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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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Zhang X, Wang Y, Yi D, Zhang C, Ning B, Fu Y, Jia Y, Wang T, Wang X. Synergistic promotion of transient transgene expression in CHO cells by PDI/XBP-1s co-transfection and mild hypothermia. Bioprocess Biosyst Eng 2024; 47:557-565. [PMID: 38416261 DOI: 10.1007/s00449-024-02987-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2023] [Accepted: 02/16/2024] [Indexed: 02/29/2024]
Abstract
Transient gene expression system is an important tool for rapid production of recombinant proteins in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells. However, their low productivity is the main hurdle to overcome. An effective approach through which to obtain high protein yield involves targeting transcriptional, post-transcriptional events (PTEs), and culture conditions. Here, we investigated the effects of protein disulfide isomerase (PDI) and spliced X-box binding protein 1 (XBP-1s) co-overexpression combined with mild hypothermia on the transient yields of recombinant proteins in CHO cells. The results showed that the gene of interest (GOI) and the PDI/XBP-1s helper vector at a co-transfection ratio of 10:1 could obviously increase transient expression level of recombinant protein in CHO cells. However, PDI/XBP-1s overexpression had no significance effect on the mRNA levels of the recombinant protein, suggesting that it targeted PTEs. Moreover, the increased production was due to the enhancing of cell specific productivity, not related to cell growth, viability, and cell cycle. In addition, combined PDI/XBP-1s co-overexpression and mild hypothermia could further improve Adalimumab expression, compared to the control/37 °C and PDI/XBP-1s/37 °C, the Adalimumab volume yield of PDI/XBP-1s/33 °C increased by 203% and 142%, respectively. Mild hypothermia resulted in 3.52- and 2.33-fold increase in the relative mRNA levels of PDI and XBP-1s, respectively. In conclusion, the combination of PDI/XBP-1s overexpression and culture temperature optimization can achieve higher transient expression of recombinant protein, which provides a synergetic strategy to improve transient production of recombinant protein in CHO cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xi Zhang
- School of Pharmacy, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, 453003, China
| | - Yaokun Wang
- The School of Medical Humanities, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, 453003, China
| | - Dandan Yi
- School of Basic Medical Sciences, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, 453003, China
| | - Chi Zhang
- School of Basic Medical Sciences, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, 453003, China
| | - Binhuan Ning
- School of Pharmacy, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, 453003, China
| | - Yushun Fu
- School of Basic Medical Sciences, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, 453003, China
| | - Yanlong Jia
- School of Pharmacy, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, 453003, China
| | - Tianyun Wang
- School of Basic Medical Sciences, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, 453003, China.
- International Joint Research Laboratory for Recombinant Pharmaceutical Protein Expression System of Henan, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, 453003, China.
| | - Xiaoyin Wang
- School of Basic Medical Sciences, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, 453003, China.
- International Joint Research Laboratory for Recombinant Pharmaceutical Protein Expression System of Henan, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, 453003, China.
