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Krishna S, Jung ST, Lee EY. Escherichia coli and Pichia pastoris: microbial cell-factory platform for -full-length IgG production. Crit Rev Biotechnol 2024:1-23. [PMID: 38797692 DOI: 10.1080/07388551.2024.2342969] [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: 12/13/2023] [Accepted: 03/18/2024] [Indexed: 05/29/2024]
Abstract
Owing to the unmet demand, the pharmaceutical industry is investigating an alternative host to mammalian cells to produce antibodies for a variety of therapeutic and research applications. Regardless of some disadvantages, Escherichia coli and Pichia pastoris are the preferred microbial hosts for antibody production. Despite the fact that the production of full-length antibodies has been successfully demonstrated in E. coli, which has mostly been used to produce antibody fragments, such as: antigen-binding fragments (Fab), single-chain fragment variable (scFv), and nanobodies. In contrast, Pichia, a eukaryotic microbial host, is mostly used to produce glycosylated full-length antibodies, though hypermannosylated glycan is a major challenge. Advanced strategies, such as the introduction of human-like glycosylation in endotoxin-edited E. coli and cell-free system-based glycosylation, are making progress in creating human-like glycosylation profiles of antibodies in these microbes. This review begins by explaining the structural and functional requirements of antibodies and continues by describing and analyzing the potential of E. coli and P. pastoris as hosts for providing a favorable environment to create a fully functional antibody. In addition, authors compare these microbes on certain features and predict their future in antibody production. Briefly, this review analyzes, compares, and highlights E. coli and P. pastoris as potential hosts for antibody production.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shyam Krishna
- Department of Chemical Engineering (BK21 FOUR Integrated Engineering Program), Kyung Hee University, Yongin-si, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea
| | - Sang Taek Jung
- BK21 Graduate Program, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Graduate School, Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Eun Yeol Lee
- Department of Chemical Engineering (BK21 FOUR Integrated Engineering Program), Kyung Hee University, Yongin-si, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea
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Das PK, Sahoo A, Veeranki VD. Recombinant monoclonal antibody production in yeasts: Challenges and considerations. Int J Biol Macromol 2024; 266:131379. [PMID: 38580014 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2024.131379] [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: 10/29/2023] [Revised: 04/01/2024] [Accepted: 04/02/2024] [Indexed: 04/07/2024]
Abstract
Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) are laboratory-based engineered protein molecules with a monovalent affinity or multivalent avidity towards a specific target or antigen, which can mimic natural antibodies that are produced in the human immune systems to fight against detrimental pathogens. The recombinant mAb is one of the most effective classes of biopharmaceuticals produced in vitro by cloning and expressing synthetic antibody genes in a suitable host. Yeast is one of the potential hosts among others for the successful production of recombinant mAbs. However, there are very few yeast-derived mAbs that got the approval of the regulatory agencies for direct use for treatment purposes. Certain challenges encountered by yeasts for recombinant antibody productions need to be overcome and a few considerations related to antibody structure, host engineering, and culturing strategies should be followed for the improved production of mAbs in yeasts. In this review, the drawbacks related to the metabolic burden of the host, culturing conditions including induction mechanism and secretion efficiency, solubility and stability, downstream processing, and the pharmacokinetic behavior of the antibody are discussed, which will help in developing the yeast hosts for the efficient production of recombinant mAbs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Prabir Kumar Das
- Biochemical Engineering Laboratory, Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, Guwahati 781039, Assam, India
| | - Ansuman Sahoo
- Biochemical Engineering Laboratory, Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, Guwahati 781039, Assam, India
| | - Venkata Dasu Veeranki
- Biochemical Engineering Laboratory, Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, Guwahati 781039, Assam, India.
