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Sou SN, Harris CL, Williams R, Kozub D, Zurlo F, Patel YD, Kallamvalli Illam Sankaran P, Daramola O, Brown A, James DC, Hatton D, Dunn S, Gibson SJ. CHO synthetic promoters improve expression and product quality of biotherapeutic proteins. Biotechnol Prog 2023; 39:e3348. [PMID: 37114854 DOI: 10.1002/btpr.3348] [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: 12/13/2022] [Revised: 03/27/2023] [Accepted: 04/13/2023] [Indexed: 04/29/2023]
Abstract
When expressing complex biotherapeutic proteins, traditional expression plasmids and methods may not always yield sufficient levels of high-quality product. High-strength viral promoters commonly used for recombinant protein (rProtein) production in mammalian cells allow for maximal expression, but provide limited scope to alter their transcription dynamics. However, synthetic promoters designed to provide tunable transcriptional activity offer a plasmid engineering approach to more precisely regulate product quality, yield or to reduce product related contaminants. We substituted the viral promoter CMV with synthetic promoters that offer different transcriptional activities to express our gene of interest in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells. Stable pools were established and the benefits of regulating transgene transcription on the quality of biotherapeutics were examined in stable pool fed-batch overgrow experiments. Specific control of gene expression of the heavy chain (HC):light chain (LC) of a Fab, and the ratio between the two HCs in a Duet mAb reduced levels of aberrant protein contaminants; and the controlled expression of the helper gene XBP-1s improved expression of a difficult-to-express mAb. This synthetic promoter technology benefits applications that require custom activity. Our work highlights the advantages of employing synthetic promoters for production of more complex rProteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Si Nga Sou
- BioPharmaceutical Development, R&D, AstraZeneca, Cambridge, UK
| | - Claire L Harris
- BioPharmaceutical Development, R&D, AstraZeneca, Cambridge, UK
| | | | - Dorota Kozub
- BioPharmaceutical Development, R&D, AstraZeneca, Cambridge, UK
| | - Fabio Zurlo
- BioPharmaceutical Development, R&D, AstraZeneca, Cambridge, UK
| | - Yash D Patel
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | | | | | - Adam Brown
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - David C James
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - Diane Hatton
- BioPharmaceutical Development, R&D, AstraZeneca, Cambridge, UK
| | - Sarah Dunn
- BioPharmaceutical Development, R&D, AstraZeneca, Cambridge, UK
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2
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de Pinho Favaro MT, Atienza-Garriga J, Martínez-Torró C, Parladé E, Vázquez E, Corchero JL, Ferrer-Miralles N, Villaverde A. Recombinant vaccines in 2022: a perspective from the cell factory. Microb Cell Fact 2022; 21:203. [PMID: 36199085 PMCID: PMC9532831 DOI: 10.1186/s12934-022-01929-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2022] [Accepted: 08/30/2022] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
The last big outbreaks of Ebola fever in Africa, the thousands of avian influenza outbreaks across Europe, Asia, North America and Africa, the emergence of monkeypox virus in Europe and specially the COVID-19 pandemics have globally stressed the need for efficient, cost-effective vaccines against infectious diseases. Ideally, they should be based on transversal technologies of wide applicability. In this context, and pushed by the above-mentioned epidemiological needs, new and highly sophisticated DNA-or RNA-based vaccination strategies have been recently developed and applied at large-scale. Being very promising and effective, they still need to be assessed regarding the level of conferred long-term protection. Despite these fast-developing approaches, subunit vaccines, based on recombinant proteins obtained by conventional genetic engineering, still show a wide spectrum of interesting potentialities and an important margin for further development. In the 80’s, the first vaccination attempts with recombinant vaccines consisted in single structural proteins from viral pathogens, administered as soluble plain versions. In contrast, more complex formulations of recombinant antigens with particular geometries are progressively generated and explored in an attempt to mimic the multifaceted set of stimuli offered to the immune system by replicating pathogens. The diversity of recombinant antimicrobial vaccines and vaccine prototypes is revised here considering the cell factory types, through relevant examples of prototypes under development as well as already approved products.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marianna Teixeira de Pinho Favaro
- Institut de Biotecnologia i de Biomedicina, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallés, 08193, Barcelona, Spain.,Laboratory of Vaccine Development, Department of Microbiology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Jan Atienza-Garriga
- Institut de Biotecnologia i de Biomedicina, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallés, 08193, Barcelona, Spain.,Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Bioingeniería, Biomateriales y Nanomedicina, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Cerdanyola del Vallès, 08193, Barcelona, Spain.,Departament de Genètica i de Microbiologia, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallés, 08193, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Carlos Martínez-Torró
