Change in glycosylation pattern with extension of endoplasmic reticulum retention signal sequence of mouse antibody produced by suspension-cultured tobacco BY2 cells

High accumulation of the Man5GlcNAc2 structure by combining N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase I gene suppression and mannosidase I gene overexpression in Nicotiana tabacum SR1

High accumulation of a single high-mannose glycan structure is important to ensure the quality of therapeutic proteins. We developed a glyco-engineering strategy for ensuring high accumulation of the Man₅GlcNAc₂ structure by combining N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase I (GnT I) gene suppression and mannosidase I (Man I) gene overexpression. Nicotiana tabacum SR1 was used as the glyco-engineered host owing to the lower risk of pathogenic contamination than that in mammalian cells. We generated three glyco-engineered plant strains (gnt, gnt-MANA1, and gnt-MANA2) with suppression of GnT I or the combined suppression of GnT I and overexpression of Man I A1 or A2. The quantitative reverse transcriptase-PCR analysis showed a higher level of upregulation of Man I expression in gnt-MANA1/A2 plants than in the wild-type plants. Man I activity assay showed that the gnt-MANA1 plants had a higher Man I activity than did the wild-type and gnt-MANA2 plants. N-glycan analysis independently performed on two plants of each plant strain showed that gnt-MANA1 plants had a low abundance of the Man_6-9GlcNAc₂ structure (2.8%, 7.1%) and high abundance of the Man₅GlcNAc₂ structure (80.0%, 82.8%) compared with those in the wild-type and gnt plants. These results indicated that GnT I knockdown suppressed further modification of the Man₅GlcNAc₂ structure, and Man I overexpression enhanced the conversion of Man_6-9GlcNAc₂ structures to the Man₅GlcNAc₂ structure. The developed glyco-engineered plants have potential for serving as novel expression hosts for therapeutic proteins.

Inactivation of N-Acetylglucosaminyltransferase I and α1,3-Fucosyltransferase Genes in Nicotiana tabacum BY-2 Cells Results in Glycoproteins With Highly Homogeneous, High-Mannose N-Glycans

Nicotiana tabacum Bright Yellow-2 (BY-2) suspension cells are among the most commonly used plant cell lines for producing biopharmaceutical glycoproteins. Recombinant glycoproteins are usually produced with a mix of high-mannose and complex N-glycans. However, N-glycan heterogeneity is a concern for the production of therapeutic or vaccine glycoproteins because it can alter protein activity and might lead to batch-to-batch variability. In this report, a BY-2 cell line producing glycoproteins devoid of complex N-glycans was obtained using CRISPR/Cas9 edition of two N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase I (GnTI) genes, whose activity is a prerequisite for the formation of all complex N-glycans. The suppression of complex N-glycans in the GnTI-knocked out (KO) cell lines was assessed by Western blotting. Lack of β1,2-xylose residues confirmed the abolition of GnTI activity. Unexpectedly, α1,3-fucose residues were still detected albeit dramatically reduced as compared with wild-type cells. To suppress the remaining α1,3-fucose residues, a second genome editing targeted both GnTI and α1,3-fucosyltransferase (FucT) genes. No β1,2-xylose nor α1,3-fucose residues were detected on the glycoproteins produced by the GnTI/FucT-KO cell lines. Absence of complex N-glycans on secreted glycoproteins of GnTI-KO and GnTI/FucT-KO cell lines was confirmed by mass spectrometry. Both cell lines produced high-mannose N-glycans, mainly Man5 (80 and 86%, respectively) and Man4 (16 and 11%, respectively). The high degree of N-glycan homogeneity and the high-mannose N-glycosylation profile of these BY-2 cell lines is an asset for their use as expression platforms.

