1
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Raab N, Zeh N, Kretz R, Weiß L, Stadermann A, Lindner B, Fischer S, Stoll D, Otte K. Nature as blueprint: Global phenotype engineering of CHO production cells based on a multi-omics comparison with plasma cells. Metab Eng 2024; 83:110-122. [PMID: 38561148 DOI: 10.1016/j.ymben.2024.03.007] [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: 02/03/2023] [Revised: 03/17/2024] [Accepted: 03/29/2024] [Indexed: 04/04/2024]
Abstract
Especially for the production of artificial, difficult to express molecules a further development of the CHO production cell line is required to keep pace with the continuously increasing demands. However, the identification of novel targets for cell line engineering to improve CHO cells is a time and cost intensive process. Since plasma cells are evolutionary optimized for a high antibody expression in mammals, we performed a comprehensive multi-omics comparison between CHO and plasma cells to exploit optimized cellular production traits. Comparing the transcriptome, proteome, miRNome, surfaceome and secretome of both cell lines identified key differences including 392 potential overexpression targets for CHO cell engineering categorized in 15 functional classes like transcription factors, protein processing or secretory pathway. In addition, 3 protein classes including 209 potential knock-down/out targets for CHO engineering were determined likely to affect aggregation or proteolysis. For production phenotype engineering, several of these novel targets were successfully applied to transient and transposase mediated overexpression or knock-down strategies to efficiently improve productivity of CHO cells. Thus, substantial improvement of CHO productivity was achieved by taking nature as a blueprint for cell line engineering.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nadja Raab
- Biberach University of Applied Sciences, Germany.
| | - Nikolas Zeh
- Biberach University of Applied Sciences, Germany; Cell Line Development, Bioprocess Development Biologicals, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co.KG, Biberach, Germany
| | - Robin Kretz
- Hochschule Albstadt Sigmaringen, Germany; NMI, Natural and Medical Sciences Institute at the University of Tuebingen, Reutlingen, Germany
| | - Linus Weiß
- Biberach University of Applied Sciences, Germany
| | - Anna Stadermann
- Cell Line Development, Bioprocess Development Biologicals, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co.KG, Biberach, Germany
| | - Benjamin Lindner
- Cell Line Development, Bioprocess Development Biologicals, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co.KG, Biberach, Germany
| | - Simon Fischer
- Cell Line Development, Bioprocess Development Biologicals, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co.KG, Biberach, Germany
| | - Dieter Stoll
- NMI, Natural and Medical Sciences Institute at the University of Tuebingen, Reutlingen, Germany
| | - Kerstin Otte
- Biberach University of Applied Sciences, Germany
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2
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Szkodny AC, Lee KH. A systemic approach to identifying sequence frameworks that decrease mAb production in a transient Chinese hamster ovary cell expression system. Biotechnol Prog 2024:e3466. [PMID: 38607316 DOI: 10.1002/btpr.3466] [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: 12/29/2023] [Revised: 03/17/2024] [Accepted: 03/27/2024] [Indexed: 04/13/2024]
Abstract
Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) are often engineered at the sequence level for improved clinical performance yet are rarely evaluated prior to candidate selection for their "developability" characteristics, namely expression, which can necessitate additional resource investments to improve the manufacturing processes for problematic mAbs. A strong relationship between primary sequence and expression has emerged, with slight differences in amino acid sequence resulting in titers differing by up to an order of magnitude. Previous work on these "difficult-to-express" (DTE) mAbs has shown that these phenotypes are driven by post-translational bottlenecks in antibody folding, assembly, and secretion processes. However, it has been difficult to translate these findings across cell lines and products. This work presents a systematic approach to study the impact of sequence variation on mAb expression at a larger scale and under more industrially relevant conditions. The analysis found 91 mutations that decreased transient expression of an IgG1κ in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells and revealed that mutations at inaccessible residues, especially those leading to decreases in residue hydrophobicity, are not favorable for high expression. This workflow can be used to better understand sequence determinants of mAb expression to improve candidate selection procedures and reduce process development timelines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alana C Szkodny
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware, USA
| | - Kelvin H Lee
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware, USA
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3
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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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4
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Mullins DR, Galosy SS. Development of a novel capillary electrophoresis method for quantitative measurements of intracellular recombinant protein titer. J Biotechnol 2023; 365:54-61. [PMID: 36780953 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbiotec.2023.02.002] [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: 10/11/2022] [Revised: 01/12/2023] [Accepted: 02/09/2023] [Indexed: 02/13/2023]
Abstract
The measurement of volumetric titer is an integral step in the assessment and selection of a production cell line and cell culture process. The production of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), a major class of therapeutic proteins, in Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cell lines is challenging due to the clone-to-clone variations in the intrinsic capability to secrete a biologically complex protein. The measurement of intracellular mAb concentration could be a valuable tool to determine the ratio of intracellular to secreted product and be part of the evaluation of potential mAb productive cell lines. High throughput automation is a valuable tool that is used in bioprocess development to reduce work intensive steps. When coupled with the Simple Western (Wes) platform, automated capillary electrophoresis is an efficient method to measure recombinant protein concentration. In this study, we demonstrate the utility of using the automated Wes to rapidly measure intracellular titer and then compare the intracellular titer, volumetric titer and specific productivity between high and low production CHO clones expressing a model human IgG1 mAb.
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Affiliation(s)
- David R Mullins
- Global Investigative Safety, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), Collegeville, PA, USA.
| | - Sybille S Galosy
- Biopharm Microbial & Cell Culture Development, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), King of Prussia, PA, USA
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5
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Mark JKK, Lim CSY, Nordin F, Tye GJ. Expression of mammalian proteins for diagnostics and therapeutics: a review. Mol Biol Rep 2022; 49:10593-10608. [PMID: 35674877 PMCID: PMC9175168 DOI: 10.1007/s11033-022-07651-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2021] [Accepted: 05/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Antibodies have proven to be remarkably successful for biomedical applications. They play important roles in epidemiology and medicine from diagnostics of diseases to therapeutics, treating diseases from incessant chronic diseases such as rheumatology to pandemic outbreaks. With no end in sight for the demand for antibody products, optimizations and new techniques must be expanded to accommodate this. METHODS AND RESULTS This review discusses optimizations and techniques for antibody production through choice of discovery platforms, expression systems, cell culture mediums, and other strategies to increase expression yield. Each system has its own merits and demerits, and the strategy chosen is critical in addressing various biological aspects. CONCLUSIONS There is still insufficient evidence to validate the efficacy of some of these techniques, and further research is needed to consolidate these industrial production systems. There is no doubt that more strategies, systems, and pipelines will contribute to enhance biopharmaceutical production.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacqueline Kar Kei Mark
- Institute for Research in Molecular Medicine (INFORMM), Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800, Penang, Minden, Malaysia
| | - Crystale Siew Ying Lim
- Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Applied Sciences, UCSI University, No 1 Jalan Menara Gading, UCSI Heights, Taman Connaught, 56000, Kuala Lumpur, Cheras, Malaysia
| | - Fazlina Nordin
- Tissue Engineering Centre (TEC), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre (UKMMC), 56000, Kuala Lumpur, Cheras, Malaysia
| | - Gee Jun Tye
- Institute for Research in Molecular Medicine (INFORMM), Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800, Penang, Minden, Malaysia.