- Institut de Biotecnologia i de Biomedicina, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallés, 08193, Barcelona, Spain.,Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Bioingeniería, Biomateriales y Nanomedicina, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Cerdanyola del Vallès, 08193, Barcelona, Spain.,Departament de Genètica i de Microbiologia, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallés, 08193, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Eloi Parladé
- Institut de Biotecnologia i de Biomedicina, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallés, 08193, Barcelona, Spain.,Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Bioingeniería, Biomateriales y Nanomedicina, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Cerdanyola del Vallès, 08193, Barcelona, Spain.,Departament de Genètica i de Microbiologia, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallés, 08193, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Esther Vázquez
- Institut de Biotecnologia i de Biomedicina, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallés, 08193, Barcelona, Spain. .,Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Bioingeniería, Biomateriales y Nanomedicina, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Cerdanyola del Vallès, 08193, Barcelona, Spain. .,Departament de Genètica i de Microbiologia, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallés, 08193, Barcelona, Spain.
| | - José Luis Corchero
- Institut de Biotecnologia i de Biomedicina, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallés, 08193, Barcelona, Spain. .,Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Bioingeniería, Biomateriales y Nanomedicina, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Cerdanyola del Vallès, 08193, Barcelona, Spain. .,Departament de Genètica i de Microbiologia, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallés, 08193, Barcelona, Spain.
| | - Neus Ferrer-Miralles
- Institut de Biotecnologia i de Biomedicina, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallés, 08193, Barcelona, Spain. .,Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Bioingeniería, Biomateriales y Nanomedicina, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Cerdanyola del Vallès, 08193, Barcelona, Spain. .,Departament de Genètica i de Microbiologia, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallés, 08193, Barcelona, Spain.
| | - Antonio Villaverde
- Institut de Biotecnologia i de Biomedicina, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallés, 08193, Barcelona, Spain. .,Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Bioingeniería, Biomateriales y Nanomedicina, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Cerdanyola del Vallès, 08193, Barcelona, Spain. .,Departament de Genètica i de Microbiologia, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallés, 08193, Barcelona, Spain.
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Li ZM, Fan ZL, Wang XY, Wang TY. Factors Affecting the Expression of Recombinant Protein and Improvement Strategies in Chinese Hamster Ovary Cells. Front Bioeng Biotechnol 2022; 10:880155. [PMID: 35860329 PMCID: PMC9289362 DOI: 10.3389/fbioe.2022.880155] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2022] [Accepted: 06/01/2022] [Indexed: 01/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Recombinant therapeutic proteins (RTPs) are important parts of biopharmaceuticals. Chinese hamster ovary cells (CHO) have become the main cell hosts for the production of most RTPs approved for marketing because of their high-density suspension growth characteristics, and similar human post-translational modification patterns et al. In recent years, many studies have been performed on CHO cell expression systems, and the yields and quality of recombinant protein expression have been greatly improved. However, the expression levels of some proteins are still low or even difficult-to express in CHO cells. It is urgent further to increase the yields and to express successfully the “difficult-to express” protein in CHO cells. The process of recombinant protein expression of is a complex, involving multiple steps such as transcription, translation, folding processing and secretion. In addition, the inherent characteristics of molecular will also affect the production of protein. Here, we reviewed the factors affecting the expression of recombinant protein and improvement strategies in CHO cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zheng-Mei Li
- School of Life Science and Technology, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, China
- International Joint Research Laboratory for Recombinant Pharmaceutical Protein Expression System of Henan, Xinxiang, China
| | - Zhen-Lin Fan
- International Joint Research Laboratory for Recombinant Pharmaceutical Protein Expression System of Henan, Xinxiang, China
- Institutes of Health Central Plain, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, China
| | - Xiao-Yin Wang
- International Joint Research Laboratory for Recombinant Pharmaceutical Protein Expression System of Henan, Xinxiang, China
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, China
| | - Tian-Yun Wang
- International Joint Research Laboratory for Recombinant Pharmaceutical Protein Expression System of Henan, Xinxiang, China
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, China
- *Correspondence: Tian-Yun Wang,