Effects of Kifunensine on Production and N-Glycosylation Modification of Butyrylcholinesterase in a Transgenic Rice Cell Culture Bioreactor

The production and N-glycosylation of recombinant human butyrylcholinesterase (BChE), a model highly glycosylated therapeutic protein, in a transgenic rice cell suspension culture treated with kifunensine, a strong α-mannosidase I inhibitor, was studied in a 5 L bioreactor. A media exchange was performed at day 7 of cultivation by removing spent sugar-rich medium (NB+S) and adding fresh sugar-free (NB-S) medium to induce the rice α-amylase 3D (RAmy3D) promoter to produce rice recombinant human BChE (rrBChE). Using a 1.25X-concentrated sugar-free medium together with an 80% reduced working volume during the media exchange led to a total active rrBChE production level of 79 ± 2 µg (g FW)^-1 or 7.5 ± 0.4 mg L^-1 in the presence of kifunensine, which was 1.5-times higher than our previous bioreactor runs using normal sugar-free (NB-S) media with no kifunensine treatment. Importantly, the amount of secreted active rrBChE in culture medium was enhanced in the presence of kifunensine, comprising 44% of the total active rrBChE at day 5 following induction. Coomassie-stained SDS-PAGE gel and Western blot analyses revealed different electrophoretic migration of purified rrBChE bands with and without kifunensine treatment, which was attributed to different N-glycoforms. N-Glycosylation analysis showed substantially increased oligomannose glycans (Man5/6/7/8) in rrBChE treated with kifunensine compared to controls. However, the mass-transfer limitation of kifunensine was likely the major reason for incomplete inhibition of α-mannosidase I in this bioreactor study.

Expression of LamB Vaccine Antigen in Wolffia globosa (Duck Weed) Against Fish Vibriosis

Vibriosis is a commonly found bacterial disease identified among fish and shellfish cultured in saline waters. A multitude of Vibrio species have been identified as the causative agents. LamB, a member of outer membrane protein (OMPs) family of these bacteria is conserved among all Vibrio species and has been identified as an efficient vaccine candidate against vibriosis. Rootless duckweed (Wolffia) is a tiny, edible aquatic plant possessing characteristics suitable for the utilization as a bioreactor. Thus, we attempted to express a protective edible vaccine antigen against fish vibriosis in nuclear-transformed Wolffia. We amplified LamB gene from virulent Vibrio alginolyticus and it was modified to maximize the protein expression level and translocate the protein to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) in plants. It was cloned into binary vector pMYC under the control of CaMV 35S promoter and introduced into Wolffia globosa by Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. Integration and expression of the LamB gene was confirmed by genomic PCR and RT-PCR. Western blot analysis revealed accumulation of the LamB protein in 8 transgenic lines. The cross-protective property of transgenic Wolffia was evaluated by orally vaccinating zebrafish through feeding fresh transgenic Wolffia and subsequently challenging with virulent V. alginolyticus. High relative percent survival (RPS) of the vaccinated fish (63.3%) confirmed that fish immunized with transgenic Wolffia were well-protected from Vibrio infection. These findings suggest that Wolffia expressed LamB could serve as an edible plant-based candidate vaccine model for fish vibriosis and feasibility of utilizing Wolffia as bioreactor to produce edible vaccines.

Mutation of N-linked glycosylation at Asn548 in CD133 decreases its ability to promote hepatoma cell growth

The membrane glycoprotein CD133 is a popular marker for cancer stem cells and contributes to cancer initiation and invasion in a number of tumor types. CD133 promotes tumorigenesis partly through an interaction between its phosphorylated Y828 residue and the PI3K regulatory subunit p85, and the interaction with β-catenin. Although CD133 glycosylation is supposed to be associated with its function, the contribution of N-glycosylation to its functions remains unclear. Here we analyzed the exact site(s) of N-glycosylation in CD133 by mass spectrometry and found that all eight potential N-glycosylation sites of CD133 could be indeed occupied by N-glycans. Loss of individual N-glycosylation sites had no effect on the level of expression or membrane localization of CD133. However, mutation at glycosylation site Asn548 significantly decreased the ability of CD133 to promote hepatoma cell growth. Furthermore, mutation of Asn548 reduced the interaction between CD133 and β-catenin and inhibited the activation of β-catenin signaling by CD133 overexpression. Our results identified the characteristics and function of CD133 glycosylation sites. These data could potentially shed light on molecular regulation of CD133 by glycosylation and enhance our understanding of the utility of glycosylated CD133 as a target for cancer therapies.

