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Frigerio R, Marusic C, Villani ME, Lico C, Capodicasa C, Andreano E, Paciello I, Rappuoli R, Salzano AM, Scaloni A, Baschieri S, Donini M. Production of two SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies with different potencies in Nicotiana benthamiana. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2022; 13:956741. [PMID: 36131799 PMCID: PMC9484322 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2022.956741] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2022] [Accepted: 08/02/2022] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
Monoclonal antibodies are considered to be highly effective therapeutic tools for the treatment of mild to moderate COVID-19 patients. In the present work, we describe the production of two SARS-CoV-2 human IgG1 monoclonal antibodies recognizing the spike protein receptor-binding domain (RBD) and endowed with neutralizing activity (nAbs) in plants. The first one, mAbJ08-MUT, was previously isolated from a COVID-19 convalescent patient and Fc-engineered to prolong the half-life and reduce the risk of antibody-dependent enhancement. This nAb produced in mammalian cells, delivered in a single intramuscular administration during a Phase I clinical study, was shown to (i) be safe and effectively protect against major variants of concern, and (ii) have some neutralizing activity against the recently emerged omicron variant in a cytopathic-effect-based microneutralization assay (100% inhibitory concentration, IC100 of 15 μg/mL). The second antibody, mAb675, previously isolated from a vaccinated individual, showed an intermediate neutralization activity against SARS-CoV-2 variants. Different accumulation levels of mAbJ08-MUT and mAb675 were observed after transient agroinfiltration in Nicotiana benthamiana plants knocked-out for xylosil and fucosil transferases, leading to yields of ~35 and 150 mg/kg of fresh leaf mass, respectively. After purification, as a result of the proteolytic events affecting the hinge-CH2 region, a higher degradation of mAb675 was observed, compared to mAbJ08-MUT (~18% vs. ~1%, respectively). Both nAbs showed a human-like glycosylation profile, and were able to specifically bind to RBD and compete with angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 binding in vitro. SARS-CoV-2 neutralization assay against the original virus isolated in Wuhan demonstrated the high neutralization potency of the plant-produced mAbJ08-MUT, with levels (IC100 < 17 ng/mL) comparable to those of the cognate antibody produced in a Chinese hamster ovary cell line; conversely, mAb675 exhibited a medium neutralization potency (IC100 ~ 200 ng/mL). All these data confirm that plant expression platforms may represent a convenient and rapid production system of potent nAbs to be used both in therapy and diagnostics in pandemic emergencies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rachele Frigerio
- Laboratory of Biotechnology, ENEA Research Center Casaccia, Rome, Italy
| | - Carla Marusic
- Laboratory of Biotechnology, ENEA Research Center Casaccia, Rome, Italy
| | | | - Chiara Lico
- Laboratory of Biotechnology, ENEA Research Center Casaccia, Rome, Italy
| | | | - Emanuele Andreano
- Monoclonal Antibody Discovery (MAD) Lab, Fondazione Toscana Life Sciences, Siena, Italy
| | - Ida Paciello
- Monoclonal Antibody Discovery (MAD) Lab, Fondazione Toscana Life Sciences, Siena, Italy
| | - Rino Rappuoli
- Monoclonal Antibody Discovery (MAD) Lab, Fondazione Toscana Life Sciences, Siena, Italy
- Department of Biotechnology, Chemistry and Pharmacy, University of Siena, Siena, Italy
| | - Anna Maria Salzano
- Proteomics, Metabolomics and Mass Spectrometry Laboratory, ISPAAM, National Research Council, Portici, Italy
| | - Andrea Scaloni
- Proteomics, Metabolomics and Mass Spectrometry Laboratory, ISPAAM, National Research Council, Portici, Italy
| | - Selene Baschieri
- Laboratory of Biotechnology, ENEA Research Center Casaccia, Rome, Italy
| | - Marcello Donini
- Laboratory of Biotechnology, ENEA Research Center Casaccia, Rome, Italy
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2
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Multi-approach LC-MS methods for the characterization of species-specific attributes of monoclonal antibodies from plants. J Pharm Biomed Anal 2022; 216:114796. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jpba.2022.114796] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2021] [Revised: 04/17/2022] [Accepted: 04/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
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3
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Phakham T, Bulaon CJI, Khorattanakulchai N, Shanmugaraj B, Buranapraditkun S, Boonkrai C, Sooksai S, Hirankarn N, Abe Y, Strasser R, Rattanapisit K, Phoolcharoen W. Functional Characterization of Pembrolizumab Produced in Nicotiana benthamiana Using a Rapid Transient Expression System. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2021; 12:736299. [PMID: 34567049 PMCID: PMC8459022 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2021.736299] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2021] [Accepted: 08/18/2021] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
