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Knödler M, Reunious PW, Buyel JF. Risk assessment and bioburden evaluation of Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transient protein expression in plants using the CaMV35S promoter. BMC Biotechnol 2023; 23:14. [PMID: 37286972 DOI: 10.1186/s12896-023-00782-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2022] [Accepted: 05/12/2023] [Indexed: 06/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Large-scale transient expression of recombinant proteins in plants is increasingly used and requires the multi-liter cultivation of Agrobacterium tumefaciens transformed with an expression vector, which is often cloned in Escherichia coli first. Depending on the promoter, unintentional activity can occur in both bacteria, which could pose a safety risk to the environment and operators if the protein is toxic. To assess the risk associated with transient expression, we first tested expression vectors containing the CaMV35S promoter known to be active in plants and bacteria, along with controls to measure the accumulation of the corresponding recombinant proteins. We found that, in both bacteria, even the stable model protein DsRed accumulated at levels near the detection limit of the sandwich ELISA (3.8 µg L-1). Higher levels were detected in short cultivations (< 12 h) but never exceeded 10 µg L-1. We determined the abundance of A. tumefaciens throughout the process, including infiltration. We detected few bacteria in the clarified extract and found none after blanching. Finally, we combined protein accumulation and bacterial abundance data with the known effects of toxic proteins to estimate critical exposures for operators. We found that unintended toxin production in bacteria is negligible. Furthermore, the intravenous uptake of multiple milliliters of fermentation broth or infiltration suspension would be required to reach acute toxicity even when handling the most toxic products (LD50 ~ 1 ng kg-1). The unintentional uptake of such quantities is unlikely and we therefore regard transient expression as safe in terms of the bacterial handling procedure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthias Knödler
- Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology IME, Forckenbeckstrasse 6, 52074, Aachen, Germany
- Institute for Molecular Biotechnology, RWTH Aachen University, Worringerweg 1, 52074, Aachen, Germany
| | - Paul Winman Reunious
- Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology IME, Forckenbeckstrasse 6, 52074, Aachen, Germany
- Institute for Molecular Biotechnology, RWTH Aachen University, Worringerweg 1, 52074, Aachen, Germany
| | - Johannes Felix Buyel
- Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology IME, Forckenbeckstrasse 6, 52074, Aachen, Germany.
- Institute for Molecular Biotechnology, RWTH Aachen University, Worringerweg 1, 52074, Aachen, Germany.
- Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Institute of Bioprocess Science and Engineering (IBSE), University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU), Muthgasse 18, 1190, Vienna, Austria.
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Knödler M, Opdensteinen P, Sankaranarayanan RA, Morgenroth A, Buhl EM, Mottaghy FM, Buyel JF. Simple plant-based production and purification of the assembled human ferritin heavy chain as a nanocarrier for tumor-targeted drug delivery and bioimaging in cancer therapy. Biotechnol Bioeng 2023; 120:1038-1054. [PMID: 36539373 DOI: 10.1002/bit.28312] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2022] [Revised: 12/06/2022] [Accepted: 12/18/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Nanoparticles are used as carriers for the delivery of drugs and imaging agents. Proteins are safer than synthetic nanocarriers due to their greater biocompatibility and the absence of toxic degradation products. In this context, ferritin has the additional benefit of inherently targeting the membrane receptor transferrin 1, which is overexpressed by most cancer cells. Furthermore, this self-assembling multimeric protein can be loaded with more than 2000 iron atoms, as well as drugs, contrast agents, and other cargos. However, recombinant ferritin currently costs ~3.5 million € g-1 , presumably because the limited number of producers cannot meet demand, making it generally unaffordable as a nanocarrier. Because plants can produce proteins at very-large-scale, we developed a simple, proof-of-concept process for the production of the