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6
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Szkodny AC, Lee KH. Biopharmaceutical Manufacturing: Historical Perspectives and Future Directions. Annu Rev Chem Biomol Eng 2022; 13:141-165. [PMID: 35300518 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-chembioeng-092220-125832] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
This review describes key milestones related to the production of biopharmaceuticals-therapies manufactured using recombinant DNA technology. The market for biopharmaceuticals has grown significantly since the first biopharmaceutical approval in 1982, and the scientific maturity of the technologies used in their manufacturing processes has grown concomitantly. Early processes relied on established unit operations, with research focused on process scale-up and improved culture productivity. In the early 2000s, changes in regulatory frameworks and the introduction of Quality by Design emphasized the importance of developing manufacturing processes to deliver a desired product quality profile. As a result, companies adopted platform processes and focused on understanding the dynamic interplay between product quality and processing conditions. The consistent and reproducible manufacturing processes of today's biopharmaceutical industry have set high standards for product efficacy, quality, and safety, and as the industry continues to evolve in the coming decade, intensified processing capabilities for an expanded range of therapeutic modalities will likely become routine. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Volume 13 is October 2022. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alana C Szkodny
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware 19716, USA; ;
| | - Kelvin H Lee
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware 19716, USA; ;
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7
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Schneider KT, Kirmann T, Wenzel EV, Grosch JH, Polten S, Meier D, Becker M, Matejtschuk P, Hust M, Russo G, Dübel S. Shelf-Life Extension of Fc-Fused Single Chain Fragment Variable Antibodies by Lyophilization. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2021; 11:717689. [PMID: 34869052 PMCID: PMC8634725 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2021.717689] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2021] [Accepted: 10/25/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Generation of sequence defined antibodies from universal libraries by phage display has been established over the past three decades as a robust method to cope with the increasing market demand in therapy, diagnostics and research. For applications requiring the bivalent antigen binding and an Fc part for detection, phage display generated single chain Fv (scFv) antibody fragments can rapidly be genetically fused to the Fc moiety of an IgG for the production in eukaryotic cells of antibodies with IgG-like properties. In contrast to conversion of scFv into IgG format, the conversion to scFv-Fc requires only a single cloning step, and provides significantly higher yields in transient cell culture production than IgG. ScFv-Fcs can be effective as neutralizing antibodies in vivo against a panel of pathogens and toxins. However, different scFv fragments are more heterologous in respect of stability than Fab fragments. While some scFv fragments can be made extremely stable, this may change due to few mutations, and is not predictable from the sequence of a newly selected antibody. To mitigate the necessity to assess the stability for every scFv-Fc antibody, we developed a generic lyophilization protocol to improve their shelf life. We compared long-term stability and binding activity of phage display-derived antibodies in the scFv-Fc and IgG format, either stored in liquid or lyophilized state. Conversion of scFv-Fcs into the full IgG format reduced protein degradation and aggregation, but in some cases compromised binding activity. Comparably to IgG conversion, lyophilization of scFv-Fc resulted in the preservation of the antibodies' initial properties after storage, without any drop in affinity for any of the tested antibody clones.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kai-Thomas Schneider
- Department of Biotechnology, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Toni Kirmann
- Department of Biotechnology, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Esther Veronika Wenzel
- Department of Biotechnology, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Braunschweig, Germany
- Abcalis GmbH, Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Jan-Hendrik Grosch
- Institute of Biochemical Engineering, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Braunschweig, Germany
- Center of Pharmaceutical Engineering, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Saskia Polten
- Department of Biotechnology, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Doris Meier
- Department of Biotechnology, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Marlies Becker
- Department of Biotechnology, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Paul Matejtschuk
- Standardisation Science, National Institute for Biological Standards & Control (NIBSC), Hertfordshire, United Kingdom
| | - Michael Hust
- Department of Biotechnology, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Giulio Russo
- Department of Biotechnology, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Braunschweig, Germany
- Abcalis GmbH, Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Stefan Dübel
- Department of Biotechnology, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Braunschweig, Germany
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8
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Hussain H, Patel T, Ozanne AMS, Vito D, Ellis M, Hinchliffe M, Humphreys DP, Stephens PE, Sweeney B, White J, Dickson AJ, Smales CM. A comparative analysis of recombinant Fab and full-length antibody production in Chinese hamster ovary cells. Biotechnol Bioeng 2021; 118:4815-4828. [PMID: 34585737 DOI: 10.1002/bit.27944] [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: 06/18/2021] [Revised: 08/31/2021] [Accepted: 09/12/2021] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
Monoclonal antibodies are the leading class of biopharmaceuticals in terms of numbers approved for therapeutic purposes. Antigen-binding fragments (Fab) are also used as biotherapeutics and used widely in research applications. The dominant expression systems for full-length antibodies are mammalian cell-based, whereas for Fab molecules the preference has been an expression in bacterial systems. However, advances in CHO and downstream technologies make mammalian systems an equally viable option for small- and large-scale Fab production. Using a panel of full-length IgG antibodies and their corresponding Fab pair with different antigen specificities, we investigated the impact of the IgG and Fab molecule format on production from Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells and assessed the cellular capability to process and produce these formats. The full-length antibody format resulted in the recovery of fewer mini-pools posttransfection when compared to the corresponding Fab fragment format that could be interpreted as indicative of a greater overall burden on cells. Antibody-producing cell pools that did recover were subsequently able to achieve higher volumetric protein yields (mg/L) and specific productivity than the corresponding Fab pools. Importantly, when the actual molecules produced per cell of a given format was considered (as opposed to mass), CHO cells produced a greater number of Fab molecules per cell than obtained with the corresponding IgG, suggesting that cells were more efficient at making the smaller Fab molecule. Analysis of cell pools showed that gene copy number was not correlated to the subsequent protein production. The amount of mRNA correlated with secreted Fab production but not IgG, whereby posttranscriptional processes act to limit antibody production. In summary, we provide the first comparative description of how full-length IgG and Fab antibody formats impact on the outcomes of a cell line construction process and identify potential limitations in their production that could be targeted for engineering increases in the efficiency in the manufacture of these recombinant antibody formats.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hirra Hussain
- Faculty of Science and Engineering, Department of Chemical Engineering and Analytical Sciences, Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK.,CPI, Central Park, Darlington, UK
| | - Tulshi Patel
- Division of Natural Sciences, Industrial Biotechnology Centre and School of Biosciences, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK.,Horizon Discovery Biosciences Limited, Cambridge, UK
| | - Angelica M S Ozanne
- Division of Natural Sciences, Industrial Biotechnology Centre and School of Biosciences, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK
| | - Davide Vito
- Division of Natural Sciences, Industrial Biotechnology Centre and School of Biosciences, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK.,Mestag Therapeutics Limited, Cambridge, UK
| | - Mark Ellis
- Protein Sciences, UCB Pharma, Berkshire, UK
| | | | | | | | - Bernie Sweeney
- Protein Sciences, UCB Pharma, Berkshire, UK.,Lonza Biologics, Berkshire, UK
| | | | - Alan J Dickson
- Faculty of Science and Engineering, Department of Chemical Engineering and Analytical Sciences, Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
| | - Christopher M Smales
- Division of Natural Sciences, Industrial Biotechnology Centre and School of Biosciences, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK.,National Institute for Bioprocessing Research and Training, Co Dublin, Ireland
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9
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Bauer J, Mathias S, Kube S, Otte K, Garidel P, Gamer M, Blech M, Fischer S, Karow-Zwick AR. Rational optimization of a monoclonal antibody improves the aggregation propensity and enhances the CMC properties along the entire pharmaceutical process chain. MAbs 2021; 12:1787121. [PMID: 32658605 PMCID: PMC7531517 DOI: 10.1080/19420862.2020.1787121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The discovery of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) primarily focuses on their biological activity favoring the selection of highly potent drug candidates. These candidates, however, may have physical or chemical attributes that lead to unfavorable chemistry, manufacturing, and control (CMC) properties, such as low product titers, conformational and colloidal instabilities, or poor solubility, which can hamper or even prevent development and manufacturing. Hence, there is an urgent need to consider the developability of mAb candidates during lead identification and optimization. This work provides a comprehensive proof of concept study for the significantly improved developability of a mAb variant that was optimized with the help of sophisticated in silico tools relative to its difficult-to-develop parental counterpart. Interestingly, a single amino acid substitution in the variable domain of the light chain resulted in a three-fold increased product titer after stable expression in Chinese hamster ovary cells. Microscopic investigations revealed that wild type mAb-producing cells displayed potential antibody inclusions, while the in silico optimized variant-producing cells showed a rescued phenotype. Notably, the drug substance of the in silico optimized variant contained substantially reduced levels of aggregates and fragments after downstream process purification. Finally, formulation studies unraveled a significantly enhanced colloidal stability of the in silico optimized variant while its folding stability and potency were maintained. This study emphasizes that implementation of bioinformatics early in lead generation and optimization of biotherapeutics reduces failures during subsequent development activities and supports the reduction of project timelines and resources.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joschka Bauer
- Early Stage Pharmaceutical Development, Pharmaceutical Development Biologicals, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co. KG , Biberach/Riss, Germany
| | - Sven Mathias
- Institute of Applied Biotechnology, University of Applied Sciences Biberach , Biberach/Riss, Germany.,Early Stage Bioprocess Development, Bioprocess Development Biologicals, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co. KG , Biberach/Riss, Germany
| | - Sebastian Kube
- Early Stage Pharmaceutical Development, Pharmaceutical Development Biologicals, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co. KG , Biberach/Riss, Germany
| | - Kerstin Otte
- Institute of Applied Biotechnology, University of Applied Sciences Biberach , Biberach/Riss, Germany
| | - Patrick Garidel
- Early Stage Pharmaceutical Development, Pharmaceutical Development Biologicals, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co. KG , Biberach/Riss, Germany