The striking innovation and clinical success of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have undoubtedly contributed to a breakthrough in cancer immunotherapy. Generally, ICIs produced in mammalian cells requires high investment, production costs, and involves time consuming procedures. Recently, the plants are considered as an emerging protein production platform due to its cost-effectiveness and rapidity for the production of recombinant biopharmaceuticals. This study explored the potential of plant-based system to produce an anti-human PD-1 monoclonal antibody (mAb), Pembrolizumab, in Nicotiana benthamiana. The transient expression of this mAb in wild-type N. benthamiana accumulated up to 344.12 ± 98.23 μg/g fresh leaf weight after 4 days of agroinfiltration. The physicochemical and functional characteristics of plant-produced Pembrolizumab were compared to mammalian cell-produced commercial Pembrolizumab (Keytruda®). Sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and western blot analysis results demonstrated that the plant-produced Pembrolizumab has the expected molecular weight and is comparable with the Keytruda®. Structural characterization also confirmed that both antibodies have no protein aggregation and similar secondary and tertiary structures. Furthermore, the plant-produced Pembrolizumab displayed no differences in its binding efficacy to PD-1 protein and inhibitory activity between programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) and programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) interaction with the Keytruda®. In vitro efficacy for T cell activation demonstrated that the plant-produced Pembrolizumab could induce IL-2 and IFN-γ production. Hence, this proof-of-concept study showed that the plant-production platform can be utilized for the rapid production of functional mAbs for immunotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tanapati Phakham
- Interdisciplinary Program of Biomedical Sciences, Graduate School, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand
- Center of Excellence in Systems Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand
| | - Christine Joy I. Bulaon
- Department of Pharmacognosy and Pharmaceutical Botany, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand
- Plant-Produced Pharmaceutical Research Unit, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand
| | - Narach Khorattanakulchai
- Department of Pharmacognosy and Pharmaceutical Botany, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand
- Plant-Produced Pharmaceutical Research Unit, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand
| | | | - Supranee Buranapraditkun
- Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Center of Excellence in Immunology and Immune-Mediated Diseases, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand
- Center of Excellence in Vaccine Research and Development (Chula Vaccine Research Center-Chula VRC), Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand
| | - Chatikorn Boonkrai
- Interdisciplinary Program of Biomedical Sciences, Graduate School, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand
- Center of Excellence in Systems Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand
| | - Sarintip Sooksai
- The Institute of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand
| | - Nattiya Hirankarn
- Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Center of Excellence in Immunology and Immune-Mediated Diseases, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand
| | - Yoshito Abe
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy at Fukuoka, International University of Health and Welfare, Okawa, Japan
| | - Richard Strasser
- Department of Applied Genetics and Cell Biology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria
| | | | - Waranyoo Phoolcharoen
- Department of Pharmacognosy and Pharmaceutical Botany, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand
- Plant-Produced Pharmaceutical Research Unit, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand
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4
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Abstract
Single chain variable fragments (scFvs) are generated by joining together the variable heavy and light chain of a monoclonal antibody (mAb) via a peptide linker. They offer some advantages over the parental mAb such as low molecular weight, heterologous production, multimeric form, and multivalency. The scFvs were produced against more than 50 antigens till date using 10 different plant species as the expression system. There were considerable improvements in the expression and purification strategies of scFv in the last 24 years. With the growing demand of scFv in therapeutic and diagnostic fields, its biosynthesis needs to be increased. The easiness in development, maintenance, and multiplication of transgenic plants make them an attractive expression platform for scFv production. The review intends to provide comprehensive information about the use of plant expression system to produce scFv. The developments, advantages, pitfalls, and possible prospects of improvement for the exploitation of plants in the industrial level are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Padikara Kutty Satheeshkumar
- Centre of Advanced Study in Botany, Institute of Science, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, UP, 221005, India.