human ferritin heavy chain by transient expression in Nicotiana benthamiana. We optimized the protein yields by screening different compartments and 5'-untranslated regions in PCPs, and selected the best-performing construct for production in differentiated plants. We then established a rapid and scalable purification protocol by combining pH and heat treatment before extraction, followed by an ultrafiltration/diafiltration size-based separation process. The optimized process achieved ferritin levels of ~40 mg kg-1 fresh biomass although depth filtration limited product recovery to ~7%. The purity of the recombinant product was >90% at costs ~3% of the current sales price. Our method therefore allows the production of affordable ferritin heavy chain as a carrier for therapeutic and diagnostic agents, which is suitable for further stability and functionality testing in vitro and in vivo.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthias Knödler
- Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology IME, Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der angewandten Forschung e. V., Aachen, Germany
- Institute for Molecular Biotechnology, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
| | - Patrick Opdensteinen
- Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology IME, Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der angewandten Forschung e. V., Aachen, Germany
- Institute for Molecular Biotechnology, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
| | | | - Agnieszka Morgenroth
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital Aachen, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
| | - Eva Miriam Buhl
- Electron Microscopy Facility, Institute for Pathology, University Hospital Aachen, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
| | - Felix M Mottaghy
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital Aachen, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
- Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Maastricht University Medical Center (MUMC+), Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Johannes Felix Buyel
- Institute for Molecular Biotechnology, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
- Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Institute of Bioprocess Science and Engineering (IBSE), University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU), Vienna, Austria
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Hou HW, Bishop CA, Huckauf J, Broer I, Klaus S, Nausch H, Buyel JF. Seed- and leaf-based expression of FGF21-transferrin fusion proteins for oral delivery and treatment of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2022; 13:998596. [PMID: 36247628 PMCID: PMC9557105 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2022.998596] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2022] [Accepted: 08/29/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is a global disease with no effective medication. The fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) can reverse this liver dysfunction, but requires targeted delivery to the liver, which can be achieved via oral administration. Therefore, we fused FGF21 to transferrin (Tf) via a furin cleavage site (F), to promote uptake from the intestine into the portal vein, yielding FGF21-F-Tf, and established its production in both seeds and leaves of commercial Nicotiana tabacum cultivars, compared their expression profile and tested the bioavailability and bioactivity in feeding studies. Since biopharmaceuticals need to be produced in a contained environment, e.g., greenhouses in case of plants, the seed production was increased in this setting from 239 to 380 g m-2 a-1 seed mass with costs of 1.64 € g-1 by side branch induction, whereas leaves yielded 8,193 g m-2 a-1 leave mass at 0.19 € g-1. FGF21-F-Tf expression in transgenic seeds and leaves yielded 6.7 and 5.6 mg kg-1 intact fusion protein, but also 4.5 and 2.3 mg kg-1 additional Tf degradation products. Removing the furin site and introducing the liver-targeting peptide PLUS doubled accumulation of intact FGF21-transferrin fusion protein when transiently expressed in Nicotiana benthamiana from 0.8 to 1.6 mg kg-1, whereas truncation of transferrin (nTf338) and reversing the order of FGF21 and nTf338 increased the accumulation to 2.1 mg kg-1 and decreased the degradation products to 7% for nTf338-FGF21-PLUS. Application of partially purified nTf338-FGF21-PLUS to FGF21-/- mice by oral gavage proved its transfer from the intestine into the blood circulation and acutely affected hepatic mRNA expression. Hence, the medication of NASH via oral delivery of nTf338-FGF21-PLUS containing plants seems possible.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hsuan-Wu Hou