| | - Martin Gamer
- Early Stage Bioprocess Development, Bioprocess Development Biologicals, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co. KG , Biberach/Riss, Germany
| | - Michaela Blech
- Early Stage Pharmaceutical Development, Pharmaceutical Development Biologicals, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co. KG , Biberach/Riss, Germany
| | - Simon Fischer
- Cell Line Development, Bioprocess Development Biologicals, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co. KG, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co. KG , Biberach/Riss, Germany
| | - Anne R Karow-Zwick
- Early Stage Pharmaceutical Development, Pharmaceutical Development Biologicals, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co. KG , Biberach/Riss, Germany
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10
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Bailly M, Mieczkowski C, Juan V, Metwally E, Tomazela D, Baker J, Uchida M, Kofman E, Raoufi F, Motlagh S, Yu Y, Park J, Raghava S, Welsh J, Rauscher M, Raghunathan G, Hsieh M, Chen YL, Nguyen HT, Nguyen N, Cipriano D, Fayadat-Dilman L. Predicting Antibody Developability Profiles Through Early Stage Discovery Screening. MAbs 2021; 12:1743053. [PMID: 32249670 PMCID: PMC7153844 DOI: 10.1080/19420862.2020.1743053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 116] [Impact Index Per Article: 38.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Monoclonal antibodies play an increasingly important role for the development of new drugs across multiple therapy areas. The term 'developability' encompasses the feasibility of molecules to successfully progress from discovery to development via evaluation of their physicochemical properties. These properties include the tendency for self-interaction and aggregation, thermal stability, colloidal stability, and optimization of their properties through sequence engineering. Selection of the best antibody molecule based on biological function, efficacy, safety, and developability allows for a streamlined and successful CMC phase. An efficient and practical high-throughput developability workflow (100 s-1,000 s of molecules) implemented during early antibody generation and screening is crucial to select the best lead candidates. This involves careful assessment of critical developability parameters, combined with binding affinity and biological properties evaluation using small amounts of purified material (<1 mg), as well as an efficient data management and database system. Herein, a panel of 152 various human or humanized monoclonal antibodies was analyzed in biophysical property assays. Correlations between assays for different sets of properties were established. We demonstrated in two case studies that physicochemical properties and key assay endpoints correlate with key downstream process parameters. The workflow allows the elimination of antibodies with suboptimal properties and a rank ordering of molecules for further evaluation early in the candidate selection process. This enables any further engineering for problematic sequence attributes without affecting program timelines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marc Bailly
- Discovery Biologics, Protein Sciences, South San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Carl Mieczkowski
- Discovery Biologics, Protein Sciences, South San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Veronica Juan
- Discovery Biologics, Protein Sciences, South San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Essam Metwally
- Computation and Structural Chemistry, South San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Daniela Tomazela
- Discovery Biologics, Protein Sciences, South San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Jeanne Baker
- Discovery Biologics, Protein Sciences, South San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Makiko Uchida
- Discovery Biologics, Protein Sciences, South San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Ester Kofman
- Discovery Biologics, Protein Sciences, South San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Fahimeh Raoufi
- Discovery Biologics, Protein Sciences, South San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Soha Motlagh
- Discovery Biologics, Protein Sciences, South San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Yao Yu
- Discovery Biologics, Protein Sciences, South San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Jihea Park
- Discovery Biologics, Protein Sciences, South San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Smita Raghava
- Pharmaceutical Sciences, Sterile FormulationSciences, Kenilworth, NJ, USA
| | - John Welsh
- Downstream Process Development andEngineering, Kenilworth, NJ, USA
| | - Michael Rauscher
- Downstream Process Development andEngineering, Kenilworth, NJ, USA
| | | | - Mark Hsieh
- Discovery Biologics, Protein Sciences, South San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Yi-Ling Chen
- Discovery Biologics, Protein Sciences, South San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Hang Thu Nguyen
- Discovery Biologics, Protein Sciences, South San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Nhung Nguyen
- Discovery Biologics, Protein Sciences, South San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Dan Cipriano
- Discovery Biologics, Protein Sciences, South San Francisco, CA, USA
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11
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Johari YB, Jaffé SRP, Scarrott JM, Johnson AO, Mozzanino T, Pohle TH, Maisuria S, Bhayat-Cammack A, Lambiase G, Brown AJ, Tee KL, Jackson PJ, Wong TS, Dickman MJ, Sargur RB, James DC. Production of trimeric SARS-CoV-2 spike protein by CHO cells for serological COVID-19 testing. Biotechnol Bioeng 2021; 118:1013-1021. [PMID: 33128388 DOI: 10.1002/bit.27615] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2020] [Revised: 10/14/2020] [Accepted: 10/27/2020] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
We describe scalable and cost-efficient production of full length, His-tagged severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) spike glycoprotein trimer by Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells that can be used to detect SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in patient sera at high specificity and sensitivity. Transient production of spike in both human embryonic kidney (HEK) and CHO cells mediated by polyethyleneimine was increased significantly (up to 10.9-fold) by a reduction in culture temperature to 32°C to permit extended duration cultures. Based on these data GS-CHO pools stably producing spike trimer under the control of a strong synthetic promoter were cultured in hypothermic conditions with combinations of bioactive small molecules to increase yield of purified spike product 4.9-fold to 53 mg/L. Purification of recombinant spike by Ni-chelate affinity chromatography initially yielded a variety of co-eluting protein impurities identified as host cell derived by mass spectrometry, which were separated from spike trimer using a modified imidazole gradient elution. Purified CHO spike trimer antigen was used in enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay format to detect immunoglobulin G antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 in sera from patient cohorts previously tested for viral infection by polymerase chain reaction, including those who had displayed coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) symptoms. The antibody assay, validated to ISO 15189 Medical Laboratories standards, exhibited a specificity of 100% and sensitivity of 92.3%. Our data show that CHO cells are a suitable host for the production of larger quantities of recombinant SARS-CoV-2 trimer which can be used as antigen for mass serological testing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yusuf B Johari
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Sheffield, Mappin St., Sheffield, UK
| | - Stephen R P Jaffé
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Sheffield, Mappin St., Sheffield, UK
| | - Joseph M Scarrott
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Sheffield, Mappin St., Sheffield, UK
| | - Abayomi O Johnson
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Sheffield, Mappin St., Sheffield, UK
| | - Théo Mozzanino
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Sheffield, Mappin St., Sheffield, UK
| | - Thilo H Pohle
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Sheffield, Mappin St., Sheffield, UK
| | - Sheetal Maisuria
- Department of Immunology, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Sheffield, UK
| | - Amina Bhayat-Cammack
- Department of Immunology, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Sheffield, UK
| | - Giulia Lambiase
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Sheffield, Mappin St., Sheffield, UK
| | - Adam J Brown
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Sheffield, Mappin St., Sheffield, UK
| | - Kang Lan Tee
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Sheffield, Mappin St., Sheffield, UK
| | - Philip J Jackson
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Sheffield, Mappin St., Sheffield, UK
| | - Tuck Seng Wong
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Sheffield, Mappin St., Sheffield, UK
| | - Mark J Dickman
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Sheffield, Mappin St., Sheffield, UK
| | - Ravishankar B Sargur
- Department of Immunology, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Sheffield, UK
| | - David C James
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Sheffield, Mappin St., Sheffield, UK
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12
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A platform for context-specific genetic engineering of recombinant protein production by CHO cells. J Biotechnol 2020; 312:11-22. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jbiotec.2020.02.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2019] [Revised: 12/12/2019] [Accepted: 02/25/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
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13
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Budge JD, Knight TJ, Povey J, Roobol J, Brown IR, Singh G, Dean A, Turner S, Jaques CM, Young RJ, Racher AJ, Smales CM. Engineering of Chinese hamster ovary cell lipid metabolism results in an expanded ER and enhanced recombinant biotherapeutic protein production. Metab Eng 2020; 57:203-216. [PMID: 31805379 PMCID: PMC6975165 DOI: 10.1016/j.ymben.2019.11.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2019] [Revised: 10/18/2019] [Accepted: 11/23/2019] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Abstract
Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell expression systems have been exquisitely developed for the production of recombinant biotherapeutics (e.g. standard monoclonal antibodies, mAbs) and are able to generate efficacious, multi-domain proteins with human-like post translational modifications at high concentration with appropriate product quality attributes. However, there remains a need for development of new CHO cell expression systems able to produce more challenging secretory recombinant biotherapeutics at higher yield with improved product quality attributes. Amazingly, the engineering of lipid metabolism to enhance such properties has not been investigated even though the biosynthesis of recombinant proteins is at least partially controlled by cellular processes that are highly dependent on lipid metabolism. Here we show that the global transcriptional activator of genes involved in lipid biosynthesis, sterol regulatory element binding factor 1 (SREBF1), and stearoyl CoA desaturase 1 (SCD1), an enzyme which catalyzes the conversion of saturated fatty acids into monounsaturated fatty acids, can be overexpressed in CHO cells to different degrees. The amount of overexpression obtained of each of these lipid metabolism modifying (LMM) genes was related to the subsequent phenotypes observed. Expression of a number of model secretory biopharmaceuticals was enhanced between 1.5-9 fold in either SREBF1 or SCD1 engineered CHO host cells as assessed under batch and fed-batch culture. The SCD1 overexpressing polyclonal pool consistently showed increased concentration of a range of products. For the SREBF1 engineered cells, the level of SREBF1 expression that gave the greatest enhancement in yield was dependent upon the model protein tested. Overexpression of both SCD1 and SREBF1 modified the lipid profile of CHO cells and the cellular structure. Mechanistically, overexpression of SCD1 and SREBF1 resulted in an expanded endoplasmic reticulum (ER) that was dependent upon the level of LMM overexpression. We conclude that manipulation of lipid metabolism in CHO cells via genetic engineering is an exciting new approach to enhance the ability of CHO cells to produce a range of different types of secretory recombinant protein products via modulation of the cellular lipid profile and expansion of the ER.