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3
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Cui ZM, Feng YY, Gao YP, Wang HT, Lu JT, Guo JL, Xu HY, Qiu LL, Wang TY, Jia YL. Overexpression of YTHDF3 increases the specific productivity of the recombinant protein in CHO cells by promoting the translation process. Biotechnol J 2024; 19:e2400078. [PMID: 38651251 DOI: 10.1002/biot.202400078] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2024] [Revised: 03/22/2024] [Accepted: 04/04/2024] [Indexed: 04/25/2024]
Abstract
Due to their high-quality characteristics, Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells have become the most widely used and reliable host cells for the production of recombinant therapeutic proteins in the biomedical field. Previous studies have shown that the m6A reader YTHDF3, which contains the YTH domain, can affect a variety of biological processes by regulating the translation and stability of target mRNAs. This study investigates the effect of YTHDF3 on transgenic CHO cells. The results indicate that stable overexpression of YTHDF3 significantly enhances recombinant protein expression without affecting host cell growth. Transcriptome sequencing indicated that several genes, including translation initiation factor, translation extension factor, and ribosome assembly factor, were upregulated in CHO cells overexpressing YTHDF3. In addition, cycloheximide experiments confirmed that YTHDF3 enhanced transgene expression by promoting translation in CHO cells. In conclusion, the findings in this study provide a novel approach for mammalian cell engineering to increase protein productivity by regulating m6A.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhao-Ming Cui
- School of Pharmacy, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, Henan, China
- International Joint Research Laboratory for Recombinant Pharmaceutical Protein Expression System of Henan, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, Henan, China
- Henan Engineering Research Center for Biopharmaceutical Innovation, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, Henan, China
| | - Ying-Ying Feng
- The Second Affiliated Hospital of Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, Henan, China
| | - Yan-Ping Gao
- School of Pharmacy, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, Henan, China
- International Joint Research Laboratory for Recombinant Pharmaceutical Protein Expression System of Henan, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, Henan, China
- Henan Engineering Research Center for Biopharmaceutical Innovation, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, Henan, China
| | - Hai-Tong Wang
- School of Pharmacy, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, Henan, China
- International Joint Research Laboratory for Recombinant Pharmaceutical Protein Expression System of Henan, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, Henan, China
- Henan Engineering Research Center for Biopharmaceutical Innovation, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, Henan, China
| | - Jiang-Tao Lu
- School of Pharmacy, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, Henan, China
- International Joint Research Laboratory for Recombinant Pharmaceutical Protein Expression System of Henan, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, Henan, China
- Henan Engineering Research Center for Biopharmaceutical Innovation, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, Henan, China
- State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology, Nankai University, Tianjin, China
| | - Jia-Liang Guo
- School of Pharmacy, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, Henan, China
- International Joint Research Laboratory for Recombinant Pharmaceutical Protein Expression System of Henan, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, Henan, China
- Henan Engineering Research Center for Biopharmaceutical Innovation, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, Henan, China
| | - Hong-Yan Xu
- School of Pharmacy, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, Henan, China
| | - Le-le Qiu
- School of Basic Medicine, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, Henan, China
| | - Tian-Yun Wang
- International Joint Research Laboratory for Recombinant Pharmaceutical Protein Expression System of Henan, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, Henan, China
- Henan Engineering Research Center for Biopharmaceutical Innovation, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, Henan, China
- School of Basic Medicine, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, Henan, China
| | - Yan-Long Jia
- School of Pharmacy, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, Henan, China
- International Joint Research Laboratory for Recombinant Pharmaceutical Protein Expression System of Henan, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, Henan, China
- Henan Engineering Research Center for Biopharmaceutical Innovation, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, Henan, China
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4
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Torres M, Mcconnaughie D, Akhtar S, Gaffney CE, Fievet B, Ingham C, Stockdale M, Dickson AJ. Engineering mammalian cell growth dynamics for biomanufacturing. Metab Eng 2024; 82:89-99. [PMID: 38325641 DOI: 10.1016/j.ymben.2024.01.006] [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: 12/04/2023] [Revised: 01/17/2024] [Accepted: 01/23/2024] [Indexed: 02/09/2024]
Abstract
Precise control over mammalian cell growth dynamics poses a major challenge in biopharmaceutical manufacturing. Here, we present a multi-level cell engineering strategy for the tunable regulation of growth phases in mammalian cells. Initially, we engineered mammalian death phase by employing CRISPR/Cas9 to knockout pro-apoptotic proteins Bax and Bak, resulting in a substantial attenuation of apoptosis by improving cell viability and extending culture lifespan. The second phase introduced a growth acceleration system, akin to a "gas pedal", based on an abscidic acid inducible system regulating cMYC gene expression, enabling rapid cell density increase and cell cycle control. The third phase focused on a stationary phase inducing system, comparable to a "brake pedal". A tetracycline inducible genetic circuit based on BLIMP1 gene led to cell growth cessation and arrested cell cycle upon activation. Finally, we developed a dual controllable system, combining the "gas and brake pedals", enabling for dynamic and precise orchestration of mammalian cell growth dynamics. This work exemplifies the application of synthetic biology tools and combinatorial cell engineering, offering a sophisticated framework for manipulating mammalian cell growth and providing a unique paradigm for reprogramming cell behaviour for enhancing biopharmaceutical manufacturing and further biomedical applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mauro Torres
- Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK; Department of Chemical Engineering, Biochemical and Bioprocess Engineering Group, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK.