- Department Bioprocess Engineering, Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology IME, Aachen, Germany
- Chair for Agrobiotechnology, University of Rostock, Rostock, Germany
| | - Christopher A. Bishop
- Department of Physiology of Energy Metabolism, German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbrücke, Nuthetal, Germany
- Institute of Nutritional Science, University of Potsdam, Nuthetal, Germany
| | - Jana Huckauf
- Chair for Agrobiotechnology, University of Rostock, Rostock, Germany
| | - Inge Broer
- Chair for Agrobiotechnology, University of Rostock, Rostock, Germany
| | - Susanne Klaus
- Department of Physiology of Energy Metabolism, German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbrücke, Nuthetal, Germany
- Institute of Nutritional Science, University of Potsdam, Nuthetal, Germany
| | - Henrik Nausch
- Department Bioprocess Engineering, Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology IME, Aachen, Germany
| | - Johannes F. Buyel
- Department Bioprocess Engineering, Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology IME, Aachen, Germany
- Institute of Molecular Biotechnology, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
- Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Institute of Bioprocess Science and Engineering (IBSE), University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU), Vienna, Austria
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Lobato Gómez M, Huang X, Alvarez D, He W, Baysal C, Zhu C, Armario‐Najera V, Blanco Perera A, Cerda Bennasser P, Saba‐Mayoral A, Sobrino‐Mengual G, Vargheese A, Abranches R, Abreu IA, Balamurugan S, Bock R, Buyel J, da Cunha NB, Daniell H, Faller R, Folgado A, Gowtham I, Häkkinen ST, Kumar S, Ramalingam SK, Lacorte C, Lomonossoff GP, Luís IM, Ma JK, McDonald KA, Murad A, Nandi S, O’Keefe B, Oksman‐Caldentey K, Parthiban S, Paul MJ, Ponndorf D, Rech E, Rodrigues JCM, Ruf S, Schillberg S, Schwestka J, Shah PS, Singh R, Stoger E, Twyman RM, Varghese IP, Vianna GR, Webster G, Wilbers RHP, Capell T, Christou P. Contributions of the international plant science community to the fight against human infectious diseases - part 1: epidemic and pandemic diseases. PLANT BIOTECHNOLOGY JOURNAL 2021; 19:1901-1920. [PMID: 34182608 PMCID: PMC8486245 DOI: 10.1111/pbi.13657] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2021] [Revised: 06/10/2021] [Accepted: 06/22/2021] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
Infectious diseases, also known as transmissible or communicable diseases, are caused by pathogens or parasites that spread in communities by direct contact with infected individuals or contaminated materials, through droplets and aerosols, or via vectors such as insects. Such diseases cause ˜17% of all human deaths and their management and control places an immense burden on healthcare systems worldwide. Traditional approaches for the prevention and control of infectious diseases include vaccination programmes, hygiene measures and drugs that suppress the pathogen, treat the disease symptoms or attenuate aggressive reactions of the host immune system. The provision of vaccines and biologic drugs such as antibodies is hampered by the high cost and limited scalability of traditional manufacturing platforms based on microbial and animal cells, particularly in developing countries where infectious diseases are prevalent and poorly controlled. Molecular farming, which uses plants for protein expression, is a promising strategy to address the drawbacks of current manufacturing platforms. In this review article, we consider the potential of molecular farming to address healthcare demands for the most prevalent and important epidemic and pandemic diseases, focussing on recent outbreaks of high-mortality coronavirus infections and diseases that disproportionately affect the developing world.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Lobato Gómez
- Department of Crop and Forest SciencesUniversity of Lleida‐Agrotecnio CERCA CenterLleidaSpain
| | - Xin Huang
- Department of Crop and Forest SciencesUniversity of Lleida‐Agrotecnio CERCA CenterLleidaSpain
| | - Derry Alvarez
- Department of Crop and Forest SciencesUniversity of Lleida‐Agrotecnio CERCA CenterLleidaSpain