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Affiliation(s)
- James D Budge
- Industrial Biotechnology Centre, School of Biosciences, University of Kent, Canterbury, Kent, CT2 7NJ, UK
| | - Tanya J Knight
- Industrial Biotechnology Centre, School of Biosciences, University of Kent, Canterbury, Kent, CT2 7NJ, UK
| | - Jane Povey
- Industrial Biotechnology Centre, School of Biosciences, University of Kent, Canterbury, Kent, CT2 7NJ, UK
| | - Joanne Roobol
- Industrial Biotechnology Centre, School of Biosciences, University of Kent, Canterbury, Kent, CT2 7NJ, UK
| | - Ian R Brown
- Industrial Biotechnology Centre, School of Biosciences, University of Kent, Canterbury, Kent, CT2 7NJ, UK
| | - Gurdeep Singh
- Industrial Biotechnology Centre, School of Biosciences, University of Kent, Canterbury, Kent, CT2 7NJ, UK
| | - Andrew Dean
- Lonza Biologics, 228 Bath Road, Slough, SL1 4DX, UK
| | - Sarah Turner
- Lonza Biologics, 228 Bath Road, Slough, SL1 4DX, UK
| | | | - Robert J Young
- Cell Engineering Group, Lonza Biologics, Granta Park, Cambridge, CB21 6GS, UK
| | | | - C Mark Smales
- Industrial Biotechnology Centre, School of Biosciences, University of Kent, Canterbury, Kent, CT2 7NJ, UK.
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14
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Optimization of an Antibody Light Chain Framework Enhances Expression, Biophysical Properties and Pharmacokinetics. Antibodies (Basel) 2019; 8:antib8030046. [PMID: 31544852 PMCID: PMC6784111 DOI: 10.3390/antib8030046] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2019] [Revised: 08/26/2019] [Accepted: 08/30/2019] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Efficacy, safety, and manufacturability of therapeutic antibodies are influenced by their biopharmaceutical and biophysical properties. These properties can be optimized by library approaches or rationale protein design. Here, we employed a protein engineering approach to modify the variable domain of the light chain (VL) framework of an oxidized macrophage migration inhibitory factor (oxMIF)-specific antibody. The amendment of the antibody sequence was based on homology to human germline VL genes. Three regions or positions were identified in the VL domain—L1-4, L66, L79—and mutated independently or in combination to match the closest germline V gene. None of the mutations altered oxMIF specificity or affinity, but some variants improved thermal stability, aggregation propensity, and resulted in up to five-fold higher expression. Importantly, the improved biopharmaceutical properties translated into a superior pharmacokinetic profile of the antibody. Thus, optimization of the V domain framework can ameliorate the biophysical qualities of a therapeutic antibody candidate, and as result its manufacturability, and also has the potential to improve pharmacokinetics.
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15
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Mitigating Clonal Variation in Recombinant Mammalian Cell Lines. Trends Biotechnol 2019; 37:931-942. [DOI: 10.1016/j.tibtech.2019.02.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2018] [Revised: 02/14/2019] [Accepted: 02/19/2019] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
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16
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Mohammadian O, Rajabibazl M, Pourmaleki E, Bayat H, Ahani R, Rahimpour A. Development of an improved lentiviral based vector system for the stable expression of monoclonal antibody in CHO cells. Prep Biochem Biotechnol 2019; 49:822-829. [PMID: 31156045 DOI: 10.1080/10826068.2019.1621893] [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] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
Therapeutic monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) have become the dominant products in biopharmaceutical industry. Mammalian cell expression systems including Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells are the most commonly used hosts for the production of complex recombinant proteins. However, development of stable, high producing CHO cell lines suffers from the low expression level and instability of the transgene. The increasing efforts in the development of novel therapeutic antibodies and the advent of biosimilars have revealed the necessity for the development of improved platforms for rapid production of products for initial characterization and testing. In line with this premise, vector design and engineering has been applied to improve the expression level and stability of the transgene. This study reports the application of an improved lentiviral vector system containing the human interferon-β scaffold attachment region (IFN-SAR) for the development of antibody producing stable CHO cells. mAb expressing clones producing 1100 µg/L of IgG1 monoclonal antibody were isolated without extensive screening of a large number of clones. Our results here indicate the positive effects of IFN-SAR on stable mAb expression using lentiviral based expression vectors. We also observed that although IFN-SAR can improve light chain (LC) and heavy chain (HC) gene copy numbers in stable cell pools, mAb expression in single cell clones was not affected by the transgene copy number.
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Affiliation(s)
- Omid Mohammadian
- a Department of Clinical Biochemistry, School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences , Tehran , Iran
| | - Masoumeh Rajabibazl
- a Department of Clinical Biochemistry, School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences , Tehran , Iran.,b Nano-Technology and Tissue Engineering Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences , Tehran , Iran
| | - Es'hagh Pourmaleki
- b Nano-Technology and Tissue Engineering Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences , Tehran , Iran.,c Department of Tissue Engineering and Applied Cell Sciences, School of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences , Tehran , Iran
| | - Hadi Bayat
- b Nano-Technology and Tissue Engineering Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences , Tehran , Iran.,d Department of Molecular Genetics, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University , Tehran , Iran
| | - Roshanak Ahani
- b Nano-Technology and Tissue Engineering Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences , Tehran , Iran
| | - Azam Rahimpour
- b Nano-Technology and Tissue Engineering Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences , Tehran , Iran.,c Department of Tissue Engineering and Applied Cell Sciences, School of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences , Tehran , Iran
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17
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Naddafi F, Mahboudi F, Tabarzad M, Aliabadi Farahani Z, Hosein Shirazi F, Davami F. The Epigenetic Regulation of Blinatumomab Gene Expression: Tumor Cell-dependent T cell Response against Lymphoma Cells and Cytotoxic Activity. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR AND CELLULAR MEDICINE 2019; 8:55-66. [PMID: 32195205 PMCID: PMC7073260 DOI: 10.22088/ijmcm.bums.8.1.55] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2019] [Accepted: 06/03/2019] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Conventional treatment for cancer such as surgical resection and chemotherapy can cause damage in cases with advanced cancers. Moreover, the identification of tumor-specific targets has great importance in T-cell therapies. For decades, T cell activity has been stimulated to improve anti-tumor activity. Bispecific antibodies have attracted strong interest from pharmaceutical companies, for their diagnostic and therapeutic use. Blinatumomab is a first-in-class bispecific T engager antibody for the treatment of relapsed or refractory precursor B- cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia. But, it can benefit several cases with CD19+ malignancies in the future. PhiC31 integrase-based vectors could selectively integrate therapeutic transgenes into pseudo-attP sites in CHO genome. In this study, production of Blinatumomab in CHO cells using this type of vectors was investigated. We evaluated the effects of histone deacetylases (HDACs) inhibitors such as sodium butyrate and valproic acid, on specific productivity and cell viability of antibody expressing cells. Although sodium butyrate increased specific productivity about 1.7-fold and valproic acid about 1.4-fold, valproic acid was found more efficient because of its less cytotoxic effect on cell growth. We examined the efficacy of expressed Blinatumomab at various effector to target (E/T) ratios. A dose-response analyses of calcein-acetoxymethyl release assay illustrated that the effective dose of expressed mAb required for antibody mediated cytotoxicity was 100 ng/ml and the expressed mAb was more effective at E/T ratios of 10:1 and 5:1. Results of this study indicated that the expressed blinatumomab can be useful for enhancing the cytotoxicity of CD3+ T-cells against CD19 + target cells in vitro.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fatemeh Naddafi
- Pharmaceutical Sciences Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | | | - Maryam Tabarzad
- Protein Technology Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | | | - Farshad Hosein Shirazi
- Pharmaceutical Sciences Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Fatemeh Davami
- Biotechnology Research Center, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran
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18