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Movaghar Asareh S, Savei T, Arjmand S, Ranaei Siadat SO, Fatemi F, Pourmadadi M, Shabani Shayeh J. Expression of functional eGFP-fused antigen-binding fragment of ranibizumab in Pichia pastoris. BIOIMPACTS : BI 2021; 12:203-210. [PMID: 35677669 PMCID: PMC9124873 DOI: 10.34172/bi.2021.23219] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2020] [Revised: 01/02/2021] [Accepted: 01/06/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Introduction: Ranibizumab is a mouse monoclonal antibody fragment antigen-binding (Fab) against human vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGF-A), inhibiting angiogenesis. This antibody is commercially produced in Escherichia coli host and used to treat wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Methods: In this study, the heavy and light chains of ranibizumab were expressed in Pichia pastoris. The expressed chains were incubated overnight at 4°C for interaction. The formation of an active structure was evaluated based on the interaction with substrate VEGF-A using an indirect ELISA, and an electrochemical setup. Furthermore, reconstruction of split enhanced green fluorescent protein (eGFP) reporter, chimerized at the C-terminus of the heavy and light chains, was used to characterize chains' interaction. Results: P. pastoris efficiently expressed designed constructs and secreted them into the culture medium. The anti-Fab antibody detected the constructed Fab structure in western blot analysis. Reconstruction of the split reporter confirmed the interaction between heavy and light chains. The designed ELISA and electrochemical setup results verified the binding activity of the recombinant Fab structure against VEGF-A. Conclusion: In this work, we indicated that the heavy and light chains of ranibizumab Fab fragments (with or without linkage to split parts of eGFP protein) were produced in P. pastoris. The fluorescence of reconstructed eGFP was detected after incubating the equal ratio of chimeric-heavy and light chains. Immunoassay and electrochemical tests verified the bioactivity of constructed Fab. The data suggested that P. pastoris could be considered a potential efficient eukaryotic host for ranibizumab production.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Tahereh Savei
- Protein Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran
| | - Sareh Arjmand
- Protein Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran
| | | | - Fataneh Fatemi
- Protein Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran
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Harvey DJ. Analysis of carbohydrates and glycoconjugates by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry: An update for 2011-2012. MASS SPECTROMETRY REVIEWS 2017; 36:255-422. [PMID: 26270629 DOI: 10.1002/mas.21471] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2014] [Accepted: 01/15/2015] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
This review is the seventh 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 2012. General aspects such as theory of the MALDI process, matrices, derivatization, MALDI imaging, and fragmentation are covered in the first part of the review and applications to various structural types constitute the remainder. The main groups of compound are oligo- and poly-saccharides, glycoproteins, glycolipids, glycosides, and biopharmaceuticals. Much of this material is presented in tabular form. Also discussed are medical and industrial applications of the technique, studies of enzyme reactions, and applications to chemical synthesis. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Mass Spec Rev 36:255-422, 2017.
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Affiliation(s)
- David J Harvey
- Department of Biochemistry, Oxford Glycobiology Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3QU, UK
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Liang H, Li X, Wang B, Chen B, Zhao Y, Sun J, Zhuang Y, Shi J, Shen H, Zhang Z, Dai J. A collagen-binding EGFR antibody fragment targeting tumors with a collagen-rich extracellular matrix. Sci Rep 2016; 6:18205. [PMID: 26883295 PMCID: PMC4756367 DOI: 10.1038/srep18205] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2015] [Accepted: 11/13/2015] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Many tumors over-express collagen, which constitutes the physical scaffold of tumor microenvironment. Collagen has been considered to be a target for cancer therapy. The collagen-binding domain (CBD) is a short peptide, which could bind to collagen and achieve the sustained release of CBD-fused proteins in collagen scaffold. Here, a collagen-binding EGFR antibody fragment was designed and expressed for targeting the collagen-rich extracellular matrix in tumors. The antibody fragment (Fab) of cetuximab was fused with CBD (CBD-Fab) and expressed in Pichia pastoris. CBD-Fab maintained antigen binding and anti-tumor activity of cetuximab and obtained a collagen-binding ability in vitro. The results also showed CBD-Fab was mainly enriched in tumors and had longer retention time in tumors in A431 s.c. xenografts. Furthermore, CBD-Fab showed a similar therapeutic efficacy as cetuximab in A431 xenografts. Although CBD-Fab hasn’t showed better therapeutic effects than cetuximab, its smaller molecular and special target may be applicable as antibody–drug conjugates (ADC) or immunotoxins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hui Liang