| | - Wenshu He
- Department of Crop and Forest SciencesUniversity of Lleida‐Agrotecnio CERCA CenterLleidaSpain
| | - Can Baysal
- Department of Crop and Forest SciencesUniversity of Lleida‐Agrotecnio CERCA CenterLleidaSpain
| | - Changfu Zhu
- Department of Crop and Forest SciencesUniversity of Lleida‐Agrotecnio CERCA CenterLleidaSpain
| | - Victoria Armario‐Najera
- Department of Crop and Forest SciencesUniversity of Lleida‐Agrotecnio CERCA CenterLleidaSpain
| | - Amaya Blanco Perera
- Department of Crop and Forest SciencesUniversity of Lleida‐Agrotecnio CERCA CenterLleidaSpain
| | - Pedro Cerda Bennasser
- Department of Crop and Forest SciencesUniversity of Lleida‐Agrotecnio CERCA CenterLleidaSpain
| | - Andera Saba‐Mayoral
- Department of Crop and Forest SciencesUniversity of Lleida‐Agrotecnio CERCA CenterLleidaSpain
| | | | - Ashwin Vargheese
- Department of Crop and Forest SciencesUniversity of Lleida‐Agrotecnio CERCA CenterLleidaSpain
| | - Rita Abranches
- Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica António XavierUniversidade Nova de LisboaOeirasPortugal
| | - Isabel Alexandra Abreu
- Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica António XavierUniversidade Nova de LisboaOeirasPortugal
| | - Shanmugaraj Balamurugan
- Plant Genetic Engineering LaboratoryDepartment of BiotechnologyBharathiar UniversityCoimbatoreIndia
| | - Ralph Bock
- Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant PhysiologyPotsdam‐GolmGermany
| | - Johannes.F. Buyel
- Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology IMEAachenGermany
- Institute for Molecular BiotechnologyRWTH Aachen UniversityAachenGermany
| | - Nicolau B. da Cunha
- Centro de Análise Proteômicas e Bioquímicas de BrasíliaUniversidade Católica de BrasíliaBrasíliaBrazil
| | - Henry Daniell
- School of Dental MedicineUniversity of PennsylvaniaPhiladelphiaPAUSA
| | - Roland Faller
- Department of Chemical EngineeringUniversity of California, DavisDavisCAUSA
| | - André Folgado
- Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica António XavierUniversidade Nova de LisboaOeirasPortugal
| | - Iyappan Gowtham
- Plant Genetic Engineering LaboratoryDepartment of BiotechnologyBharathiar UniversityCoimbatoreIndia
| | - Suvi T. Häkkinen
- Industrial Biotechnology and Food SolutionsVTT Technical Research Centre of Finland LtdEspooFinland
| | - Shashi Kumar
- International Centre for Genetic Engineering and BiotechnologyNew DelhiIndia
| | - Sathish Kumar Ramalingam
- Plant Genetic Engineering LaboratoryDepartment of BiotechnologyBharathiar UniversityCoimbatoreIndia
| | - Cristiano Lacorte
- Brazilian Agriculture Research CorporationEmbrapa Genetic Resources and Biotechnology and National Institute of Science and Technology Synthetic in BiologyParque Estação BiológicaBrasiliaBrazil
| | | | - Ines M. Luís
- Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica António XavierUniversidade Nova de LisboaOeirasPortugal
| | - Julian K.‐C. Ma
- Institute for Infection and ImmunitySt. George’s University of LondonLondonUK
| | - Karen. A. McDonald
- Department of Chemical EngineeringUniversity of California, DavisDavisCAUSA
- Global HealthShare InitiativeUniversity of California, DavisDavisCAUSA
| | - Andre Murad
- Brazilian Agriculture Research CorporationEmbrapa Genetic Resources and Biotechnology and National Institute of Science and Technology Synthetic in BiologyParque Estação BiológicaBrasiliaBrazil
| | - Somen Nandi
- Department of Chemical EngineeringUniversity of California, DavisDavisCAUSA
- Global HealthShare InitiativeUniversity of California, DavisDavisCAUSA
| | - Barry O’Keefe
- Molecular Targets ProgramCenter for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, and Natural Products BranchDevelopmental Therapeutics ProgramDivision of Cancer Treatment and DiagnosisNational Cancer Institute, NIHFrederickMDUSA
| | | | - Subramanian Parthiban
- Plant Genetic Engineering LaboratoryDepartment of BiotechnologyBharathiar UniversityCoimbatoreIndia
| | - Mathew J. Paul
- Institute for Infection and ImmunitySt. George’s University of LondonLondonUK
| | - Daniel Ponndorf
- Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica António XavierUniversidade Nova de LisboaOeirasPortugal
- Department of Biological ChemistryJohn Innes CentreNorwichUK
| | - Elibio Rech
- Brazilian Agriculture Research CorporationEmbrapa Genetic Resources and Biotechnology and National Institute of Science and Technology Synthetic in BiologyParque Estação BiológicaBrasiliaBrazil