| | - Dewi Mcconnaughie
- Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK; Department of Chemical Engineering, Biochemical and Bioprocess Engineering Group, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
| | - Samia Akhtar
- Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK; Department of Chemical Engineering, Biochemical and Bioprocess Engineering Group, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
| | - Claire E Gaffney
- Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK; Department of Chemical Engineering, Biochemical and Bioprocess Engineering Group, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
| | - Bruno Fievet
- Horizon Discovery (Revvity), 8100 Cambridge Research Park, Waterbeach, Cambridge, CB25 9TL, UK
| | - Catherine Ingham
- Horizon Discovery (Revvity), 8100 Cambridge Research Park, Waterbeach, Cambridge, CB25 9TL, UK
| | - Mark Stockdale
- Horizon Discovery (Revvity), 8100 Cambridge Research Park, Waterbeach, Cambridge, CB25 9TL, UK
| | - Alan J Dickson
- Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK; Department of Chemical Engineering, Biochemical and Bioprocess Engineering Group, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK.
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5
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Torres M, Betts Z, Scholey R, Elvin M, Place S, Hayes A, Dickson AJ. Long term culture promotes changes to growth, gene expression, and metabolism in CHO cells that are independent of production stability. Biotechnol Bioeng 2023; 120:2389-2402. [PMID: 37060548 DOI: 10.1002/bit.28399] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2022] [Revised: 03/28/2023] [Accepted: 04/01/2023] [Indexed: 04/16/2023]
Abstract
Phenotypic stability of Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells over long term culture (LTC) presents one of the most pressing challenges in the development of therapeutic protein manufacturing processess. However, our current understanding of the consequences of LTC on recombinant (r-) CHO cell lines is still limited, particularly as clonally-derived cell lines present distinct production stability phenotypes. This study evaluated changes of culture performance, global gene expression, and cell metabolism of two clonally-derived CHO cell lines with a stable or unstable phenotype during the LTC (early [EP] vs. late [LP] culture passages). Our findings indicated that LTC altered the behavior of CHO cells in culture, in terms of growth, overall gene expression, and cell metabolism. Regardless whether cells were categorized as stable or unstable in terms of r-protein production, CHO cells at LP presented an earlier decline in cell viability and loss of any observable stationary phase. These changes were parallelled by the upregulation of genes involved in cell proliferation and survival pathways (i.e., MAPK/ERK, PI3K-Akt). Stable and unstable CHO cell lines both showed increased consumption of glucose and amino acids at LP, with a parallel accumulation of greater amounts of lactate and TCA cycle intermediates. In terms of production stability, we found that decreased r-protein production in the unstable cell line directly correlated to the loss in r-gene copy number and r-mRNA expression. Our data revealed that LTC produced ubiquitious effects on CHO cell phenotypes, changes that were rooted in alterations in cell transcriptome and metabolome. Overall, we found that CHO cells adapted their cellular function to proliferation and survival during the LTC, some of these changes may well have limited effects on overall yield or specific productivity of the desired r-product, but they may be critical toward the capacity of cells to handle r-proteins with specific molecular features.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mauro Torres
- Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Biochemical and Bioprocess Engineering Group, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
| | - Zeynep Betts
- Department of Biology, Kocaeli University, İzmit, Turkey
| | - Rachel Scholey
- Bioinformatics Core Facility, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
| | - Mark Elvin
- Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Biochemical and Bioprocess Engineering Group, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
| | - Svetlana Place
- Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Biochemical and Bioprocess Engineering Group, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
| | - Andrew Hayes
- Genomic Technologies Core Facility, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
| | - Alan J Dickson
- Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Biochemical and Bioprocess Engineering Group, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