- Key Laboratory for Nano-Bio Interface Research, Division of Nanobiomedicine, Suzhou Institute of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Suzhou 215123, China.,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Xiaoran Li
- Key Laboratory for Nano-Bio Interface Research, Division of Nanobiomedicine, Suzhou Institute of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Suzhou 215123, China
| | - Bin Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Developmental Biology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100080, China
| | - Bing Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Developmental Biology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100080, China
| | - Yannan Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Developmental Biology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100080, China
| | - Jie Sun
- Key Laboratory for Nano-Bio Interface Research, Division of Nanobiomedicine, Suzhou Institute of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Suzhou 215123, China
| | - Yan Zhuang
- Key Laboratory for Nano-Bio Interface Research, Division of Nanobiomedicine, Suzhou Institute of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Suzhou 215123, China
| | - Jiajia Shi
- Key Laboratory for Nano-Bio Interface Research, Division of Nanobiomedicine, Suzhou Institute of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Suzhou 215123, China
| | - He Shen
- Key Laboratory for Nano-Bio Interface Research, Division of Nanobiomedicine, Suzhou Institute of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Suzhou 215123, China
| | - Zhijun Zhang
- Key Laboratory for Nano-Bio Interface Research, Division of Nanobiomedicine, Suzhou Institute of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Suzhou 215123, China
| | - Jianwu Dai
- Key Laboratory for Nano-Bio Interface Research, Division of Nanobiomedicine, Suzhou Institute of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Suzhou 215123, China.,State Key Laboratory of Molecular Developmental Biology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100080, China
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Expression and characterization of camel chymosin in Pichia pastoris. Protein Expr Purif 2015; 111:75-81. [DOI: 10.1016/j.pep.2015.03.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2015] [Revised: 03/20/2015] [Accepted: 03/22/2015] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
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7
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Zhang C, Fredericks D, Campi EM, Florio P, Jespersgaard C, Schiødt CB, Hearn MT. Purification of monoclonal antibodies by chemical affinity mixed mode chromatography. Sep Purif Technol 2015. [DOI: 10.1016/j.seppur.2015.01.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
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Inactivation of a GAL4-like transcription factor improves cell fitness and product yield in glycoengineered Pichia pastoris strains. Appl Environ Microbiol 2014; 81:260-71. [PMID: 25344235 DOI: 10.1128/aem.02619-14] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
With a completely reengineered and humanized glycosylation pathway, glycoengineered Pichia pastoris has emerged as a promising production host for the manufacture of therapeutic glycoproteins. However, the extensive genetic modifications have also negatively affected the overall fitness levels of the glycoengineered host cells. To make glycoengineered Pichia strains more compatible with a scalable industrial fermentation process, we sought to identify genetic solutions to broadly improve cell robustness during fermentation. In this study, we report that mutations within the Pichia pastoris ATT1 (PpATT1) gene (a homolog of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae GAL4 [ScGAL4] transcriptional activator) dramatically increased the cellular fitness levels of glycoengineered Pichia strains. We demonstrate that deletion of the PpATT1 gene enabled glycoengineered Pichia strains to improve their thermal tolerance levels, reduce their cell lysis defects, and greatly improve fermentation robustness. The extension of the duration of fermentation enabled the PpATT1-modified glycoengineered Pichia strains to increase their product yields significantly without any sacrifice in product quality. Because the ATT1 gene could be deleted from any Pichia strains, including empty hosts and protein-expressing production strains alike, we suggest that the findings described in this study are broadly applicable to any Pichia strains used for the production of therapeutic proteins, including monoclonal antibodies, Fc fusions, peptides, hormones, and growth factors.