| | - Julio C. M. Rodrigues
- Brazilian Agriculture Research CorporationEmbrapa Genetic Resources and Biotechnology and National Institute of Science and Technology Synthetic in BiologyParque Estação BiológicaBrasiliaBrazil
| | - Stephanie Ruf
- Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant PhysiologyPotsdam‐GolmGermany
| | - Stefan Schillberg
- Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology IMEAachenGermany
- Institute for PhytopathologyJustus‐Liebig‐University GiessenGiessenGermany
| | - Jennifer Schwestka
- Institute of Plant Biotechnology and Cell BiologyUniversity of Natural Resources and Life SciencesViennaAustria
| | - Priya S. Shah
- Department of Chemical EngineeringUniversity of California, DavisDavisCAUSA
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular GeneticsUniversity of California, DavisDavisCAUSA
| | - Rahul Singh
- School of Dental MedicineUniversity of PennsylvaniaPhiladelphiaPAUSA
| | - Eva Stoger
- Institute of Plant Biotechnology and Cell BiologyUniversity of Natural Resources and Life SciencesViennaAustria
| | | | - Inchakalody P. Varghese
- Plant Genetic Engineering LaboratoryDepartment of BiotechnologyBharathiar UniversityCoimbatoreIndia
| | - Giovanni R. Vianna
- Brazilian Agriculture Research CorporationEmbrapa Genetic Resources and Biotechnology and National Institute of Science and Technology Synthetic in BiologyParque Estação BiológicaBrasiliaBrazil
| | - Gina Webster
- Institute for Infection and ImmunitySt. George’s University of LondonLondonUK
| | - Ruud H. P. Wilbers
- Laboratory of NematologyPlant Sciences GroupWageningen University and ResearchWageningenThe Netherlands
| | - Teresa Capell
- Department of Crop and Forest SciencesUniversity of Lleida‐Agrotecnio CERCA CenterLleidaSpain
| | - Paul Christou
- Department of Crop and Forest SciencesUniversity of Lleida‐Agrotecnio CERCA CenterLleidaSpain
- ICREACatalan Institute for Research and Advanced StudiesBarcelonaSpain
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Opdensteinen P, Lobanov A, Buyel JF. A combined pH and temperature precipitation step facilitates the purification of tobacco-derived recombinant proteins that are sensitive to extremes of either parameter. Biotechnol J 2021; 16:e2000340. [PMID: 33247609 DOI: 10.1002/biot.202000340] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2020] [Revised: 11/03/2020] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Incubation at pH 4.0 or blanching at ∼65°C facilitates the purification of biopharmaceutical proteins from plants by precipitating most of the host cell proteins (HCPs) before chromatography. However, both methods are compatible only with pH or thermostable target proteins whereas many target proteins may irreversibly denature, e.g., at pH < 4.0. Here, we developed a combined pH/temperature treatment for clarified tobacco extracts and intact leaves. The latter were subjected to a blanching procedure, i.e., the submersion into a hot buffer. Using a design of experiments approach we identified conditions that remove ∼70% of HCPs at ∼55°C, using the thermosensitive antibody 2G12 and the pH-sensitive DsRed as model proteins. We found that pH and temperature exerted a combined effect during the precipitation of HCPs in the pH range 5.0-7.0 at 35°C-60°C. For clarified extracts, the temperature required to achieve a DsRed purity threshold of 20% total soluble protein (TSP) increased from 54°C to 63°C when the pH was increased from 6.4 to 7.3. The pH-stable antibody 2G12 was less responsive to the combined treatment, but the purity of 1% TSP was achieved at 35°C instead of 44°C when the pH was reduced from 6.3 to 5.8. When blanching intact leaves, product losses were not exacerbated at pH 4.0. Indeed, the highest DsRed purity (58% TSP) was achieved at this pH, combined with a temperature of 60°C and an incubation time of 30 min. In contrast, the highest 2G12 purity (0.7% TSP) was achieved at pH 5.1 and 40°C with an incubation time of 20 min. Our data suggest that a combined pH/temperature regime can avoid extreme values of either parameter; therefore, broadening the applicability of these simple purification techniques to other recombinant proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Aleksandr Lobanov
- Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology IME, Aachen, Germany
| | - Johannes Felix Buyel
- Institute for Molecular Biotechnology, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
- Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology IME, Aachen, Germany