Analysis of carbohydrates and glycoconjugates by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry: an update for 2009-2010

This review is the sixth update of the original article published in 1999 on the application of MALDI mass spectrometry to the analysis of carbohydrates and glycoconjugates and brings coverage of the literature to the end of 2010. General aspects such as theory of the MALDI process, matrices, derivatization, MALDI imaging, arrays and fragmentation are covered in the first part of the review and applications to various structural typed constitutes the remainder. The main groups of compound that are discussed in this section are oligo and polysaccharides, glycoproteins, glycolipids, glycosides and biopharmaceuticals. Many of these applications are presented in tabular form. Also discussed are medical and industrial applications of the technique, studies of enzyme reactions and applications to chemical synthesis.

Subcellular Targeting of Proteins Involved in Modification of Plant N- and O-Glycosylation

Plants are attractive expression hosts for the production of recombinant glycoprotein therapeutics. The quality and efficiency of these biopharmaceuticals are very often influenced by the glycosylation profile. Consequently, approaches are needed that enable the production of recombinant glycoproteins with customized and homogenous N- and O-glycan structures. Here, we describe convenient tools that allow targeting and retention of glycan-modifying enzymes in the early secretory pathway of plants. These protocols can be used to fine-tune the subcellular localization of glycosyltransferases and glycosidases in plants and consequently to increase the homogeneity of glycosylation on recombinant glycoproteins.

Molecular farming in tobacco hairy roots by triggering the secretion of a pharmaceutical antibody

Recombinant pharmaceutical proteins expressed in hairy root cultures can be secreted into the medium to improve product homogeneity and to facilitate purification, although this may result in significant degradation if the protein is inherently unstable or particularly susceptible to proteases. To address these challenges, we used a design of experiments approach to develop an optimized induction protocol for the cultivation of tobacco hairy roots secreting the full-size monoclonal antibody M12. The antibody yield was enhanced 30-fold by the addition of 14 g/L KNO3 , 19 mg/L 1-naphthaleneacetic acid and 1.5 g/L of the stabilizing agent polyvinylpyrrolidone. Analysis of hairy root cross sections revealed that the optimized medium induced lateral root formation and morphological changes in the inner cortex and pericycle cells, indicating that the improved productivity was at least partially based on the enhanced efficiency of antibody secretion. We found that 57% of the antibody was secreted, yielding 5.9 mg of product per liter of induction medium. Both the secreted and intracellular forms of the antibody could be isolated by protein A affinity chromatography and their functionality was confirmed using vitronectin-binding assays. Glycan analysis revealed three major plant complex-type glycans on both forms of the antibody, although the secreted form was more homogeneous due to the predominance of a specific glycoform. Tobacco hairy root cultures therefore offer a practical solution for the production of homogeneous pharmaceutical antibodies in containment.

N-terminal vacuolar sorting signal at the mouse antibody alters the N-linked glycosylation pattern in suspension-cultured tobacco BY2 cells

Recombinant DNA technology enables the use of plants as the host for the production of pharmaceutical proteins, such as antibodies. The glycosylation of recombinant proteins plays physiological and biological roles. However, because glycosylation in plants is different from that in human cells, the development of glycoengineering is required. In plant cells, glycan structures are shown to correlate with the localization of the recombinant protein produced. In this study, the vacuolar sorting signal (VSS) of sporamin was fused to the heavy (H) and light (L) chains of a mouse monoclonal antibody (mAb), and the mAb was produced in suspension-cultured tobacco BY2 cells. The sugar chain structures were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography, exoglycosidase digestion, and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Typical plant glycans with α1,3-fucosylation and/or β1,2-xylosylation derived from mAb with the VSS-fused H-chain (mIgG1000) and mAb with the VSS-fused H- and L-chain (mIgG1010) occupied the large amount of the total N-glycans, 72.1% and 85.0%, respectively, such as those derived from mAb without VSS (mIgG0000), 74.6% (Fujiyama et al., J. Biosci. Bioeng., 101, 212-218, 2006). In contrast, the typical plant glycan structure Man₃FucXylGlcNAc₂ particularly in vacuoles accounted for 37.8% of the total sugar chains derived from mIgG1000 and 58.5% of those derived from mIgG1010 compared with 24.3% of those derived from mIgG0000. These results suggest that the sporamin signal peptide fused to mAb acts as a VSS and leads to the increase in the amount of Man₃FucXylGlcNAc₂, which is the main N-glycan structure in vacuoles.