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Shaheen HH, Prinz B, Chen MT, Pavoor T, Lin S, Houston-Cummings NR, Moore R, Stadheim TA, Zha D. A dual-mode surface display system for the maturation and production of monoclonal antibodies in glyco-engineered Pichia pastoris. PLoS One 2013; 8:e70190. [PMID: 23875020 PMCID: PMC3707868 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0070190] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2013] [Accepted: 06/14/2013] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
State-of-the-art monoclonal antibody (mAb) discovery methods that utilize surface display techniques in prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells require multiple steps of reformatting and switching of hosts to transition from display to expression. This results in a separation between antibody affinity maturation and full-length mAb production platforms. Here, we report for the first time, a method in Glyco-engineered Pichiapastoris that enables simultaneous surface display and secretion of full-length mAb molecules with human-like N-glycans using the same yeast cell. This paradigm takes advantage of homo-dimerization of the Fc portion of an IgG molecule to a surface-anchored "bait" Fc, which results in targeting functional “half” IgGs to the cell wall of Pichiapastoris without interfering with the secretion of full length mAb. We show the utility of this method in isolating high affinity, well-expressed anti-PCSK9 leads from a designed library that was created by mating yeasts containing either light chain or heavy chain IgG libraries. Coupled with Glyco-engineered Pichiapastoris, this method provides a powerful tool for the discovery and production of therapeutic human mAbs in the same host thus improving drug developability and potentially shortening the discovery time cycle.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hussam H. Shaheen
- GlycoFi, Biologics Discovery, Merck Research Laboratories, Merck & Co., Inc., Lebanon, New Hampshire, United States of America
- * E-mail: (HS); (DZ)
| | - Bianka Prinz
- GlycoFi, Biologics Discovery, Merck Research Laboratories, Merck & Co., Inc., Lebanon, New Hampshire, United States of America
| | - Ming-Tang Chen
- GlycoFi, Biologics Discovery, Merck Research Laboratories, Merck & Co., Inc., Lebanon, New Hampshire, United States of America
| | - Tej Pavoor
- GlycoFi, Biologics Discovery, Merck Research Laboratories, Merck & Co., Inc., Lebanon, New Hampshire, United States of America
| | - Song Lin
- GlycoFi, Biologics Discovery, Merck Research Laboratories, Merck & Co., Inc., Lebanon, New Hampshire, United States of America
| | - Nga Rewa Houston-Cummings
- GlycoFi, Biologics Discovery, Merck Research Laboratories, Merck & Co., Inc., Lebanon, New Hampshire, United States of America
| | - Renee Moore
- GlycoFi, Biologics Discovery, Merck Research Laboratories, Merck & Co., Inc., Lebanon, New Hampshire, United States of America
| | - Terrance A. Stadheim
- GlycoFi, Biologics Discovery, Merck Research Laboratories, Merck & Co., Inc., Lebanon, New Hampshire, United States of America
| | - Dongxing Zha
- GlycoFi, Biologics Discovery, Merck Research Laboratories, Merck & Co., Inc., Lebanon, New Hampshire, United States of America
- * E-mail: (HS); (DZ)
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Tang Z, Feng M, Gao W, Phung Y, Chen W, Chaudhary A, St Croix B, Qian M, Dimitrov DS, Ho M. A human single-domain antibody elicits potent antitumor activity by targeting an epitope in mesothelin close to the cancer cell surface. Mol Cancer Ther 2013; 12:416-26. [PMID: 23371858 DOI: 10.1158/1535-7163.mct-12-0731] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Abstract
Monoclonal antibodies against mesothelin are being evaluated for the treatment of mesothelioma and multiple forms of cancers, and show great promise for clinical development for solid cancers. Antibodies against mesothelin have been shown to act via immunotoxin-based inhibition of tumor growth and induction of antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC). However, complement-dependent cytotoxicity (CDC), considered an important additional mechanism of therapeutic antibodies against tumors, is inactive for such antibodies. Here, we used phage display antibody engineering technology and synthetic peptide screening to identify SD1, a human single-domain antibody to mesothelin. SD1 recognizes a conformational epitope at the C-terminal end (residues 539-588) of mesothelin close to the cell surface. To investigate SD1 as a potential therapeutic agent, we generated a recombinant human Fc (SD1-hFc) fusion protein. Interestingly, the SD1-hFc protein exhibits strong CDC activity, in addition to ADCC, against mesothelin-expressing tumor cells. Furthermore, it causes growth inhibition of human tumor xenografts in nude mice as a single agent. SD1 is the first human single-domain antibody targeting mesothelin-expressing tumors, shows potential as a cancer therapeutic candidate, and may improve current antibody therapy targeting mesothelin-expressing tumors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhewei Tang
- Institute of Biomedical Sciences, School of Life Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
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11
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Abstract
Currently, mammalian cells are the most commonly used hosts for the production of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies (mAbs). These hosts not only secrete mAbs with properly assembled two heavy and two light chains but also deliver mAbs with a glycosylation profile that is compatible with administration into humans. GlycoFi, a wholly owned subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc., humanized the Pichia glycosylation pathway which allows it to express glycoproteins with a human-like glycan profile. This offers an alternative mAb production platform similar to mammalian hosts and in some cases it even provides more homogenous product and better efficacy, such as enhanced effector function. This chapter describes a protocol for using glycoengineered Pichia to produce full-length mAbs. It covers a broad spectrum of mAb expression technologies in yeast including expression vector construction, yeast transformation, high-throughput strain selection to fermentation, and antibody purification.
