optimizing product quality in molecular farming. Curr Opin Biotechnol 2019; 61:15-20. [PMID: 31593785 DOI: 10.1016/j.copbio.2019.08.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2019] [Revised: 08/23/2019] [Accepted: 08/26/2019] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
The production of biopharmaceuticals in plant-based systems had faced several challenges that hampered broader adoption of this technology. In recent years, various plant production hosts have been improved by genetic engineering approaches to overcome obstacles with regard to post-translational modifications and integrity of target proteins. Together with optimized extraction and purification processes, those advances have put plant molecular farming in a more competitive position compared to established production systems. Certain biopharmaceuticals can be derived from plant systems with unique desired properties, qualifying them as biobetters.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andreas Schiermeyer
- Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology (IME), Forckenbeckstrasse 6, 52074, Aachen, Germany.
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45
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Liu X, Chen Y, Zhao Y, Liu-Compton V, Chen W, Payne G, Lazar AC. Identification and characterization of co-purifying CHO host cell proteins in monoclonal antibody purification process. J Pharm Biomed Anal 2019; 174:500-508. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jpba.2019.06.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2019] [Revised: 06/10/2019] [Accepted: 06/16/2019] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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46
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Cui T, Chi B, Heidbrink Thompson J, Kasali T, Sellick C, Turner R. Cathepsin D: Removal strategy on protein A chromatography, near real time monitoring and characterisation during monoclonal antibody production. J Biotechnol 2019; 305:51-60. [PMID: 31442501 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbiotec.2019.08.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2019] [Revised: 06/25/2019] [Accepted: 08/19/2019] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Abstract
Monoclonal antibody (mAb) fragmentation is a well-known degradation pathway that results in product loss and can significantly impact product quality, efficacy, or even cause immunogenic reactions, thus potentially endangering patients' health. It is recognised that residual proteases present among host cell proteins (HCPs) such as those expressed by Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) can induce fragmentation, and failure of their complete removal during downstream processing could cause fragmentation during mAb production and in the final drug product. We identified, using a protease inhibitor screen, an aspartic protease that contributes to proteolytic fragmentation of partially purified mAbs in multiple projects. Subsequent LC-MS analysis indicated that cathepsin D, a typical aspartic protease, was responsible for the observed fragmentation of in-process samples. To address the issue, an alternative chromatography wash was implemented at the capture step and has been demonstrated to be an effective and scalable solution to mitigate the residual cathepsin D associated fragmentation risk. Furthermore, a near real time targeted mass spectrometry method has been developed to proactively monitor the presence of cathepsin D during upstream and downstream process. Our approach demonstrated an emerging HCP mitigation strategy through integrated upstream and downstream involvement and holds great promise for a range of future applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tingting Cui
- Purification Process Sciences, BioPharmaceutical Development, R&D BioPharmaceuticals Unit, AstraZeneca, Cambridge CB21 6GH, United Kingdom.
| | - Bertie Chi
- CMC Analytical Development, Kymab Ltd., Cambridge CB22 3AT, United Kingdom
| | - Jenny Heidbrink Thompson
- Analytical Sciences, BioPharmaceutical Development, R&D BioPharmaceuticals Unit, AstraZeneca, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20878, United States
| | - Toyin Kasali
- Analytical Sciences, BioPharmaceutical Development, R&D BioPharmaceuticals Unit, AstraZeneca, Cambridge CB21 6GH, United Kingdom
| | | | - Richard Turner
- Purification Process Sciences, BioPharmaceutical Development, R&D BioPharmaceuticals Unit, AstraZeneca, Cambridge CB21 6GH, United Kingdom
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47
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Wang W, Ohtake S. Science and art of protein formulation development. Int J Pharm 2019; 568:118505. [PMID: 31306712 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpharm.2019.118505] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2019] [Revised: 07/08/2019] [Accepted: 07/08/2019] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Protein pharmaceuticals have become a significant class of marketed drug products and are expected to grow steadily over the next decade. Development of a commercial protein product is, however, a rather complex process. A critical step in this process is formulation development, enabling the final product configuration. A number of challenges still exist in the formulation development process. This review is intended to discuss these challenges, to illustrate the basic formulation development processes, and to compare the options and strategies in practical formulation development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wei Wang
- Biological Development, Bayer USA, LLC, 800 Dwight Way, Berkeley, CA 94710, United States.