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Li Q, Wang W, Wu S, Li J, Dong M, Wang L, Song L. CgBlimp-1 inhibits granulocytes proliferation and interleukin production in the immune response of oyster Crassostrea gigas. DEVELOPMENTAL AND COMPARATIVE IMMUNOLOGY 2023; 142:104652. [PMID: 36736934 DOI: 10.1016/j.dci.2023.104652] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2022] [Revised: 01/27/2023] [Accepted: 01/30/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
B lymphocyte-inducible maturation protein 1 (Blimp-1) is a SET domain and zinc fingers containing transcriptional repressor, which is necessary for regulating the development of many immune cell lineages and keeping immune homeostasis. In the present study, a Blimp-1 homologue (designated as CgBlimp-1) was identified from oyster Crassostrea gigas, which contained a conserved SET domain and five ZnF_C2H2 domains and shared high homology with Blimp-1 from other species. The mRNA transcripts of CgBlimp-1 were highly expressed in gill and hepatopancreas. CgBlimp-1 protein was detected to be specifically expressed in granulocytes. After V. splendidus stimulation, the mRNA expression level of CgBlimp-1 in haemocytes up-regulated significantly at 24, 48, and 96 h, which was 4.39-fold (p < 0.05), 7.68-fold (p < 0.01) and 2.65-fold (p < 0.05) of that in control group, respectively. When the expression of CgBlimp-1 was knocked-down in vivo by RNAi, the mRNA expressions of downstream transcription factor CgMyc-A (1.63-fold of that in control group, p < 0.05) and cell cycle related gene CgCDK2 (1.70-fold, p < 0.05) increased significantly at 24 h after V. splendidus stimulation. Concomitantly, the ratio of EdU+ haemocytes increased notably (p < 0.01) while the proportion of haemocytes in G0/G1 phase decreased dramatically (p < 0.001), compared to that in control group. More specifically, the proportion of granulocytes in total haemocytes increased apparently (p < 0.05) in CgBlimp-1-RNAi oysters, together with up-regulation (p < 0.05) of the ratio of EdU+ granulocytes and down-regulation (p < 0.001) of the proportion of granulocytes in G0/G1 phase. Furthermore, the mRNA expression levels of CgIL17-1, CgIL17-2 and CgIL17-4 in haemocytes increased significantly in CgBlimp-1-RNAi oysters, which was 1.71-fold (p < 0.05), 144.70-fold (p < 0.01) and 1.93-fold (p < 0.05) of that in control group, respectively. Aforementioned results suggested that CgBlimp-1 could reduce the proliferation of granulocytes by arresting cell cycle in G1/G0 phase and avoid over-expression of interleukin to maintain homeostasis in the immune response of oyster.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qing Li
- Liaoning Key Laboratory of Marine Animal Immunology and Disease Control, Dalian Ocean University, Dalian, 116023, China; Liaoning Key Laboratory of Marine Animal Immunology, Dalian Ocean University, Dalian, 116023, China; Dalian Key Laboratory of Aquatic Animal Disease Prevention and Control, Dalian Ocean University, Dalian, 116023, China
| | - Weilin Wang
- Liaoning Key Laboratory of Marine Animal Immunology and Disease Control, Dalian Ocean University, Dalian, 116023, China; Liaoning Key Laboratory of Marine Animal Immunology, Dalian Ocean University, Dalian, 116023, China; Dalian Key Laboratory of Aquatic Animal Disease Prevention and Control, Dalian Ocean University, Dalian, 116023, China.
| | - Shasha Wu
- Liaoning Key Laboratory of Marine Animal Immunology and Disease Control, Dalian Ocean University, Dalian, 116023, China; Liaoning Key Laboratory of Marine Animal Immunology, Dalian Ocean University, Dalian, 116023, China; Dalian Key Laboratory of Aquatic Animal Disease Prevention and Control, Dalian Ocean University, Dalian, 116023, China
| | - Jialuo Li
- Liaoning Key Laboratory of Marine Animal Immunology and Disease Control, Dalian Ocean University, Dalian, 116023, China; Liaoning Key Laboratory of Marine Animal Immunology, Dalian Ocean University, Dalian, 116023, China; Dalian Key Laboratory of Aquatic Animal Disease Prevention and Control, Dalian Ocean University, Dalian, 116023, China
| | - Miren Dong
- Liaoning Key Laboratory of Marine Animal Immunology and Disease Control, Dalian Ocean University, Dalian, 116023, China; Liaoning Key Laboratory of Marine Animal Immunology, Dalian Ocean University, Dalian, 116023, China; Dalian Key Laboratory of Aquatic Animal Disease Prevention and Control, Dalian Ocean University, Dalian, 116023, China
| | - Lingling Wang
- Liaoning Key Laboratory of Marine Animal Immunology and Disease Control, Dalian Ocean University, Dalian, 116023, China; Liaoning Key Laboratory of Marine Animal Immunology, Dalian Ocean University, Dalian, 116023, China; Dalian Key Laboratory of Aquatic Animal Disease Prevention and Control, Dalian Ocean University, Dalian, 116023, China.