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Chen MT, Lin S, Shandil I, Andrews D, Stadheim TA, Choi BK. Generation of diploid Pichia pastoris strains by mating and their application for recombinant protein production. Microb Cell Fact 2012; 11:91. [PMID: 22748191 PMCID: PMC3503796 DOI: 10.1186/1475-2859-11-91] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2011] [Accepted: 06/16/2012] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Yeast mating provides an efficient means for strain and library construction. However, biotechnological applications of mating in the methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris have been hampered because of concerns about strain stability of P. pastoris diploids. The aim of the study reported here is to investigate heterologous protein expression in diploid P. pastoris strains and to evaluate diploid strain stability using high cell density fermentation processes. Results By using a monoclonal antibody as a target protein, we demonstrate that recombinant protein production in both wild-type and glycoengineered P. pastoris diploids is stable and efficient during a nutrient rich shake flask cultivation. When diploid strains were cultivated under bioreactor conditions, sporulation was observed. Nevertheless, both wild-type and glycoengineered P. pastoris diploids showed robust productivity and secreted recombinant antibody of high quality. Specifically, the yeast culture maintained a diploid state for 240 h post-induction phase while protein titer and N-linked glycosylation profiles were comparable to that of a haploid strain expressing the same antibody. As an application of mating, we also constructed an antibody display library and used mating to generate novel full-length antibody sequences. Conclusions To the best of our knowledge, this study reports for the first time a comprehensive characterization of recombinant protein expression and fermentation using diploid P. pastoris strains. Data presented here support the use of mating for various applications including strain consolidation, variable-region glycosylation antibody display library, and process optimization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ming-Tang Chen
- GlycoFi, Biologics Discovery, Merck Research Laboratories, Merck & Co,, Inc, 21 Lafayette Street, Suite 200, Lebanon, NH 03766, USA.
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Improvement of N-glycan site occupancy of therapeutic glycoproteins produced in Pichia pastoris. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 2012; 95:671-82. [PMID: 22569635 DOI: 10.1007/s00253-012-4067-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2012] [Revised: 03/23/2012] [Accepted: 03/27/2012] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
Abstract
Yeast is capable of performing posttranslational modifications, such as N- or O-glycosylation. It has been demonstrated that N-glycans play critical biological roles in therapeutic glycoproteins by modulating pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics. However, N-glycan sites on recombinant glycoproteins produced in yeast can be underglycosylated, and hence, not completely occupied. Genomic homology analysis indicates that the Pichia pastoris oligosaccharyltransferase (OST) complex consists of multiple subunits, including OST1, OST2, OST3, OST4, OST5, OST6, STT3, SWP1, and WBP1. Monoclonal antibodies produced in P. pastoris show that N-glycan site occupancy ranges from 75-85 % and is affected mainly by the OST function, and in part, by process conditions. In this study, we demonstrate that N-glycan site occupancy of antibodies can be improved to greater than 99 %, comparable to that of antibodies produced in mammalian cells (CHO), by overexpressing Leishmania major STT3D (LmSTT3D) under the control of an inducible alcohol oxidase 1 (AOX1) promoter. N-glycan site occupancy of non-antibody glycoproteins such as recombinant human granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor (rhGM-CSF) was also significantly improved, suggesting that LmSTT3D has broad substrate specificity. These results suggest that the glycosylation status of recombinant proteins can be improved by heterologous STT3 expression, which will allow for the customization of therapeutic protein profiles.