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Dong E, Lam C, Tang D, Louie S, Yim M, Williams AJ, Sawyer W, Yip S, Carver J, AlBarakat A, Tsukuda J, Snedecor B, Misaghi S. Concurrent transfection of randomized transgene configurations into targeted integration CHO host is an advantageous and cost-effective method for expression of complex molecules. Biotechnol J 2020; 16:e2000230. [PMID: 33259700 DOI: 10.1002/biot.202000230] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2020] [Revised: 11/20/2020] [Accepted: 11/20/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Complex recombinant proteins are increasingly desired as potential therapeutic options for many disease indications and are commonly expressed in the mammalian Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells. Generally, stoichiometric expression and proper folding of all subunits of a complex recombinant protein are required to achieve the desired titers and product qualities for a complex molecule. Targeted integration (TI) cell line development (CLD), which entails the insertion of the desired transgene(s) into a predefined landing-pad in the CHO genome, enables the generation of a homogeneous pool of cells from which clonally stable and high titer clones can be isolated with minimal screening efforts. Despite these advantages, using a single transgene(s) configuration with predetermined gene dosage might not be adequate for the expression of complex molecules. The goal of this study is to develop a method for seamless screening of many vector configurations in a single TI CLD attempt. As testing vector configurations in transient expression systems is not predictive of protein expression in the stable cell lines and parallel TI CLDs with different transgene configurations is resource-intensive, we tested the concept of randomized configuration targeted integration (RCTI) CLD approach for expression of complex molecules. RCTI allows simultaneous transfection of multiple vector configurations, encoding a complex molecule, to generate diverse TI clones each with a single transgene configuration but clone specific productivity and product qualities. Our findings further revealed a direct correlation between transgenes' configuration/copy-number and titer/product quality of the expressed proteins. RCTI CLD enabled, with significantly fewer resources, seamless isolation of clones with comparable titers and product quality attributes to that of several parallel standard TI CLDs. Therefore, RCTI introduces randomness to the TI CLD platform while maintaining all the advantages, such as clone stability and reduced sequence variant levels, that the TI system has to offer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily Dong
- Cell Culture and Bioprocess Operations Department, Genentech, Inc. 1 DNA Way, South San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Cynthia Lam
- Cell Culture and Bioprocess Operations Department, Genentech, Inc. 1 DNA Way, South San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Danming Tang
- Cell Culture and Bioprocess Operations Department, Genentech, Inc. 1 DNA Way, South San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Salina Louie
- Cell Culture and Bioprocess Operations Department, Genentech, Inc. 1 DNA Way, South San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Mandy Yim
- Cell Culture and Bioprocess Operations Department, Genentech, Inc. 1 DNA Way, South San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Ambrose J Williams
- Purification Development Department, Genentech, Inc. 1 DNA Way, South San Francisco, California, USA
| | - William Sawyer
- Biochemical and Cellular Pharmacology Department, Genentech, Inc. 1 DNA Way, South San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Shirley Yip
- Cell Culture and Bioprocess Operations Department, Genentech, Inc. 1 DNA Way, South San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Joseph Carver
- Cell Culture and Bioprocess Operations Department, Genentech, Inc. 1 DNA Way, South San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Ali AlBarakat
- Cell Culture and Bioprocess Operations Department, Genentech, Inc. 1 DNA Way, South San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Joni Tsukuda
- Cell Culture and Bioprocess Operations Department, Genentech, Inc. 1 DNA Way, South San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Brad Snedecor
- Cell Culture and Bioprocess Operations Department, Genentech, Inc. 1 DNA Way, South San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Shahram Misaghi
- Cell Culture and Bioprocess Operations Department, Genentech, Inc. 1 DNA Way, South San Francisco, California, USA
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Wang TY, Guo X. Expression vector cassette engineering for recombinant therapeutic production in mammalian cell systems. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 2020; 104:5673-5688. [PMID: 32372203 DOI: 10.1007/s00253-020-10640-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2020] [Revised: 04/13/2020] [Accepted: 04/20/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Human tissue plasminogen activator was the first recombinant therapy protein that successfully produced in Chinese hamster ovary cells in 1986 and approved for clinical use. Since then, more and more therapeutic proteins are being manufactured in mammalian cells, and the technologies for recombinant protein production in this expression system have developed rapidly, with the optimization of both upstream and downstream processes. One of the most promising strategies is expression vector cassette optimization based on the expression vector cassette. In this review paper, these approaches and developments are summarized, and the future strategy on the utilizing of expression cassettes for the production of recombinant therapeutic proteins in mammalian cells is discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tian-Yun Wang
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, 453003, Henan, China.