| | - Linsheng Song
- Liaoning Key Laboratory of Marine Animal Immunology and Disease Control, Dalian Ocean University, Dalian, 116023, China; Functional Laboratory of Marine Fisheries Science and Food Production Process, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao, 266235, China; Liaoning Key Laboratory of Marine Animal Immunology, Dalian Ocean University, Dalian, 116023, China; Dalian Key Laboratory of Aquatic Animal Disease Prevention and Control, Dalian Ocean University, Dalian, 116023, China
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Enhanced recombinant protein production in CHO cell continuous cultures under growth-inhibiting conditions is associated with an arrested cell cycle in G1/G0 phase. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0277620. [PMCID: PMC9662745 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0277620] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2022] [Accepted: 10/31/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Low temperature and sodium butyrate (NaBu) are two of the most used productivity-enhancing strategies in CHO cell cultures during biopharmaceutical manufacturing. While these two approaches alter the balance in the reciprocal relationship between cell growth and productivity, we do not fully understand their mechanisms of action beyond a gross cell growth inhibition. Here, we used continuous culture to evaluate the differential effect of low temperature and NaBu supplementation on CHO cell performance and gene expression profile. We found that an increase in cell-productivity under growth-inhibiting conditions was associated with the arrest of cells in the G1/G0 phase. A transcriptome analysis revealed that the molecular mechanisms by which low temperature and NaBu arrested cell cycle in G1/G0 differed from each other through the deregulation of different cell cycle checkpoints and regulators. The individual transcriptome changes in pattern observed in response to low temperature and NaBu were retained when these two strategies were combined, leading to an additive effect in arresting the cell cycle in G1/G0 phase. The findings presented here offer novel molecular insights about the cell cycle regulation during the CHO cell bioprocessing and its implications for increased recombinant protein production. This data provides a background for engineering productivity-enhanced CHO cell lines for continuous manufacturing.
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8
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Torres M, Hussain H, Dickson AJ. The secretory pathway - the key for unlocking the potential of Chinese hamster ovary cell factories for manufacturing therapeutic proteins. Crit Rev Biotechnol 2022; 43:628-645. [PMID: 35465810 DOI: 10.1080/07388551.2022.2047004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
Mammalian cell factories (in particular the CHO cell system) have been crucial in the rise of biopharmaceuticals. Mammalian cells have compartmentalized organelles where intricate networks of proteins manufacture highly sophisticated biopharmaceuticals in a specialized production pipeline - the secretory pathway. In the bioproduction context, the secretory pathway functioning is key for the effectiveness of cell factories to manufacture these life-changing medicines. This review describes the molecular components and events involved in the secretory pathway, and provides a comprehensive summary of the intracellular steps limiting the production of therapeutic proteins as well as the achievements in engineering CHO cell secretory machinery. We also consider antibody-producing plasma cells (so called "professional" secretory cells) to explore the mechanisms underpinning their unique secretory function/features. Such understandings offer the potential to further enhancement of the current CHO cell production platforms for manufacturing next generation of biopharmaceuticals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mauro Torres
- Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK.,Department of Chemical Engineering and Analytical Science, Biochemical and Bioprocess Engineering Group, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
| | - Hirra Hussain
- Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK.,Department of Chemical Engineering and Analytical Science, Biochemical and Bioprocess Engineering Group, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
| | - Alan J Dickson
- Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK.,Department of Chemical Engineering and Analytical Science, Biochemical and Bioprocess Engineering Group, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