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Carbohydrate synthesis and biosynthesis technologies for cracking of the glycan code: recent advances. Biotechnol Adv 2012; 31:17-37. [PMID: 22484115 DOI: 10.1016/j.biotechadv.2012.03.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2011] [Revised: 03/06/2012] [Accepted: 03/20/2012] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
The glycan code of glycoproteins can be conceptually defined at molecular level by the sequence of well characterized glycans attached to evolutionarily predetermined amino acids along the polypeptide chain. Functional consequences of protein glycosylation are numerous, and include a hierarchy of properties from general physicochemical characteristics such as solubility, stability and protection of the polypeptide from the environment up to specific glycan interactions. Definition of the glycan code for glycoproteins has been so far hampered by the lack of chemically defined glycoprotein glycoforms that proved to be extremely difficult to purify from natural sources, and the total chemical synthesis of which has been hitherto possible only for very small molecular species. This review summarizes the recent progress in chemical and chemoenzymatic synthesis of complex glycans and their protein conjugates. Progress in our understanding of the ways in which a particular glycoprotein glycoform gives rise to a unique set of functional properties is now having far reaching implications for the biotechnology of important glycodrugs such as therapeutical monoclonal antibodies, glycoprotein hormones, carbohydrate conjugates used for vaccination and other practically important protein-carbohydrate conjugates.
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Ghaderi D, Zhang M, Hurtado-Ziola N, Varki A. Production platforms for biotherapeutic glycoproteins. Occurrence, impact, and challenges of non-human sialylation. Biotechnol Genet Eng Rev 2012; 28:147-75. [DOI: 10.5661/bger-28-147] [Citation(s) in RCA: 241] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
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Ye J, Ly J, Watts K, Hsu A, Walker A, McLaughlin K, Berdichevsky M, Prinz B, Sean Kersey D, d'Anjou M, Pollard D, Potgieter T. Optimization of a glycoengineered Pichia pastoris cultivation process for commercial antibody production. Biotechnol Prog 2011; 27:1744-50. [PMID: 22002933 DOI: 10.1002/btpr.695] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2011] [Revised: 05/11/2011] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Glycoengineering enabled the production of proteins with human N-linked glycans by Pichia pastoris. This study used a glycoengineered P. pastoris strain which is capable of producing humanized glycoprotein with terminal galactose for monoclonal antibody production. A design of experiments approach was used to optimize the process parameters. Followed by further optimization of the specific methanol feed rate, induction duration, and the initial induction biomass, the resulting process yielded up to 1.6 g/L of monoclonal antibody. This process was also scaled-up to 1,200-L scale, and the process profiles, productivity, and product quality were comparable with 30-L scale. The successful scale-up demonstrated that this glycoengineered P. pastoris fermentation process is a robust and commercially viable process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jianxin Ye
- Merck & Co., Inc., Bioprocess Research & Development, Rahway, NJ 07065, USA.