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Hussain H, Fisher DI, Roth RG, Mark Abbott W, Carballo-Amador MA, Warwicker J, Dickson AJ. A protein chimera strategy supports production of a model "difficult-to-express" recombinant target. FEBS Lett 2018; 592:2499-2511. [PMID: 29933498 PMCID: PMC6174982 DOI: 10.1002/1873-3468.13170] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2018] [Revised: 06/05/2018] [Accepted: 06/11/2018] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Due in part to the needs of the biopharmaceutical industry, there has been an increased drive to generate high quality recombinant proteins in large amounts. However, achieving high yields can be a challenge as the novelty and increased complexity of new targets often makes them 'difficult-to-express'. This study aimed to define the molecular features that restrict the production of a model 'difficult-to-express' recombinant protein, Tissue Inhibitor Metalloproteinase-3 (TIMP-3). Building from experimental data, computational approaches were used to rationalize the redesign of this recombinant target to generate a chimera with enhanced secretion. The results highlight the importance of early identification of unfavourable sequence attributes, enabling the generation of engineered protein forms that bypass 'secretory' bottlenecks and result in efficient recombinant protein production.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hirra Hussain
- Faculty of Science and Engineering, Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, University of Manchester, UK
| | - David I Fisher
- Discovery Biology, Discovery Sciences, IMED Biotech Unit, AstraZeneca, Cambridge, UK
| | - Robert G Roth
- Discovery Biology, Discovery Sciences, IMED Biotech Unit, AstraZeneca, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - W Mark Abbott
- Discovery Biology, Discovery Sciences, IMED Biotech Unit, AstraZeneca, Cambridge, UK
| | | | - Jim Warwicker
- Faculty of Science and Engineering, Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, University of Manchester, UK
| | - Alan J Dickson
- Faculty of Science and Engineering, Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, University of Manchester, UK
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19
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Stuible M, Burlacu A, Perret S, Brochu D, Paul-Roc B, Baardsnes J, Loignon M, Grazzini E, Durocher Y. Optimization of a high-cell-density polyethylenimine transfection method for rapid protein production in CHO-EBNA1 cells. J Biotechnol 2018; 281:39-47. [PMID: 29886030 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbiotec.2018.06.307] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2018] [Revised: 05/23/2018] [Accepted: 06/06/2018] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
For pre-clinical evaluation of biotherapeutic candidates, protein production by transient gene expression (TGE) in Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cells offers important advantages, including the capability of rapidly and cost-effectively generating recombinant proteins that are highly similar to those produced in stable CHO clones. We have established a novel CHO clone (CHO-3E7) expressing a form of the Epstein-Barr virus nuclear antigen-1 (EBNA-1) with improved TGE productivity relative to parental CHO cells. Taking advantage of a new transfection-compatible media formulation that permits prolonged, high-density culture, we optimized transfection parameters (cell density, plasmid vector and polyethylenimine concentrations) and post-transfection culture conditions to establish a new, high-performing process for rapid protein production. The growth media is chemically defined, and a single hydrolysate feed is added post-transfection, followed by periodic glucose supplementation. This method gave significantly higher yields than our standard low-cell density, F17-based CHO-3E7 TGE method, averaging several hundred mg/l for a panel of recombinant proteins and antibodies. Purified antibodies produced using the two methods had distinct glycosylation profiles but showed identical target binding kinetics by SPR. Key advantages of this new protein production platform include the cost-effectiveness of the transfection reagent, the commercial availability of the culture media and the ability to perform high-cell-density transfection without media change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew Stuible
- Human Health Therapeutics Research Centre, National Research Council Canada, 6100 Royalmount, Montreal, QC, H4P 2R2, Canada
| | - Alina Burlacu
- Human Health Therapeutics Research Centre, National Research Council Canada, 6100 Royalmount, Montreal, QC, H4P 2R2, Canada
| | - Sylvie Perret
- Human Health Therapeutics Research Centre, National Research Council Canada, 6100 Royalmount, Montreal, QC, H4P 2R2, Canada
| | - Denis Brochu
- Human Health Therapeutics Research Centre, National Research Council Canada, 6100 Royalmount, Montreal, QC, H4P 2R2, Canada
| | - Béatrice Paul-Roc
- Human Health Therapeutics Research Centre, National Research Council Canada, 6100 Royalmount, Montreal, QC, H4P 2R2, Canada
| | - Jason Baardsnes
- Human Health Therapeutics Research Centre, National Research Council Canada, 6100 Royalmount, Montreal, QC, H4P 2R2, Canada
| | - Martin Loignon
- Human Health Therapeutics Research Centre, National Research Council Canada, 6100 Royalmount, Montreal, QC, H4P 2R2, Canada
| | - Eric Grazzini
- Human Health Therapeutics Research Centre, National Research Council Canada, 6100 Royalmount, Montreal, QC, H4P 2R2, Canada
| | - Yves Durocher
- Human Health Therapeutics Research Centre, National Research Council Canada, 6100 Royalmount, Montreal, QC, H4P 2R2, Canada.
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20
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Vito D, Smales CM. The Long Non-Coding RNA Transcriptome Landscape in CHO Cells Under Batch and Fed-Batch Conditions. Biotechnol J 2018; 13:e1800122. [PMID: 29781203 DOI: 10.1002/biot.201800122] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2018] [Revised: 04/16/2018] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
The role of non-coding RNAs in determining growth, productivity, and recombinant product quality attributes in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells has received much attention in recent years, exemplified by studies into microRNAs in particular. However, other classes of non-coding RNAs have received less attention. One such class are the non-coding RNAs known collectively as long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs). The authors have undertaken the first landscape analysis of the lncRNA transcriptome in CHO using a mouse based microarray that also provided for the surveillance of the coding transcriptome. The authors report on those lncRNAs present in a model host CHO cell line under batch and fed-batch conditions on two different days and relate the expression of different lncRNAs to each other. The authors demonstrate that the mouse microarray is suitable for the detection and analysis of thousands of CHO lncRNAs and validated a number of these by qRT-PCR. The authors then further analyzed the data to identify those lncRNAs whose expression changed the most between growth and stationary phases of culture or between batch and fed-batch culture to identify potential lncRNA targets for further functional studies with regard to their role in controlling growth of CHO cells. The authors discuss the implications for the publication of this rich dataset and how this may be used by the community.
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Affiliation(s)
- Davide Vito
- Industrial Biotechnology Centre and School of Biosciences, University of Kent, Canterbury, CT2 7NJ, Kent, UK
| | - Christopher Mark Smales
- Industrial Biotechnology Centre and School of Biosciences, University of Kent, Canterbury, CT2 7NJ, Kent, UK
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21
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Visualisation of intracellular production bottlenecks in suspension-adapted CHO cells producing complex biopharmaceuticals using fluorescence microscopy. J Biotechnol 2018; 271:47-55. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jbiotec.2018.02.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2017] [Revised: 02/17/2018] [Accepted: 02/19/2018] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
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22
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IgG light chain-independent secretion of heavy chain dimers: consequence for therapeutic antibody production and design. Biochem J 2017; 474:3179-3188. [PMID: 28784690 PMCID: PMC5590090 DOI: 10.1042/bcj20170342] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2017] [Revised: 07/13/2017] [Accepted: 08/07/2017] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Rodent monoclonal antibodies with specificity towards important biological targets are developed for therapeutic use by a process of humanisation. This process involves the creation of molecules, which retain the specificity of the rodent antibody but contain predominantly human coding sequence. Here, we show that some humanised heavy chains (HCs) can fold, form dimers and be secreted even in the absence of a light chain (LC). Quality control of recombinant antibody assembly in vivo is thought to rely upon folding of the HC CH1 domain. This domain acts as a switch for secretion, only folding upon interaction with the LC CL domain. We show that the secreted heavy-chain dimers contain folded CH1 domains and contribute to the heterogeneity of antibody species secreted during the expression of therapeutic antibodies. This subversion of the normal quality control process is dependent on the HC variable domain, is prevalent with engineered antibodies and can occur when only the Fab fragments are expressed. This discovery will have an impact on the efficient production of both humanised antibodies and the design of novel antibody formats.