Engineering of N. benthamiana L. plants for production of N-acetylgalactosamine-glycosylated proteins--towards development of a plant-based platform for production of protein therapeutics with mucin type O-glycosylation

BACKGROUND

Mucin type O-glycosylation is one of the most common types of post-translational modifications that impacts stability and biological functions of many mammalian proteins. A large family of UDP-GalNAc polypeptide:N-acetyl-α-galactosaminyltransferases (GalNAc-Ts) catalyzes the first step of mucin type O-glycosylation by transferring GalNAc to serine and/or threonine residues of acceptor polypeptides. Plants do not have the enzyme machinery to perform this process, thus restricting their use as bioreactors for production of recombinant therapeutic proteins.

RESULTS

The present study demonstrates that an isoform of the human GalNAc-Ts family, GalNAc-T2, retains its localization and functionality upon expression in N. benthamiana L. plants. The recombinant enzyme resides in the Golgi as evidenced by the fluorescence distribution pattern of the GalNAc-T2:GFP fusion and alteration of the fluorescence signature upon treatment with Brefeldin A. A GalNAc-T2-specific acceptor peptide, the 113-136 aa fragment of chorionic gonadotropin β-subunit, is glycosylated in vitro by the plant-produced enzyme at the "native" GalNAc attachment sites, Ser-121 and Ser-127. Ectopic expression of GalNAc-T2 is sufficient to "arm" tobacco cells with the ability to perform GalNAc-glycosylation, as evidenced by the attachment of GalNAc to Thr-119 of the endogenous enzyme endochitinase. However, glycosylation of highly expressed recombinant glycoproteins, like magnICON-expressed E. coli enterotoxin B subunit:H. sapiens mucin 1 tandem repeat-derived peptide fusion protein (LTBMUC1), is limited by the low endogenous UDP-GalNAc substrate pool and the insufficient translocation of UDP-GalNAc to the Golgi lumen. Further genetic engineering of the GalNAc-T2 plants by co-expressing Y. enterocolitica UDP-GlcNAc 4-epimerase gene and C. elegans UDP-GlcNAc/UDP-GalNAc transporter gene overcomes these limitations as indicated by the expression of the model LTBMUC1 protein exclusively as a glycoform.

CONCLUSION

Plant bioreactors can be engineered that are capable of producing Tn antigen-containing recombinant therapeutics.

Growth phase-dependent expression of proteins with decreased plant-specific N-glycans and immunogenicity in tobacco BY2 cells

Plants possess some desirable characteristics to synthesize recombinant glycoproteins for pharmaceutical application. However, the mammalian glycoproteins produced in plants are somewhat different from their natural counterparts in terms of N-glycoforms. The immunogenicity of plant-specific glyco-epitopes is the major concern in human therapy. Here, the distribution of N-glycans in different growth phases of tobacco BY2 cells and their immunogenicity in mice were determined. It was observed that the percentage of beta1,2-xylose and alpha1,3-fucose in proteins of growing cells increased and the corresponding protein extracts caused accelerated immune response in mice. Based on this observation, the recombinant erythropoietin in BY2 cells was expressed and characterized, and Western blot analysis showed that the recombinant erythropoietin contained a relatively small amount of plant-specific glyco-epitopes in the early phase of culture growth. This study may provide a simple but effective strategy for the production of therapeutic glycoproteins with human-like N-glycan structures in plant hosts to avoid a great allergenic risk.

Plants as bioreactors: Recent developments and emerging opportunities

In recent years, the use of plants as bioreactors has emerged as an exciting area of research and significant advances have created new opportunities. The driving forces behind the rapid growth of plant bioreactors include low production cost, product safety and easy scale up. As the yield and concentration of a product is crucial for commercial viability, several strategies have been developed to boost up protein expression in transgenic plants. Augmenting tissue-specific transcription, elevating transcript stability, tissue-specific targeting, translation optimization and sub-cellular accumulation are some of the strategies employed. Various kinds of products that are currently being produced in plants include vaccine antigens, medical diagnostics proteins, industrial and pharmaceutical proteins, nutritional supplements like minerals, vitamins, carbohydrates and biopolymers. A large number of plant-derived recombinant proteins have reached advanced clinical trials. A few of these products have already been introduced in the market.