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Rage E, Drissi Touzani C, Marusic C, Lico C, Göbel T, Bortolami A, Bonfante F, Salzano AM, Scaloni A, Fellahi S, El Houadfi M, Donini M, Baschieri S. Functional characterization of a plant-produced infectious bursal disease virus antigen fused to the constant region of avian IgY immunoglobulins. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 2019; 103:7491-7504. [PMID: 31332484 DOI: 10.1007/s00253-019-09992-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2019] [Revised: 06/13/2019] [Accepted: 06/16/2019] [Indexed: 01/16/2023]
Abstract
Infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV) is the cause of an economically important highly contagious disease of poultry, and vaccines are regarded as the most beneficial interventions for its prevention. In this study, plants were used to produce a recombinant chimeric IBDV antigen for the formulation of an innovative subunit vaccine. The fusion protein (PD-FcY) was designed to combine the immunodominant projection domain (PD) of the viral structural protein VP2 with the constant region of avian IgY (FcY), which was selected to enhance antigen uptake by avian immune cells. The gene construct encoding the fusion protein was transiently expressed in Nicotiana benthamiana plants and an extraction/purification protocol was set up, allowing to reduce the contamination by undesired plant compounds/proteins. Mass spectrometry analysis of the purified protein revealed that the glycosylation pattern of the FcY portion was similar to that observed in native IgY, while in vitro assays demonstrated the ability of PD-FcY to bind to the avian immunoglobulin receptor CHIR-AB1. Preliminary immunization studies proved that PD-FcY was able to induce the production of protective anti-IBDV-VP2 antibodies in chickens. In conclusion, the proposed fusion strategy holds promises for the development of innovative low-cost subunit vaccines for the prevention of avian viral diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emile Rage
- Laboratory of Biotechnology, ENEA Casaccia Research Center, Rome, Italy
| | - Charifa Drissi Touzani
- Unité de Pathologie Aviaire, Département de Pathologie et Santé Publique Vétérinaire, IAV Hassan II, Rabat, Morocco
| | - Carla Marusic
- Laboratory of Biotechnology, ENEA Casaccia Research Center, Rome, Italy
| | - Chiara Lico
- Laboratory of Biotechnology, ENEA Casaccia Research Center, Rome, Italy
| | - Thomas Göbel
- Department of Veterinary Sciences, LMU Munich, München, Germany
| | - Alessio Bortolami
- Division of Comparative Biomedical Science, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie, Legnaro, Italy
| | - Francesco Bonfante
- Division of Comparative Biomedical Science, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie, Legnaro, Italy
| | - Anna Maria Salzano
- Proteomics & Mass Spectrometry Laboratory, ISPAAM, National Research Council, Napoli, Italy
| | - Andrea Scaloni
- Proteomics & Mass Spectrometry Laboratory, ISPAAM, National Research Council, Napoli, Italy
| | - Siham Fellahi
- Unité de Pathologie Aviaire, Département de Pathologie et Santé Publique Vétérinaire, IAV Hassan II, Rabat, Morocco
| | - Mohammed El Houadfi
- Unité de Pathologie Aviaire, Département de Pathologie et Santé Publique Vétérinaire, IAV Hassan II, Rabat, Morocco
| | - Marcello Donini
- Laboratory of Biotechnology, ENEA Casaccia Research Center, Rome, Italy.