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Ha S, Wang Y, Rustandi RR. Biochemical and biophysical characterization of humanized IgG1 produced in Pichia pastoris. MAbs 2011; 3:453-60. [PMID: 22048694 DOI: 10.4161/mabs.3.5.16891] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
The first full length IgG produced in Pichia pastoris was reported in late 1980. However, use of a wild-type Pichia expression system to produce IgGs with human-like N-linked glycans was not possible until recently. Advances in glycoengineering have enabled organisms such as Pichia to mimic human N-glycan biosynthesis and produce IgGs with human glycans on an industrial scale. Since there are only a few reports of the analytical characterization of Pichia-produced IgG, we summarize the results known in this field, and provide additional characterization data generated in our laboratories. The data suggest that Pichia-produced IgG has the same stability as that produced in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells. It has similar aggregation profiles, charge variant distribution and oxidation levels as those for a CHO IgG. It contains human N-linked glycans and O-linked single mannose. Because of the comparable biophysical and biochemical characteristics, glycoengineered Pichia pastoris is an attractive expression system for therapeutic IgG productions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sha Ha
- Department of Bioprocess Analytical and Formulation Sciences, Merck Research Laboratories, West Point, PA, USA
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18
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Improved production of monoclonal antibodies through oxygen-limited cultivation of glycoengineered yeast. J Biotechnol 2011; 155:217-24. [PMID: 21723345 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbiotec.2011.06.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2011] [Revised: 05/24/2011] [Accepted: 06/16/2011] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Glycoengineering technology can elucidate and exploit glycan related structure-function relationships for therapeutic proteins. Glycoengineered yeast has been established as a safe, robust, scalable, and economically viable expression platform. It has been found that specific productivity of antibodies in glycoengineered Pichia pastoris is a non-linear function of specific growth rate that is dictated by a limited methanol feed rate. The optimal carbon-limited cultivation requires an exponential methanol feed rate with an increasing biomass concentration and more significantly an increase in heat and mass transfer requirements that often become the limiting factor in scale-up. Both heat and mass transfer are stoichiometrically linked to the oxygen uptake rate. Consequently an oxygen-limited cultivation approach was evaluated to limit the oxygen uptake rate and ensure robust and reliable scale-up. The oxygen-limited process not only limited the maximum oxygen uptake rate (and consequently the required heat removal rate) in mut+ P. pastoris strains but also enabled extension of the induction phase leading to an increased antibody concentration (1.9gL(-1) vs. 1.2gL(-1)), improved N-glycan composition and galactosylation, and reduced antibody fragmentation. Furthermore, the oxygen-limited process was successfully scaled to manufacturing pilot scale and thus presents a promising process option for the glycoengineered yeast protein expression platform.
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Zhang N, Liu L, Dumitru CD, Cummings NRH, Cukan M, Jiang Y, Li Y, Li F, Mitchell T, Mallem MR, Ou Y, Patel RN, Vo K, Wang H, Burnina I, Choi BK, Huber H, Stadheim TA, Zha D. Glycoengineered Pichia produced anti-HER2 is comparable to trastuzumab in preclinical study. MAbs 2011; 3:289-98. [PMID: 21487242 PMCID: PMC3149709 DOI: 10.4161/mabs.3.3.15532] [Citation(s) in RCA: 79] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2011] [Accepted: 03/19/2011] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Mammalian cell culture systems are used predominantly for the production of therapeutic monoclonal antibody (mAb) products. A number of alternative platforms, such as Pichia engineered with a humanized N-linked glycosylation pathway, have recently been developed for the production of mAbs. The glycosylation profiles of mAbs produced in glycoengineered Pichia are similar to those of mAbs produced in mammalian systems. This report presents for the first time the comprehensive characterization of an anti-human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) mAb produced in a glycoengineered Pichia, and a study comparing the anti-HER2 from Pichia, which had an amino acid sequence identical to trastuzumab, with trastuzumab. The comparative study covered a full spectrum of preclinical evaluation, including bioanalytical characterization, in vitro biological functions, in vivo anti-tumor efficacy and pharmacokinetics in both mice and non-human primates. Cell signaling and proliferation assays showed that anti-HER2 from Pichia had antagonist activities comparable to trastuzumab. However, Pichia-produced material showed a 5-fold increase in binding affinity to FcγIIIA and significantly enhanced antibody dependant cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC) activity, presumably due to the lack of fucose on N-glycans. In a breast cancer xenograft mouse model, anti-HER2 was comparable to trastuzumab in tumor growth inhibition. Furthermore, comparable pharmacokinetic profiles were observed for anti-HER2 and trastuzumab in both mice and cynomolgus monkeys. We conclude that glycoengineered Pichia provides an alternative production platform for therapeutic mAbs and may be of particular interest for production of antibodies for which ADCC is part of the clinical mechanism of action.