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9
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Malm M, Kuo CC, Barzadd MM, Mebrahtu A, Wistbacka N, Razavi R, Volk AL, Lundqvist M, Kotol D, Tegel H, Hober S, Edfors F, Gräslund T, Chotteau V, Field R, Varley PG, Roth RG, Lewis NE, Hatton D, Rockberg J. Harnessing secretory pathway differences between HEK293 and CHO to rescue production of difficult to express proteins. Metab Eng 2022; 72:171-187. [PMID: 35301123 PMCID: PMC9189052 DOI: 10.1016/j.ymben.2022.03.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2021] [Revised: 02/09/2022] [Accepted: 03/10/2022] [Indexed: 10/31/2022]
Abstract
Biologics represent the fastest growing group of therapeutics, but many advanced recombinant protein moieties remain difficult to produce. Here, we identify metabolic engineering targets limiting expression of recombinant human proteins through a systems biology analysis of the transcriptomes of CHO and HEK293 during recombinant expression. In an expression comparison of 24 difficult to express proteins, one third of the challenging human proteins displayed improved secretion upon host cell swapping from CHO to HEK293. Guided by a comprehensive transcriptomics comparison between cell lines, especially highlighting differences in secretory pathway utilization, a co-expression screening of 21 secretory pathway components validated ATF4, SRP9, JUN, PDIA3 and HSPA8 as productivity boosters in CHO. Moreover, more heavily glycosylated products benefitted more from the elevated activities of the N- and O-glycosyltransferases found in HEK293. Collectively, our results demonstrate the utilization of HEK293 for expression rescue of human proteins and suggest a methodology for identification of secretory pathway components for metabolic engineering of HEK293 and CHO.
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Affiliation(s)
- Magdalena Malm
- Dept. of Protein Science, KTH - Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, SE-106 91, Sweden
| | - Chih-Chung Kuo
- Departments of Pediatrics and Bioengineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA; The Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability at the University of California, San Diego, CA, 92093, USA
| | - Mona Moradi Barzadd
- Dept. of Protein Science, KTH - Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, SE-106 91, Sweden
| | - Aman Mebrahtu
- Dept. of Protein Science, KTH - Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, SE-106 91, Sweden
| | - Num Wistbacka
- Dept. of Protein Science, KTH - Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, SE-106 91, Sweden
| | - Ronia Razavi
- Dept. of Protein Science, KTH - Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, SE-106 91, Sweden
| | - Anna-Luisa Volk
- Dept. of Protein Science, KTH - Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, SE-106 91, Sweden
| | - Magnus Lundqvist
- Dept. of Protein Science, KTH - Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, SE-106 91, Sweden
| | - David Kotol
- Science for Life Laboratory, KTH - Royal Institute of Technology, Solna, 171 65, Sweden
| | - Hanna Tegel
- Dept. of Protein Science, KTH - Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, SE-106 91, Sweden
| | - Sophia Hober
- Dept. of Protein Science, KTH - Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, SE-106 91, Sweden
| | - Fredrik Edfors
- Science for Life Laboratory, KTH - Royal Institute of Technology, Solna, 171 65, Sweden
| | - Torbjörn Gräslund
- Dept. of Protein Science, KTH - Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, SE-106 91, Sweden
| | - Veronique Chotteau
- Dept. of Industrial Biotechnology, KTH - Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, SE-10691, Sweden
| | - Ray Field
- Cell Culture and Fermentation Sciences, BioPharmaceutical Development, BioPharmaceuticals R&D, AstraZeneca, Cambridge, UK
| | - Paul G Varley
- Cell Culture and Fermentation Sciences, BioPharmaceutical Development, BioPharmaceuticals R&D, AstraZeneca, Cambridge, UK
| | - Robert G Roth
- Discovery Biology, Discovery Sciences, BioPharmaceuticals R&D, AstraZeneca, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Nathan E Lewis
- Departments of Pediatrics and Bioengineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA; The Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability at the University of California, San Diego, CA, 92093, USA.
| | - Diane Hatton
- Cell Culture and Fermentation Sciences, BioPharmaceutical Development, BioPharmaceuticals R&D, AstraZeneca, Cambridge, UK
| | - Johan Rockberg
- Dept. of Protein Science, KTH - Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, SE-106 91, Sweden.