| | - Selene Baschieri
- Laboratory of Biotechnology, ENEA Casaccia Research Center, Rome, Italy
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6
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Islam MR, Kwak J, Lee J, Hong S, Khan MRI, Lee Y, Lee Y, Lee S, Hwang I. Cost-effective production of tag-less recombinant protein in Nicotiana benthamiana. PLANT BIOTECHNOLOGY JOURNAL 2019; 17:1094-1105. [PMID: 30468023 PMCID: PMC6523591 DOI: 10.1111/pbi.13040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/13/2018] [Revised: 11/02/2018] [Accepted: 11/04/2018] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
Plants have recently received a great deal of attention as a means of producing recombinant proteins. Despite this, a limited number of recombinant proteins are currently on the market and, if plants are to be more widely used, a cost-effective and efficient purification method is urgently needed. Although affinity tags are convenient tools for protein purification, the presence of a tag on the recombinant protein is undesirable for many applications. A cost-effective method of purification using an affinity tag and the removal of the tag after purification has been developed. The family 3 cellulose-binding domain (CBM3), which binds to microcrystalline cellulose, served as the affinity tag and the small ubiquitin-related modifier (SUMO) and SUMO-specific protease were used to remove it. This method, together with size-exclusion chromatography, enabled purification of human interleukin-6 (hIL6) with a yield of 18.49 mg/kg fresh weight from leaf extracts of Nicotiana benthamiana following Agrobacterium-mediated transient expression. Plant-produced hIL6 (P-hIL6) contained less than 0.2 EU/μg (0.02 ng/mL) endotoxin. P-hIL6 activated the Janus kinase-signal transducer and activator of transcriptional pathways in human LNCaP cells, and induced expression of IL-21 in activated mouse CD4+ T cells. This approach is thus a powerful method for producing recombinant proteins in plants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Md Reyazul Islam
- Division of Integrative Biosciences and BiotechnologyPohang University of Science and TechnologyPohangKorea
| | - Ju‐Won Kwak
- Division of Integrative Biosciences and BiotechnologyPohang University of Science and TechnologyPohangKorea
| | - Jeon‐soo Lee
- Department of Life SciencePohang University of Science and TechnologyPohangKorea
| | - Sung‐Wook Hong
- Department of Life SciencePohang University of Science and TechnologyPohangKorea
| | - Md Rezaul Islam Khan
- Division of Integrative Biosciences and BiotechnologyPohang University of Science and TechnologyPohangKorea
| | - Yongjik Lee
- Division of Integrative Biosciences and BiotechnologyPohang University of Science and TechnologyPohangKorea
| | - Yoontae Lee
- Department of Life SciencePohang University of Science and TechnologyPohangKorea
| | - Seung‐Woo Lee
- Department of Life SciencePohang University of Science and TechnologyPohangKorea
| | - Inhwan Hwang
- Division of Integrative Biosciences and BiotechnologyPohang University of Science and TechnologyPohangKorea
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7
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Kopertekh L, Meyer T, Freyer C, Hust M. Transient plant production of Salmonella Typhimurium diagnostic antibodies. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2019; 21:e00314. [PMID: 30847285 PMCID: PMC6389800 DOI: 10.1016/j.btre.2019.e00314] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2018] [Revised: 02/06/2019] [Accepted: 02/08/2019] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Salmonella Typhimurium is one of the most important zoonotic pathogens worldwide and a major cause of economic losses in the pig production chain. The emergence of multi-drug resistant strains over the past years has led to considerations about an enhanced surveillance of bacterial food contamination. Currently, ELISA is the method of choice for high throughput identification of S. Typhimurium. The sensitivity and specificity of this assay might be improved by application of new diagnostic antibodies. We focused on plant-based expression of candidate diagnostic TM43-E10 antibodies discovered using as antigen the S. Typhimurium OmpD protein. The scFv-TM43-E10 and scFv-Fc-TM43-E10 antibody derivatives have been successfully produced in N. benthamiana using a deconstructed movement-deficient PVX vector supplemented with the γb silencing suppressor from Poa semilatent virus. The plant-made antibodies showed the same antigen-binding specificity as that of the microbial/mammalian cell-produced counterparts and could recognize the OmpD antigen in S. Typhimurium infected plant samples.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lilya Kopertekh
- Julius Kühn-Institut, Bundesforschungsinstitut für Kulturpflanzen, Institut für die Sicherheit biotechnologischer Verfahren bei Pflanzen, Erwin-Baur-Str. 27, 06484, Quedlinburg, Germany
- Corresponding author.