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MESH Headings
- Animals
- Antibodies, Monoclonal/genetics
- Antibodies, Monoclonal/immunology
- Antibodies, Monoclonal/metabolism
- Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized/immunology
- Antibody Affinity/immunology
- Antibody-Dependent Cell Cytotoxicity/drug effects
- Antibody-Dependent Cell Cytotoxicity/immunology
- Antineoplastic Agents/pharmacokinetics
- Antineoplastic Agents/pharmacology
- Area Under Curve
- Binding, Competitive/immunology
- Cell Line, Tumor
- Cell Proliferation/drug effects
- Cells, Cultured
- Drug Evaluation, Preclinical
- Fucose/metabolism
- Genetic Engineering
- Humans
- Macaca fascicularis
- Mice
- Mice, Inbred C57BL
- Pichia/genetics
- Pichia/metabolism
- Polysaccharides/metabolism
- Protein Binding/immunology
- Receptor, ErbB-2/immunology
- Receptors, IgG/immunology
- Receptors, IgG/metabolism
- Recombinant Proteins/immunology
- Recombinant Proteins/pharmacokinetics
- Recombinant Proteins/pharmacology
- Trastuzumab
- Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays
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Affiliation(s)
- Ningyan Zhang
- Department of Biologics Research; Merck Research Laboratories; West Point, PA USA
| | - Liming Liu
- Drug Metabolism; Merck Research Laboratories; West Point, PA USA
| | - Calin Dan Dumitru
- Department of Biologics Research; Merck Research Laboratories; West Point, PA USA
| | | | | | | | - Yuan Li
- Department of Biologics Research; Merck Research Laboratories; West Point, PA USA
| | - Fang Li
- GlycoFi Inc.; Lebanon, NH USA
| | | | | | - Yangsi Ou
- Department of Biologics Research; Merck Research Laboratories; West Point, PA USA
| | | | - Kim Vo
- Department of Biologics Research; Merck Research Laboratories; West Point, PA USA
| | - Hui Wang
- Department of Biologics Research; Merck Research Laboratories; West Point, PA USA
| | | | | | - Hans Huber
- Department of Biologics Research; Merck Research Laboratories; West Point, PA USA
| | | | - Dongxing Zha
- Drug Metabolism; Merck Research Laboratories; West Point, PA USA
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Ha S, Ou Y, Vlasak J, Li Y, Wang S, Vo K, Du Y, Mach A, Fang Y, Zhang N. Isolation and characterization of IgG1 with asymmetrical Fc glycosylation. Glycobiology 2011; 21:1087-96. [PMID: 21470983 DOI: 10.1093/glycob/cwr047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
N-glycosylation of immunoglobulin G (IgG) at asparigine residue 297 plays a critical role in antibody stability and immune cell-mediated Fc effector function. Current understanding pertaining to Fc glycosylation is based on studies with IgGs that are either fully glycosylated [both heavy chain (HC) glycosylated] or aglycosylated (neither HC glycosylated). No study has been reported on the properties of hemi-glycosylated IgGs, antibodies with asymmetrical glycosylation in the Fc region such that one HC is glycosylated and the other is aglycosylated. We report here for the first time a detailed study of how hemi-glycosylation affects the stability and functional activities of an IgG1 antibody, mAb-X, in comparison to its fully glycosylated counterpart. Our results show that hemi-glycosylation does not impact Fab-mediated antigen binding, nor does it impact neonatal Fc receptor binding. Hemi-glycosylated mAb-X has slightly decreased thermal stability in the CH2 domain and a moderate decrease (∼20%) in C1q binding. More importantly, the hemi-glycosylated form shows significantly decreased binding affinities toward all Fc gamma receptors (FcγRs) including the high-affinity FcγRI, and the low-affinity FcγRIIA, FcγRIIB, FcγRIIIA and FcγRIIIB. The decreased binding affinities to FcγRs result in a 3.5-fold decrease in antibody-dependent cell cytotoxicity (ADCC). As ADCC often plays an important role in therapeutic antibody efficacy, glycosylation status will not only affect the antibody quality but also may impact the biological function of the product.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sha Ha
- Merck Research Laboratories, West Point, PA 19486, USA
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