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10
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Zhang JH, Shan LL, Liang F, Du CY, Li JJ. Strategies and Considerations for Improving Recombinant Antibody Production and Quality in Chinese Hamster Ovary Cells. Front Bioeng Biotechnol 2022; 10:856049. [PMID: 35316944 PMCID: PMC8934426 DOI: 10.3389/fbioe.2022.856049] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2022] [Accepted: 02/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Recombinant antibodies are rapidly developing therapeutic agents; approximately 40 novel antibody molecules enter clinical trials each year, most of which are produced from Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells. However, one of the major bottlenecks restricting the development of antibody drugs is how to perform high-level expression and production of recombinant antibodies. The high-efficiency expression and quality of recombinant antibodies in CHO cells is determined by multiple factors. This review provides a comprehensive overview of several state-of-the-art approaches, such as optimization of gene sequence of antibody, construction and optimization of high-efficiency expression vector, using antibody expression system, transformation of host cell lines, and glycosylation modification. Finally, the authors discuss the potential of large-scale production of recombinant antibodies and development of culture processes for biopharmaceutical manufacturing in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jun-He Zhang
- Institutes of Health Central Plains, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, China
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, China
- Henan International Joint Laboratory of Recombinant Pharmaceutical Protein Expression System, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, China
- *Correspondence: Jun-He Zhang,
| | - Lin-Lin Shan
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, China
| | - Fan Liang
- Institutes of Health Central Plains, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, China
| | - Chen-Yang Du
- Institutes of Health Central Plains, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, China
| | - Jing-Jing Li
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, China
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11
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Torres M, Dickson AJ. Reprogramming of Chinese hamster ovary cells towards enhanced protein secretion. Metab Eng 2021; 69:249-261. [PMID: 34929420 DOI: 10.1016/j.ymben.2021.12.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2021] [Revised: 10/25/2021] [Accepted: 12/14/2021] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
The deficient secretory phenotype of Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells is a major limitation for high-level production of biopharmaceuticals, particularly for those with complex molecular architectures and post-translational modifications. To improve CHO cell secretory capacity, we recently engineered CHO cell hosts to overexpress BLIMP1 (CHOB), in a cell engineering strategy that transformed the cellular machinery and led to significantly higher product yields and cell-specific productivities for different rproteins. Here, as a follow-up to our previous study, we developed new CHO cell hosts that co-overexpress BLIMP1 and XBP1s ( CHOBX ), two transcription factors that together drive the professional secretory function of antibody-producing plasma cells. We found that the CHOBX cells presented an improved performance over that of CHOB cells, with better product yields and cell-specific productivities for a recombinant IgG1 and a 'difficult-to-express' EPO-Fc fusion protein. These improvements in the CHOBX-derived cell lines resulted from a series of physiological and metabolic changes due to the synergetic co-expression of BLIMP1 and XBP1s. Firstly, cells presented an inhibited cell growth and arrested cell cycle in G1/G0 phase, features that were directly linked to BLIMP1 expression levels. Secondly, cells increased protein translation (both overall and recombinant protein), expanded the endoplasmic reticulum and improved their capacity to secrete protein more effectively. Lastly, cells showed a metabolic profile favouring energy production, with a pronounced lactate switch and increased consumption of amino acids. This study highlights the value of transcription factors for reprogramming CHO cells towards a desired phenotype, offering the potential to engineer cells with new functionalities for enhanced manufacturing of recombinant therapeutic proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mauro Torres
- Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK; Department of Chemical Engineering and Analytical Science, Biochemical and Bioprocess Engineering Group, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
| | - Alan J Dickson
- Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK; Department of Chemical Engineering and Analytical Science, Biochemical and Bioprocess Engineering Group, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK.