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6
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Yu XL, Ju HY, Mujumdar AS, Zheng ZA, Wang J, Deng LZ, Gao ZJ, Xiao HW. Experimental and simulation studies of heat transfer in high-humidity hot air impingement blanching (HHAIB) of carrot. FOOD AND BIOPRODUCTS PROCESSING 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.fbp.2019.01.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
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Buyel JF. Plant Molecular Farming - Integration and Exploitation of Side Streams to Achieve Sustainable Biomanufacturing. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2019; 9:1893. [PMID: 30713542 PMCID: PMC6345721 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2018.01893] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2018] [Accepted: 12/06/2018] [Indexed: 05/22/2023]
Abstract
Plants have unique advantages over other systems such as mammalian cells for the production of valuable small molecules and proteins. The benefits cited most often include safety due to the absence of replicating human pathogens, simplicity because sterility is not required during production, scalability due to the potential for open-field cultivation with transgenic plants, and the speed of transient expression potentially providing gram quantities of product in less than 4 weeks. Initially there were also significant drawbacks, such as the need to clarify feed streams with a high particle burden and the large quantities of host cell proteins, but efficient clarification is now readily achieved. Several additional advantages have also emerged reflecting the fact that plants are essentially biodegradable, single-use bioreactors. This article will focus on the exploitation of this concept for the production of biopharmaceutical proteins, thus improving overall process economics. Specifically, we will discuss the single-use properties of plants, the sustainability of the production platform, and the commercial potential of different biomass side streams. We find that incorporating these side streams through rational process integration has the potential to more than double the revenue that can currently be achieved using plant-based production systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Johannes F. Buyel
- Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology IME, Aachen, Germany
- Institute for Molecular Biotechnology, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
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8
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Gengenbach BB, Müschen CR, Buyel JF. Expression and purification of human phosphatase and actin regulator 1 (PHACTR1) in plant-based systems. Protein Expr Purif 2018; 151:46-55. [PMID: 29894805 DOI: 10.1016/j.pep.2018.06.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2017] [Revised: 05/31/2018] [Accepted: 06/07/2018] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Cardiovascular diseases are a prevalent cause of morbidity and mortality especially in industrialized countries. The human phosphatase and actin regulator 1 (PHACTR1) may be involved in such diseases, but its precise regulatory function remains unclear due to the large number of potential interaction partners. The same phenomenon makes this protein difficult to express in mammalian cells, but it is also an intrinsically disordered protein that likely aggregates when expressed in bacteria due to the absence of chaperones. We therefore used a design of experiments approach to test the suitability of three plant-based systems for the expression of satisfactory quantities of recombinant PHACTR1, namely transient expression in tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) BY-2 plant cell packs (PCPs), whole N. benthamiana leaves and BY-2 cell lysate (BYL). The highest yield was achieved using the BYL: up to 120 mg product kg-1 biomass equivalent within 48 h of translation. This was 1.3-fold higher than transient expression in N. benthamiana together with the silencing inhibitor p19, and 6-fold higher than the PCP system. The presence of Triton X-100 in the extraction buffer increased the recovery of PHACTR1 by 2-200-fold depending on the conditions. PHACTR1 was incompatible with biomass blanching and was stable for less than 16 h in raw plant extracts. Purification using a DDK-tag proved inefficient whereas 15% purity was achieved by immobilized metal affinity chromatography.