- International Joint Research Laboratory for Recombinant Pharmaceutical Protein Expression System of Henan, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, 453003, Henan, China.
| | - Xiao Guo
- International Joint Research Laboratory for Recombinant Pharmaceutical Protein Expression System of Henan, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, 453003, Henan, China
- Perildicals Publishing House, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, Henan, China
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Lobner E, Wachernig A, Gudipati V, Mayrhofer P, Salzer B, Lehner M, Huppa JB, Kunert R. Getting CD19 Into Shape: Expression of Natively Folded "Difficult-to- Express" CD19 for Staining and Stimulation of CAR-T Cells. Front Bioeng Biotechnol 2020; 8:49. [PMID: 32117929 PMCID: PMC7020774 DOI: 10.3389/fbioe.2020.00049] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2019] [Accepted: 01/22/2020] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
The transmembrane protein CD19 is exclusively expressed on normal and malignant B cells and therefore constitutes the target of approved CAR-T cell-based cancer immunotherapies. Current efforts to assess CAR-T cell functionality in a quantitative fashion both in vitro and in vivo are hampered by the limited availability of the properly folded recombinant extracellular domain of CD19 (CD19-ECD) considered as "difficult-to-express" (DTE) protein. Here, we successfully expressed a novel fusion construct consisting of the full-length extracellular domain of CD19 and domain 2 of human serum albumin (CD19-AD2), which was integrated into the Rosa26 bacterial artificial chromosome vector backbone for generation of a recombinant CHO-K1 production cell line. Product titers could be further boosted using valproic acid as a chemical chaperone. Purified monomeric CD19-AD2 proved stable as shown by non-reduced SDS-PAGE and SEC-MALS measurements. Moreover, flow cytometric analysis revealed specific binding of CD19-AD2 to CD19-CAR-T cells. Finally, we demonstrate biological activity of our CD19-AD2 fusion construct as we succeeded in stimulating CD19-CAR-T cells effectively with the use of CD19-AD2-decorated planar supported lipid bilayers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elisabeth Lobner
- Department of Biotechnology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria
| | - Anna Wachernig
- Department of Biotechnology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria
| | - Venugopal Gudipati
- Institute for Hygiene and Applied Immunology, Center for Pathophysiology, Infectiology and Immunology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Patrick Mayrhofer
- Department of Biotechnology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria
| | - Benjamin Salzer
- St. Anna Children's Cancer Research Institute, Vienna, Austria
| | - Manfred Lehner
- St. Anna Children's Cancer Research Institute, Vienna, Austria
| | - Johannes B Huppa
- Institute for Hygiene and Applied Immunology, Center for Pathophysiology, Infectiology and Immunology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Renate Kunert
- Department of Biotechnology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria
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7
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Utilizing a regulated targeted integration cell line development approach to systematically investigate what makes an antibody difficult to express. Biotechnol Prog 2019; 35:e2772. [DOI: 10.1002/btpr.2772] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2018] [Revised: 11/19/2018] [Accepted: 12/27/2018] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
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8
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Debottlenecking protein secretion and reducing protein aggregation in the cellular host. Curr Opin Biotechnol 2018; 53:151-157. [DOI: 10.1016/j.copbio.2018.01.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2017] [Revised: 01/05/2018] [Accepted: 01/08/2018] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
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