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12
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Torres M, Dickson AJ. Combined gene and environmental engineering offers a synergetic strategy to enhance r-protein production in Chinese hamster ovary cells. Biotechnol Bioeng 2021; 119:550-565. [PMID: 34821376 DOI: 10.1002/bit.28000] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2021] [Revised: 11/08/2021] [Accepted: 11/15/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Environmental growth-inhibition conditions (GICs) have been used extensively for increasing cell-specific productivity (qP ) of Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells, with the most common being temperature downshift and sodium butyrate (NaBu) treatment. B lymphocyte-induced maturation protein-1 (BLIMP1) overexpression in CHO cells can also inhibit cell growth and increase product titers and qP . Given the similar responses, this study evaluated the individual and combined effects of BLIMP1 expression, low temperature, and NaBu treatment on culture performance, cell metabolism, and recombinant protein production of CHO cells. As expected, all three interventions decreased cell growth, arrested cells in G1/G0 cell cycle phase, and increased qP . However, CHO cells presented different responses when considering cell viability, recombinant gene expression, and cell metabolism that indicated differences in the molecular loci by which BLIMP1 and GICs generated higher productivities. Combinations of BLIMP1 expression and GICs acted synergistically to inhibit cell growth and maximize r-protein production, with the BLIMP1/NaBu condition leading to the most significant improvements in product titers and qP . This latter condition also proved to substantially increase product yields (up to 9.8 g immunoglobulin G1 [IgG1]/L and 2.2 g erythropoietin-Fc [EPO-Fc]/L) and qP (up to 179 pg/cell/day [pcd] for IgG1 and 30 pcd for EPO-Fc) in high-density perfusion cultures. These findings offered mechanistic insights about the productivity-enhancing effects of BLIMP1 and GICs, as well as their complementarity for generating highly productive processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mauro Torres
- Faculty of Science and Engineering, Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK.,Department of Chemical Engineering and Analytical Science, Biochemical and Bioprocess Engineering Group, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
| | - Alan J Dickson
- Faculty of Science and Engineering, Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK.,Department of Chemical Engineering and Analytical Science, Biochemical and Bioprocess Engineering Group, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
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13
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Kim SH, Baek M, Park S, Shin S, Lee JS, Lee GM. Improving the secretory capacity of CHO producer cells: The effect of controlled Blimp1 expression, a master transcription factor for plasma cells. Metab Eng 2021; 69:73-86. [PMID: 34775077 DOI: 10.1016/j.ymben.2021.11.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2021] [Revised: 08/29/2021] [Accepted: 11/02/2021] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
With the advent of novel therapeutic proteins with complex structures, cellular bottlenecks in secretory pathways have hampered the high-yield production of difficult-to-express (DTE) proteins in CHO cells. To mitigate their limited secretory capacity, recombinant CHO (rCHO) cells were engineered to express Blimp1, a master regulator orchestrating B cell differentiation into professional secretory plasma cells, using the streamlined CRISPR/Cas9-based recombinase-mediated cassette exchange landing pad platform. The expression of Blimp1α or Blimp1β in rCHO cells producing DTE recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein-4 (rhBMP-4) increased specific rhBMP-4 productivity (qrhBMP-4). However, since Blimp1α expression suppressed cell growth more significantly than Blimp1β expression, only Blimp1β expression enhanced rhBMP-4 yield. In serum-free suspension culture, Blimp1β expression significantly increased the rhBMP-4 concentration (>3-fold) and qrhBMP-4 (>4-fold) without significant increase in hBMP-4 transcript levels. In addition, Blimp1β expression facilitated mature rhBMP-4 secretion by active proteolytic cleavage in the secretory pathway. Transcriptomic profiling (RNA-seq) revealed global changes in gene expression patterns that promote protein processing in secretory organelles. In-depth integrative analysis of the current RNA-seq data, public epigenome/RNA-seq data, and in silico analysis identified 45 potential key regulators of Blimp1 that are consistently up- or down-regulated in Blimp1β expressing rCHO cells and plasma cells. Blimp1β expression also enhanced the production of easy-to-express monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) and modulated the expression of key regulators in rCHO cells producing mAb. Taken together, the results show that controlled expression of Blimp1β improves the production capacity of rCHO cells by regulating secretory machinery and suggest new opportunities for engineering promising targets that are resting in CHO cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Su Hyun Kim
- Department of Biological Sciences, KAIST, Daejeon, 34141, Republic of Korea
| | - Minhye Baek
- Department of Biological Sciences, KAIST, Daejeon, 34141, Republic of Korea
| | - Sungje Park
- Department of Biological Sciences, KAIST, Daejeon, 34141, Republic of Korea
| | - Seunghyeon Shin
- Department of Biological Sciences, KAIST, Daejeon, 34141, Republic of Korea
| | - Jae Seong Lee
- Department of Molecular Science and Technology, Ajou University, Suwon, 16499, Republic of Korea.
| | - Gyun Min Lee
- Department of Biological Sciences, KAIST, Daejeon, 34141, Republic of Korea.
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