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Affiliation(s)
- B B Gengenbach
- Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology IME, Forckenbeckstraße 6, 52074, Aachen, Germany.
| | - C R Müschen
- Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology IME, Forckenbeckstraße 6, 52074, Aachen, Germany.
| | - J F Buyel
- Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology IME, Forckenbeckstraße 6, 52074, Aachen, Germany; Institute for Molecular Biotechnology, Worringerweg 1, RWTH Aachen University, 52074, Aachen, Germany.
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9
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Plants as sources of natural and recombinant anti-cancer agents. Biotechnol Adv 2018; 36:506-520. [DOI: 10.1016/j.biotechadv.2018.02.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 89] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2017] [Revised: 01/23/2018] [Accepted: 02/01/2018] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
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10
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Menzel S, Holland T, Boes A, Spiegel H, Bolzenius J, Fischer R, Buyel JF. Optimized Blanching Reduces the Host Cell Protein Content and Substantially Enhances the Recovery and Stability of Two Plant-Derived Malaria Vaccine Candidates. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2016; 7:159. [PMID: 26925077 PMCID: PMC4756251 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2016.00159] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2015] [Accepted: 01/30/2016] [Indexed: 05/19/2023]
Abstract
Plants provide an advantageous expression platform for biopharmaceutical proteins because of their low pathogen burden and potential for inexpensive, large-scale production. However, the purification of target proteins can be challenging due to issues with extraction, the removal of host cell proteins (HCPs), and low expression levels. The heat treatment of crude extracts can reduce the quantity of HCPs by precipitation thus increasing the purity of the target protein and streamlining downstream purification. In the overall context of downstream process (DSP) development for plant-derived malaria vaccine candidates, we applied a design-of-experiments approach to enhance HCP precipitation from Nicotiana benthamiana extracts generated after transient expression, using temperatures in the 20-80°C range, pH values of 3.0-8.0 and incubation times of 0-60 min. We also investigated the recovery of two protein-based malaria vaccine candidates under these conditions and determined their stability in the heat-treated extract while it was maintained at room temperature for 24 h. The heat precipitation of HCPs was also carried out by blanching intact plants in water or buffer prior to extraction in a blender. Our data show that all the heat precipitation methods reduced the amount of HCP in the crude plant extracts by more than 80%, simplifying the subsequent DSP steps. Furthermore, when the heat treatment was performed at 80°C rather than 65°C, both malaria vaccine candidates were more stable after extraction and the recovery of both proteins increased by more than 30%.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephan Menzel
- Integrated Production Platforms, Fraunhofer-Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology IMEAachen, Germany
| | - Tanja Holland
- Integrated Production Platforms, Fraunhofer-Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology IMEAachen, Germany
| | - Alexander Boes
- Plant Biotechnology, Fraunhofer-Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology IMEAachen, Germany
| | - Holger Spiegel
- Plant Biotechnology, Fraunhofer-Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology IMEAachen, Germany
| | - Johanna Bolzenius
- Institute for Molecular Biotechnology, RWTH Aachen UniversityAachen, Germany
| | - Rainer Fischer
- Integrated Production Platforms, Fraunhofer-Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology IMEAachen, Germany
- Plant Biotechnology, Fraunhofer-Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology IMEAachen, Germany
- Institute for Molecular Biotechnology, RWTH Aachen UniversityAachen, Germany
| | - Johannes F. Buyel
- Integrated Production Platforms, Fraunhofer-Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology IMEAachen, Germany
- Institute for Molecular Biotechnology, RWTH Aachen UniversityAachen, Germany
- *Correspondence: Johannes F. Buyel,
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