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23
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Hussain H, Fisher DI, Abbott WM, Roth RG, Dickson AJ. Use of a protein engineering strategy to overcome limitations in the production of “Difficult to Express” recombinant proteins. Biotechnol Bioeng 2017. [DOI: 10.1002/bit.26358] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Hirra Hussain
- Manchester Institute of Biotechnology; Faculty of Science and Engineering; University of Manchester; M1 7DN Manchester United Kingdom
| | - David I. Fisher
- AstraZeneca, Cambridge Science Park; Milton Cambridge United Kingdom
| | - W. Mark Abbott
- AstraZeneca, Cambridge Science Park; Milton Cambridge United Kingdom
| | | | - Alan J. Dickson
- Manchester Institute of Biotechnology; Faculty of Science and Engineering; University of Manchester; M1 7DN Manchester United Kingdom
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24
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Popovic B, Gibson S, Senussi T, Carmen S, Kidd S, Slidel T, Strickland I, Jianqing X, Spooner J, Lewis A, Hudson N, Mackenzie L, Keen J, Kemp B, Hardman C, Hatton D, Wilkinson T, Vaughan T, Lowe D. Engineering the expression of an anti-interleukin-13 antibody through rational design and mutagenesis. Protein Eng Des Sel 2017; 30:303-311. [PMID: 28130326 DOI: 10.1093/protein/gzx001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2016] [Accepted: 01/09/2017] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
High levels of protein expression are key to the successful development and manufacture of a therapeutic antibody. Here, we describe two related antibodies, Ab001 and Ab008, where Ab001 shows a markedly lower level of expression relative to Ab008 when stably expressed in Chinese hamster ovary cells. We use single-gene expression vectors and structural analysis to show that the reduced titer is associated with the VL CDR2 of Ab001. We adopted two approaches to improve the expression of Ab001. First, we used mutagenesis to change single amino-acid residues in the Ab001 VL back to the equivalent Ab008 residues but this resulted in limited improvements in expression. In contrast when we used an in silico structure-based design approach to generate a set of five individual single-point variants in a discrete region of the VL, all exhibited significantly improved expression relative to Ab001. The most successful of these, D53N, exhibited a 25-fold increase in stable transfectants relative to Ab001. The functional potency of these VL-modified antibodies was unaffected. We expect that this in silico engineering strategy can be used to improve the expression of other antibodies and proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bojana Popovic
- Department of Antibody Discovery and Protein Engineering, MedImmune Ltd, Granta Park, Cambridge CB21 6GH, UK
| | - Suzanne Gibson
- Department of Biopharmaceutical Development, MedImmune Ltd, Granta Park, Cambridge CB21 6GH, UK
| | - Tarik Senussi
- Department of Biopharmaceutical Development, MedImmune Ltd, Granta Park, Cambridge CB21 6GH, UK
| | - Sara Carmen
- Department of Antibody Discovery and Protein Engineering, MedImmune Ltd, Granta Park, Cambridge CB21 6GH, UK
| | - Sara Kidd
- Department of Antibody Discovery and Protein Engineering, MedImmune Ltd, Granta Park, Cambridge CB21 6GH, UK
| | - Tim Slidel
- Department of Research Informatics, MedImmune Ltd, Granta Park, Cambridge CB21 6GH, UK
| | - Ian Strickland
- Department of Respiratory, Inflammation and Autoimmunity, MedImmune Ltd, Granta Park, Cambridge CB21 6GH, UK
| | - Xu Jianqing
- Department of Antibody Discovery and Protein Engineering, MedImmune Ltd, Granta Park, Cambridge CB21 6GH, UK
| | - Jennifer Spooner
- Department of Antibody Discovery and Protein Engineering, MedImmune Ltd, Granta Park, Cambridge CB21 6GH, UK
| | - Amanda Lewis
- Department of Biopharmaceutical Development, MedImmune Ltd, Granta Park, Cambridge CB21 6GH, UK
| | - Nathan Hudson
- Department of Antibody Discovery and Protein Engineering, MedImmune Ltd, Granta Park, Cambridge CB21 6GH, UK
| | - Lorna Mackenzie
- Department of Antibody Discovery and Protein Engineering, MedImmune Ltd, Granta Park, Cambridge CB21 6GH, UK
| | - Jennifer Keen
- Department of Antibody Discovery and Protein Engineering, MedImmune Ltd, Granta Park, Cambridge CB21 6GH, UK
| | - Ben Kemp
- Department of Antibody Discovery and Protein Engineering, MedImmune Ltd, Granta Park, Cambridge CB21 6GH, UK
| | - Colin Hardman
- Department of Research Informatics, MedImmune Ltd, Granta Park, Cambridge CB21 6GH, UK
| | - Diane Hatton
- Department of Biopharmaceutical Development, MedImmune Ltd, Granta Park, Cambridge CB21 6GH, UK
| | - Trevor Wilkinson
- Department of Antibody Discovery and Protein Engineering, MedImmune Ltd, Granta Park, Cambridge CB21 6GH, UK
| | - Tristan Vaughan
- Department of Antibody Discovery and Protein Engineering, MedImmune Ltd, Granta Park, Cambridge CB21 6GH, UK
| | - David Lowe
- Department of Antibody Discovery and Protein Engineering, MedImmune Ltd, Granta Park, Cambridge CB21 6GH, UK
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25
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Ahmadi S, Davami F, Davoudi N, Nematpour F, Ahmadi M, Ebadat S, Azadmanesh K, Barkhordari F, Mahboudi F. Monoclonal antibodies expression improvement in CHO cells by PiggyBac transposition regarding vectors ratios and design. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0179902. [PMID: 28662065 PMCID: PMC5491063 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0179902] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2017] [Accepted: 06/06/2017] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Establishing stable Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cells producing monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) usually pass through the random integration of vectors to the cell genome, which is sensitive to gene silencing. One approach to overcome this issue is to target a highly transcribed region in the genome. Transposons are useful devices to target active parts of genomes, and PiggyBac (PB) transposon can be considered as a good option. In the present study, three PB transposon donor vectors containing both heavy and light chains were constructed, one contained independent expression cassettes while the others utilized either an Internal Ribosome Entry Site (IRES) or 2A element to express mAb. Conventional cell pools were created by transferring donor vectors into the CHO cells, whereas transposon-based cells were generated by transfecting the cells with donor vectors with a companion of a transposase-encoding helper vector, with 1:2.5 helper/donor vectors ratio. To evaluate the influence of helper/donor vectors ratio on expression, the second transposon-based cell pools were generated with 1:5 helper/donor ratio. Expression levels in the transposon-based cells were two to five -folds more than those created by conventional method except for the IRES-mediated ones, in which the observed difference increased more than 100-fold. The results were dependent on both donor vector design and vectors ratios.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samira Ahmadi
- Biotechnology Research Center, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran
| | - Fatemeh Davami
- Biotechnology Research Center, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran
| | - Noushin Davoudi
- Biotechnology Research Center, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran
| | - Fatemeh Nematpour
- Biotechnology Research Center, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran
| | - Maryam Ahmadi
- Medical Biotechnology Department, Semnan University of Medical Sciences, Semnan, Iran
| | - Saeedeh Ebadat
- Biotechnology Research Center, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran
| | | | | | - Fereidoun Mahboudi
- Biotechnology Research Center, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran
- * E-mail: ,
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26
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De Nardis C, Hendriks LJA, Poirier E, Arvinte T, Gros P, Bakker ABH, de Kruif J. A new approach for generating bispecific antibodies based on a common light chain format and the stable architecture of human immunoglobulin G 1. J Biol Chem 2017; 292:14706-14717. [PMID: 28655766 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.m117.793497] [Citation(s) in RCA: 62] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2017] [Revised: 06/14/2017] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Bispecific antibodies combine two different antigen-binding sites in a single molecule, enabling more specific targeting, novel mechanisms of action, and higher clinical efficacies. Although they have the potential to outperform conventional monoclonal antibodies, many bispecific antibodies have issues regarding production, stability, and pharmacokinetic properties. Here, we describe a new approach for generating bispecific antibodies using a common light chain format and exploiting the stable architecture of human immunoglobulin G1 We used iterative experimental validation and computational modeling to identify multiple Fc variant pairs that drive efficient heterodimerization of the antibody heavy chains. Accelerated stability studies enabled selection of one Fc variant pair dubbed "DEKK" consisting of substitutions L351D and L368E in one heavy chain combined with L351K and T366K in the other. Solving the crystal structure of the DEKK Fc region at a resolution of 2.3 Å enabled detailed analysis of the interactions inducing CH3 interface heterodimerization. Local shifts in the IgG backbone accommodate the introduction of lysine side chains that form stabilizing salt-bridge interactions with substituted and native residues in the opposite chain. Overall, the CH3 domain adapted to these shifts at the interface, yielding a stable Fc conformation very similar to that in wild-type IgG. Using the DEKK format, we generated the bispecific antibody MCLA-128, targeting human EGF receptors 2 and 3. MCLA-128 could be readily produced and purified at industrial scale with a standard mammalian cell culture platform and a routine purification protocol. Long-term accelerated stability assays confirmed that MCLA-128 is highly stable and has excellent biophysical characteristics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Camilla De Nardis
- From the Crystal and Structural Chemistry Group, Bijvoet Center for Biomolecular Research, Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Utrecht University, 3584 CH Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | | | | | - Tudor Arvinte
- Therapeomic Inc., CH-4002 Basel, Switzerland, and.,the University of Geneva, CH-1211 Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Piet Gros
