Enhancing toxic protein expression in Escherichia coli fed-batch culture using kinetic parameters: Human granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor as a model system

The kinetics of recombinant human granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (hGM-CSF) expression was studied under the strong T7 promoter in continuous culture of Escherichia coli using complex medium to design an optimum feeding strategy for high cell density cultivation. Continuous culture studies were done at different dilution rates and the growth and product formation profiles were monitored post-induction. Recombinant protein expression was in the form of inclusion bodies with a maximum specific product formation rate (q(p)) of 63.5 mg g(-1) DCW h(-1) at a dilution rate (D) of 0.3 h(-1). The maximum volumetric product concentration achieved at this dilution rate was 474 mg l(-1), which translated a ~1.4 and ~1.75 folds increase than the values obtained at dilution rates of 0.2 h(-1) and 0.4 h(-1) respectively. The specific product yield (Y(P/x)) peaked at 138 mg g(-1) DCW, demonstrating a ~1.6 folds increase in the values obtained at other dilution rates. A drop in q(p) was observed within 5-6 h of induction at all the dilution rates, possibly due to protein toxicity and metabolic stress associated with protein expression. The data from the continuous culture studies allowed us to design an optimal feeding strategy and induction time in fed-batch cultures which resulted in a maximum product concentration of 3.95 g l(-1) with a specific hGM-CSF yield (Y(P/x)) of 107 mg g(-1) DCW.

Optimization of human granulocyte macrophage-colony stimulating factor (hGM-CSF) expression using asparaginase and xylanase gene's signal sequences in Escherichia coli

The toxicity of the recombinant protein towards the expression host remains a significant deterrent for bioprocess development. In this study, the expression of human granulocyte macrophage-colony stimulating factor (hGM-CSF), which is known to be toxic to its host, was enhanced many folds using a combination of genetic and bioprocess strategies in Escherichia coli. The N terminus attachment of endoxylanase and asparaginase signal sequences from Bacillus subtilis and E. coli, respectively, in combination with and without His-tag, considerably improved expression levels. Induction and media optimization studies in shake flask cultures resulted in a maximal hGM-CSF concentration of 365 mg/L in the form of inclusion bodies (IBs) with a specific product yield (Y (P/X)) of 120 mg/g dry cell weight in case of the asparaginase signal. Culturing the cells in nutrient rich Terrific broth maintained the specific product yields (Y (P/X)) while a 6.6-fold higher volumetric concentration of both product and biomass was obtained. The purification and refolding steps were optimized resulting in a 95% pure protein with a fairly high refolding yield of 45%. The biological activity of the refolded protein was confirmed by a cell proliferation assay on hGM-CSF dependent human erythroleukemia TF-1 cells. This study demonstrated that this indeed is a viable route for the efficient production of hGM-CSF.