| | - Satoshi Ohtake
- Pharmaceutical Research and Development, Pfizer Biotherapeutics Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chesterfield, MO 63017, United States
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48
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Manikwar P, Mulagapati SHR, Kasturirangan S, Moez K, Rainey GJ, Lobo B. Characterization of a Novel Bispecific Antibody With Improved Conformational and Chemical Stability. J Pharm Sci 2019; 109:220-232. [PMID: 31288034 DOI: 10.1016/j.xphs.2019.06.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2019] [Revised: 06/02/2019] [Accepted: 06/18/2019] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
Bispecific antibodies containing single-chain variable fragment (scFv) appended to immunoglobulins G offer unique development challenges. Here, we describe the stability of a novel bispecific format, BiS5, where the scFv is tethered to the CH3 domain. BiS5 showed an improved conformational and chemical stability compared with that of BiS4 in which the scFv is appended in the hinge region between the Fab and Fc. By switching the location of the scFv from hinge region to the CH3, there was an improved stabilization of CH2 and scFv domains. Interestingly, no noticeable impact was observed on the conformational stability of CH3 and Fab domains. BiS4 and BiS5 showed different aggregation and fragmentation rates under accelerated temperature stress conditions. BiS4 showed higher fragmentation rates compared with BiS5 likely owing to fragmentation in the linker region on either side of the scFv while BiS5 is more resistant toward fragmentation owing to tethering of scFv to the CH3 domain at its N and C terminus. In conclusion, the location of scFv affects both aggregation and fragmentation kinetics. These insights into the molecular structure and correlations with their physical and chemical stability will help formulation development of these novel bispecific antibodies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Prakash Manikwar
- Dosage Form Design & Development, AstraZeneca, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20878.
| | | | - Srinath Kasturirangan
- Antibody Discovery and Protein Engineering, AstraZeneca, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20878
| | - Khashayar Moez
- Dosage Form Design & Development, AstraZeneca, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20878
| | - Godfrey Jonah Rainey
- Antibody Discovery and Protein Engineering, AstraZeneca, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20878
| | - Brian Lobo
- Dosage Form Design & Development, AstraZeneca, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20878
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49
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Schneider A, Gorr IH, Larraillet V, Frensing T, Popp O. Reduction of IL-2 fragmentation during manufacturing of a novel immunocytokine by DoE process optimization. Biotechnol Bioeng 2019; 116:2503-2513. [PMID: 31180133 DOI: 10.1002/bit.27090] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2018] [Revised: 04/18/2019] [Accepted: 06/03/2019] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
Interleukin-2 (IL-2) is a potent molecule in cancer therapy. Clinical application, however, is limited due to its strong side effects during the treatment. We developed an IL-2 variant (IL-2v) immunocytokine to circumvent the drawbacks of the current IL-2 therapy. During the production of the IL-2v immunocytokine in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells, molecules with fragmented IL-2v and therefore reduced cytokine activity can be observed. To control product fragmentation different production process conditions were investigated. By shifting temperature or pH after the cell growth phase to lower values, fragmented species can be reduced from 10% to 12% to about 4%. However, with the adopted process conditions, the effective titer is decreased concomitantly. Moreover, fermentation length and inoculation cell density are parameters to adjust fragmentation and effective titer. A suitable method for efficient process optimization is the design of experiment approach. With this procedure, novel optimal values for temperature, pH value, harvest day, and inoculation cell densities were proposed and tested subsequently. In comparison to the former process, the improved process reduces fragmentation by 66% while keeping the effective titer comparable. In summary, these findings will help to control fragmentation in CHO production processes of different IL-2v or IL-2 containing therapeutic proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alina Schneider
- Pharma Research and Early Development, Cell Culture Research, Roche Innovation Center Munich, Roche Diagnostics GmbH, Munich, Germany
| | - Ingo H Gorr
- Pharma Research and Early Development, Cell Culture Research, Roche Innovation Center Munich, Roche Diagnostics GmbH, Munich, Germany.,Early Stage Bioprocess Development, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co., KG, Biberach an der Riss, Germany
| | - Vincent Larraillet
- Pharma Research and Early Development, Biochemical and Analytical Research, Roche Innovation Center Munich, Roche Diagnostics GmbH, Munich, Germany
| | - Timo Frensing
- Pharma Research and Early Development, Cell Culture Research, Roche Innovation Center Munich, Roche Diagnostics GmbH, Munich, Germany
| | - Oliver Popp
- Pharma Research and Early Development, Cell Culture Research, Roche Innovation Center Munich, Roche Diagnostics GmbH, Munich, Germany
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Uncommon Peptide Bond Cleavage of Glucagon from a Specific Vendor under near Neutral to Basic Conditions. Pharm Res 2019; 36:118. [DOI: 10.1007/s11095-019-2647-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/02/2019] [Accepted: 05/15/2019] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
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