- From the Crystal and Structural Chemistry Group, Bijvoet Center for Biomolecular Research, Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Utrecht University, 3584 CH Utrecht, The Netherlands
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27
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Fischer S, Marquart KF, Pieper LA, Fieder J, Gamer M, Gorr I, Schulz P, Bradl H. miRNA engineering of CHO cells facilitates production of difficult-to-express proteins and increases success in cell line development. Biotechnol Bioeng 2017; 114:1495-1510. [PMID: 28262952 PMCID: PMC6084326 DOI: 10.1002/bit.26280] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2016] [Revised: 01/25/2017] [Accepted: 03/01/2017] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
In recent years, coherent with growing biologics portfolios also the number of complex and thus difficult-to-express (DTE) therapeutic proteins has increased considerably. DTE proteins challenge bioprocess development and can include various therapeutic protein formats such as monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), multi-specific affinity scaffolds (e.g., bispecific antibodies), cytokines, or fusion proteins. Hence, the availability of robust and versatile Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) host cell factories is fundamental for high-yielding bioprocesses. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have emerged as potent cell engineering tools to improve process performance of CHO manufacturing cell lines. However, there has not been any report demonstrating the impact of beneficial miRNAs on industrial cell line development (CLD) yet. To address this question, we established novel CHO host cells constitutively expressing a pro-productive miRNA: miR-557. Novel host cells were tested in two independent CLD campaigns using two different mAb candidates including a normal as well as a DTE antibody. Presence of miR-557 significantly enhanced each process step during CLD in a product independent manner. Stable expression of miR-557 increased the probability to identify high-producing cell clones. Furthermore, production cell lines derived from miR-557 expressing host cells exhibited significantly increased final product yields in fed-batch cultivation processes without compromising product quality. Strikingly, cells co-expressing miR-557 and a DTE antibody achieved a twofold increase in product titer compared to clones co-expressing a negative control miRNA. Thus, host cell engineering using miRNAs represents a promising tool to overcome limitations in industrial CLD especially with regard to DTE proteins. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2017;114: 1495-1510. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simon Fischer
- Early Stage Bioprocess Development, Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH & Co. KG, Birkendorfer Strasse 65, 88397, Biberach, Germany.,Cell Culture Development CMB, Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH & Co. KG, Biberach, Germany
| | - Kim F Marquart
- Early Stage Bioprocess Development, Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH & Co. KG, Birkendorfer Strasse 65, 88397, Biberach, Germany
| | - Lisa A Pieper
- Institute of Cell Biology and Immunology, University of Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany
| | - Juergen Fieder
- Early Stage Bioprocess Development, Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH & Co. KG, Birkendorfer Strasse 65, 88397, Biberach, Germany
| | - Martin Gamer
- Early Stage Bioprocess Development, Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH & Co. KG, Birkendorfer Strasse 65, 88397, Biberach, Germany
| | - Ingo Gorr
- Early Stage Bioprocess Development, Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH & Co. KG, Birkendorfer Strasse 65, 88397, Biberach, Germany
| | - Patrick Schulz
- Cell Culture Development CMB, Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH & Co. KG, Biberach, Germany
| | - Harald Bradl
- Cell Culture Development CMB, Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH & Co. KG, Biberach, Germany
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28
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Zischewski J, Sack M, Fischer R. Overcoming low yields of plant-made antibodies by a protein engineering approach. Biotechnol J 2016; 11:107-16. [PMID: 26632507 DOI: 10.1002/biot.201500255] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2015] [Revised: 09/18/2015] [Accepted: 11/24/2015] [Indexed: 01/16/2023]
Abstract
The commercial development of plant-based antibody production platforms is often limited by low and variable yields, but little is known about the factors that affect antibody accumulation during and after translation. Here, we present a strategy to identify yield-limiting regions in the transcript and protein. We exchanged variable heavy chain (VH) domain sequences between two human antibodies at structurally conserved positions, thus creating ten chimeric VH domains containing sequences from M12 (∼1000 μg/g leaf fresh weight [FW]) and 4E10 (∼100 μg/g FW). After transient expression in Nicotiana benthamiana leaves, we measured mRNA and protein levels by quantitative real-time PCR and surface plasmon resonance spectroscopy, respectively. Transcript levels were similar for all constructs, but antibody levels ranged from ∼250 μg/g to over 2000 μg/g FW. Analysis of the expression levels showed that: i) 4E10 yields were only marginally increased by suppression of post-transcriptional gene silencing; ii) the CDR3 of 4E10 contains a protease site; and iii) a bipartite, yield-limiting region exists in the CDR2/CDR3. Our findings highlight the strong impact of cotranslational and posttranslational events on antibody yields and show that protein engineering is a powerful tool that can be used to overcome the remaining limitations affecting antibody production in plants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia Zischewski
- Department for Molecular Biotechnology, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
| | - Markus Sack
- Department for Molecular Biotechnology, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany.
| | - Rainer Fischer
- Department for Molecular Biotechnology, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
- Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology, Aachen, Germany
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29
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Johari YB, Estes SD, Alves CS, Sinacore MS, James DC. Integrated cell and process engineering for improved transient production of a “difficult-to-express“ fusion protein by CHO cells. Biotechnol Bioeng 2015; 112:2527-42. [DOI: 10.1002/bit.25687] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2015] [Revised: 06/08/2015] [Accepted: 06/24/2015] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Yusuf B. Johari
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering; University of Sheffield; ChELSI Institute; Mappin Street; Sheffield S1 3JD UK
| | - Scott D. Estes
- Cell Culture Development; Biogen Idec, Inc.; Cambridge Massachusetts
| | | | - Marty S. Sinacore
- Cell Culture Development; Biogen Idec, Inc.; Cambridge Massachusetts
| | - David C. James
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering; University of Sheffield; ChELSI Institute; Mappin Street; Sheffield S1 3JD UK
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30
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Ley D, Seresht AK, Engmark M, Magdenoska O, Nielsen KF, Kildegaard HF, Andersen MR. Multi-omic profiling -of EPO-producing Chinese hamster ovary cell panel reveals metabolic adaptation to heterologous protein production. Biotechnol Bioeng 2015; 112:2373-87. [PMID: 25995028 PMCID: PMC5034845 DOI: 10.1002/bit.25652] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2015] [Accepted: 05/11/2015] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells are the preferred production host for many therapeutic proteins. The production of heterologous proteins in CHO cells imposes a burden on the host cell metabolism and impact cellular physiology on a global scale. In this work, a multi‐omics approach was applied to study the production of erythropoietin (EPO) in a panel of CHO‐K1 cells under growth‐limited and unlimited conditions in batch and chemostat cultures. Physiological characterization of the EPO‐producing cells included global transcriptome analysis, targeted metabolome analysis, including intracellular pools of glycolytic intermediates, NAD(P)H/NAD(P)+, adenine nucleotide phosphates (ANP), and extracellular concentrations of sugars, organic acids, and amino acids. Potential impact of EPO expression on the protein secretory pathway was assessed at multiple stages using quantitative PCR (qPCR), reverse transcription PCR (qRT‐PCR), Western blots (WB), and global gene expression analysis to assess EPO gene copy numbers, EPO gene expression, intracellular EPO retention, and differentially expressed genes functionally related to secretory protein processing, respectively. We found no evidence supporting the existence of production bottlenecks in energy metabolism (i.e., glycolytic metabolites, NAD(P)H/NAD(P)+ and ANPs) in batch culture or in the secretory protein production pathway (i.e., gene dosage, transcription and post‐translational processing of EPO) in chemostat culture at specific productivities up to 5 pg/cell/day. Time‐course analysis of high‐ and low‐producing clones in chemostat culture revealed rapid adaptation of transcription levels of amino acid catabolic genes in favor of EPO production within nine generations. Interestingly, the adaptation was followed by an increase in specific EPO productivity. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2015;112: 2373–2387. © 2015 The Authors. Biotechnology and Bioengineering Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Ley
- Department of Systems Biology, Technical University of Denmark, Kongens Lyngby, Denmark.,Cell Culture Technology, Novo Nordisk A/S, Novo Nordisk Park, Måløv, Denmark.,The Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability, Technical University of Denmark, Hørsholm, Denmark
| | - Ali Kazemi Seresht
- Cell Culture Technology, Novo Nordisk A/S, Novo Nordisk Park, Måløv, Denmark
| | - Mikael Engmark
- Department of Systems Biology, Technical University of Denmark, Kongens Lyngby, Denmark.,Cell Culture Technology, Novo Nordisk A/S, Novo Nordisk Park, Måløv, Denmark
| | - Olivera Magdenoska
- Department of Systems Biology, Technical University of Denmark, Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Kristian Fog Nielsen
- Department of Systems Biology, Technical University of Denmark, Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Helene Faustrup Kildegaard
- The Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability, Technical University of Denmark, Hørsholm, Denmark
| | - Mikael Rørdam Andersen
- Department of Systems Biology, Technical University of Denmark, Kongens Lyngby, Denmark.
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31
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Estes B, Hsu YR, Tam LT, Sheng J, Stevens J, Haldankar R. Uncovering methods for the prevention of protein aggregation and improvement of product quality in a transient expression system. Biotechnol Prog 2014; 31:258-67. [PMID: 25395220 DOI: 10.1002/btpr.2021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2014] [Revised: 10/10/2014] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Abstract
Mammalian expression systems are used routinely for the production of recombinant proteins as therapeutic molecules as well as research tools. Transient expression has become increasingly popular in recent years due to its rapid timeline and improvements in expression level. While improvements to transient expression systems have focused mainly on the level of protein expression, the aspect of protein quality has received little attention. The removal of undesirable products, such as aggregation, depends primarily on purification, requiring additional cumbersome steps, which can lead to a lower product yield and longer timelines. In this study, we show that reducing the level of transcription by transfecting at a lower gene dose improves the quality of secreted molecules prone to aggregation. For gene dosing to have this effect, it is critical for the carrier DNA to be an empty vector containing the same elements as the gene containing plasmid. This approach can be used in combination with a temperature shift to hypothermic conditions during production to enhance the effect. The observed improvements not only minimized aggregation levels, but also generated products with overall superior quality, including more homogeneous signal peptide cleavage and N-linked glycosylation profiles. These techniques have produced a similar improvement in product quality with a variety of other molecules, suggesting that this may be a general approach to enhance product quality from transient expression systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bram Estes
- Amgen, Inc., Biologics, Thousand Oaks, CA, 91320
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32
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Reduced Culture Temperature Differentially Affects Expression and Biophysical Properties of Monoclonal Antibody Variants. Antibodies (Basel) 2014; 3:253-271. [PMID: 33101721 PMCID: PMC7583600 DOI: 10.3390/antib3030253] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Reduced culture temperature is an increasingly popular practice to improve recombinant protein yields in CHO cells. Recent studies have attributed the enhancement of protein titers at sub-physiological temperatures to increased mRNA levels as well as extended stationary phase. We observed that reducing the culture temperature arrested cell growth, prolonged viability, and increased cell size. However, the reduced culture temperature had a differential effect on protein and mRNA expression of closely related antibody mutants from stable cell lines. The highly expressing mutant (Ala) exhibited similar or decreased specific productivity and decreased volumetric productivity over the culture lifetime at 32 °C compared to 37 °C. In contrast, the specific and volumetric productivity of the poorly expressing mutant (Gly) was enhanced at the lower culture temperature. The difference in specific productivity was reflected in the amounts of heavy- and light-chain mRNA. Analysis of the secondary and tertiary configurations of the purified antibodies by circular dichroism revealed fundamental structural differences imposed by the Ala to Gly mutation as well as reduced culture temperature. We propose that the effect of reduced culture temperature on expression is protein-dependent; protein folding fidelity and assembly is improved at lower temperatures, enhancing the expression of proteins that have a propensity to misfold.
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33
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Shaw S, Bourne T, Meier C, Carrington B, Gelinas R, Henry A, Popplewell A, Adams R, Baker T, Rapecki S, Marshall D, Moore A, Neale H, Lawson A. Discovery and characterization of olokizumab: a humanized antibody targeting interleukin-6 and neutralizing gp130-signaling. MAbs 2014; 6:774-82. [PMID: 24670876 PMCID: PMC4011921 DOI: 10.4161/mabs.28612] [Citation(s) in RCA: 76] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a critical regulator of the immune system and has been widely implicated in autoimmune disease. Here, we describe the discovery and characterization of olokizumab, a humanized antibody to IL-6. Data from structural biology, cell biology and primate pharmacology demonstrate the therapeutic potential of targeting IL-6 at “Site 3”, blocking the interaction with the signaling co-receptor gp130.
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34
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Shaw S, Bourne T, Meier C, Carrington B, Gelinas R, Henry A, Popplewell A, Adams R, Baker T, Rapecki S, Marshall D, Moore A, Neale H, Lawson A. Discovery and characterization of olokizumab: a humanized antibody targeting interleukin-6 and neutralizing gp130-signaling. MAbs 2014. [PMID: 24670876 DOI: 10.4161/mabs.28612;] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a critical regulator of the immune system and has been widely implicated in autoimmune disease. Here, we describe the discovery and characterization of olokizumab, a humanized antibody to IL-6. Data from structural biology, cell biology and primate pharmacology demonstrate the therapeutic potential of targeting IL-6 at "Site 3", blocking the interaction with the signaling co-receptor gp130.
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35
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Nishimiya D. Proteins improving recombinant antibody production in mammalian cells. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 2013; 98:1031-42. [PMID: 24327213 DOI: 10.1007/s00253-013-5427-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2013] [Revised: 11/20/2013] [Accepted: 11/21/2013] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Mammalian cells have been successfully used for the industrial manufacture of antibodies due to their ability to synthesize antibodies correctly. Nascent polypeptides must be subjected to protein folding and assembly in the ER and the Golgi to be secreted as mature proteins. If these reactions do not proceed appropriately, unfolded or misfolded proteins are degraded by the ER-associated degradation (ERAD) pathway. The accumulation of unfolded proteins or intracellular antibody crystals accompanied by this failure triggers the unfolded protein response (UPR), which can considerably attenuate the levels of translation, folding, assembly, and secretion, resulting in reduction of antibody productivity. Accumulating studies by omics-based analysis of recombinant mammalian cells suggest that not only protein secretion processes including protein folding and assembly but also translation are likely to be the rate-limiting factors for increasing antibody production. Here, this review describes the mechanism of antibody folding and assembly and recent advantages which could improve recombinant antibody production in mammalian cells by utilizing proteins such as ER chaperones or UPR-related proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daisuke Nishimiya
- New Modality Research Laboratories, R&D Division, Daiichi Sankyo Co., Ltd., 1-2-58 Hiromachi, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo, 140-8710, Japan,
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36
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Pybus LP, James DC, Dean G, Slidel T, Hardman C, Smith A, Daramola O, Field R. Predicting the expression of recombinant monoclonal antibodies in Chinese hamster ovary cells based on sequence features of the CDR3 domain. Biotechnol Prog 2013; 30:188-97. [DOI: 10.1002/btpr.1839] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2013] [Revised: 10/27/2013] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Leon P. Pybus
- ChELSI Institute; Dept. of Chemical and Biological Engineering; University of Sheffield; Mappin Street, Sheffield S1 3JD U.K
| | - David C. James
- ChELSI Institute; Dept. of Chemical and Biological Engineering; University of Sheffield; Mappin Street, Sheffield S1 3JD U.K
| | - Greg Dean
- MedImmune Ltd.; Granta Park Cambridge CB21 6GH U.K
| | - Tim Slidel
- MedImmune Ltd.; Granta Park Cambridge CB21 6GH U.K
| | | | - Andrew Smith
- MedImmune Ltd.; Granta Park Cambridge CB21 6GH U.K
| | | | - Ray Field
- MedImmune Ltd.; Granta Park Cambridge CB21 6GH U.K
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37
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Pybus LP, Dean G, West NR, Smith A, Daramola O, Field R, Wilkinson SJ, James DC. Model-directed engineering of “difficult-to-express” monoclonal antibody production by Chinese hamster ovary cells. Biotechnol Bioeng 2013; 111:372-85. [DOI: 10.1002/bit.25116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 72] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2013] [Revised: 08/03/2013] [Accepted: 09/09/2013] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Leon P. Pybus
- ChELSI Institute; Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering; University of Sheffield; Mappin Street Sheffield S1 3JD UK
| | - Greg Dean
- Cell Sciences; BioPharmaceutical Development, MedImmune, Granta Park; Cambridge UK
| | - Nathan R. West
- ChELSI Institute; Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering; University of Sheffield; Mappin Street Sheffield S1 3JD UK
| | - Andrew Smith
- Cell Sciences; BioPharmaceutical Development, MedImmune, Granta Park; Cambridge UK
| | - Olalekan Daramola
- Cell Sciences; BioPharmaceutical Development, MedImmune, Granta Park; Cambridge UK
| | - Ray Field
- Cell Sciences; BioPharmaceutical Development, MedImmune, Granta Park; Cambridge UK
| | - Stephen J. Wilkinson
- ChELSI Institute; Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering; University of Sheffield; Mappin Street Sheffield S1 3JD UK
| | - David C. James
- ChELSI Institute; Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering; University of Sheffield; Mappin Street Sheffield S1 3JD UK
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38
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Cain K, Peters S, Hailu H, Sweeney B, Stephens P, Heads J, Sarkar K, Ventom A, Page C, Dickson A. A CHO cell line engineered to express XBP1 and ERO1-Lα has increased levels of transient protein expression. Biotechnol Prog 2013; 29:697-706. [DOI: 10.1002/btpr.1693] [Citation(s) in RCA: 68] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2012] [Revised: 12/11/2012] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Katharine Cain
- Protein Expression and Purification Group; UCB, Slough; Berkshire SL1 4EN England
| | - Shirley Peters
- Protein Expression and Purification Group; UCB, Slough; Berkshire SL1 4EN England
| | - Hanna Hailu
- Protein Expression and Purification Group; UCB, Slough; Berkshire SL1 4EN England
| | - Bernie Sweeney
- Protein Expression and Purification Group; UCB, Slough; Berkshire SL1 4EN England
| | - Paul Stephens
- Protein Expression and Purification Group; UCB, Slough; Berkshire SL1 4EN England
| | - James Heads
- Protein Biophysics; UCB, Slough; Berkshire SL1 4EN England
| | - Kaushik Sarkar
- Protein Biophysics; UCB, Slough; Berkshire SL1 4EN England
| | - Andy Ventom
- Protein Biophysics; UCB, Slough; Berkshire SL1 4EN England
| | - Catherine Page
- Faculty of Life Sciences; The Michael Smith Building, The University of Manchester; Manchester M13 9PT England
| | - Alan Dickson
- Faculty of Life Sciences; The Michael Smith Building, The University of Manchester; Manchester M13 9PT England
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