| | - Torsten Meyer
- Technische Universität Braunschweig, Institut für Biochemie, Biotechnologie und Bioinformatik, Abteilung Biotechnologie, Spielmannstr. 7, 38106, Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Cornelia Freyer
- Julius Kühn-Institut, Bundesforschungsinstitut für Kulturpflanzen, Institut für die Sicherheit biotechnologischer Verfahren bei Pflanzen, Erwin-Baur-Str. 27, 06484, Quedlinburg, Germany
| | - Michael Hust
- Technische Universität Braunschweig, Institut für Biochemie, Biotechnologie und Bioinformatik, Abteilung Biotechnologie, Spielmannstr. 7, 38106, Braunschweig, Germany
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8
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Marusic C, Pioli C, Stelter S, Novelli F, Lonoce C, Morrocchi E, Benvenuto E, Salzano AM, Scaloni A, Donini M. N-glycan engineering of a plant-produced anti-CD20-hIL-2 immunocytokine significantly enhances its effector functions. Biotechnol Bioeng 2018; 115:565-576. [PMID: 29178403 DOI: 10.1002/bit.26503] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2017] [Revised: 11/17/2017] [Accepted: 11/20/2017] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Anti-CD20 recombinant antibodies are among the most promising therapeutics for the treatment of B-cell malignancies such as non-Hodgkin lymphomas. We recently demonstrated that an immunocytokine (2B8-Fc-hIL2), obtained by fusing an anti-CD20 scFv-Fc antibody derived from C2B8 mAb (rituximab) to the human interleukin 2 (hIL-2), can be efficiently produced in Nicotiana benthamiana plants. The purified immunocytokine (IC) bearing a typical plant protein N-glycosylation profile showed a CD20 binding activity comparable to that of rituximab and was efficient in eliciting antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC) of human PBMC against Daudi cells, indicating its fuctional integrity. In this work, the immunocytokine devoid of the typical xylose/fucose N-glycosylation plant signature (IC-ΔXF) and the corresponding scFv-Fc-ΔXF antibody not fused to the cytokine, were obtained in a glyco-engineered ΔXylT/FucT N. benthamiana line. Purification yields from agroinfiltrated plants amounted to 20-35 mg/kg of leaf fresh weight. When assayed for interaction with FcγRI and FcγRIIIa, IC-ΔXF exhibited significantly enhanced binding affinities if compared to the counterpart bearing the typical plant protein N-glycosylation profile (IC) and to rituximab. The glyco-engineered recombinant molecules also exhibited a strongly improved ADCC and complement-dependent cytotoxicity (CDC). Notably, our results demonstrate a reduced C1q binding of xylose/fucose carrying IC and scFv-Fc compared to versions that lack these sugar moieties. These results demonstrate that specific N-glycosylation alterations in recombinant products can dramatically affect the effector functions of the immunocytokine, resulting in an overall improvement of the biological functions and consequently of the therapeutic potential.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Claudio Pioli
- Laboratory of Biomedical Technologies, ENEA Research Center Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Szymon Stelter
- Molecular Immunology Unit, Institute for Infection and Immunity, St. George's University of London, London, UK
| | - Flavia Novelli
- Laboratory of Biomedical Technologies, ENEA Research Center Rome, Rome, Italy
| | | | - Elena Morrocchi
- Laboratory of Biomedical Technologies, ENEA Research Center Rome, Rome, Italy
| | | | - Anna Maria Salzano
- Proteomics and Mass Spectrometry Laboratory, ISPAAM, National Research Council, Napoli, Italy
| | - Andrea Scaloni
- Proteomics and Mass Spectrometry Laboratory, ISPAAM, National Research Council, Napoli, Italy
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9
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Melnik S, Neumann AC, Karongo R, Dirndorfer S, Stübler M, Ibl V, Niessner R, Knopp D, Stoger E. Cloning and plant-based production of antibody MC10E7 for a lateral flow immunoassay to detect [4-arginine]microcystin in freshwater. PLANT BIOTECHNOLOGY JOURNAL 2018; 16:27-38. [PMID: 28421663 PMCID: PMC5785354 DOI: 10.1111/pbi.12746] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2016] [Revised: 03/14/2017] [Accepted: 04/12/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Antibody MC10E7 is one of a small number of monoclonal antibodies that bind specifically to [Arg4]-microcystins, and it can be used to survey natural water sources and food samples for algal toxin contamination. However, the development of sensitive immunoassays in different test formats, particularly user-friendly tests for on-site analysis, requires a sensitive but also cost-effective antibody. The original version of MC10E7 was derived from a murine hybridoma, but we determined the sequence of the variable regions using the peptide mass-assisted cloning strategy and expressed a scFv (single-chain variable fragment) format of this antibody in yeast and a chimeric full-size version in leaves of Nicotiana tabacum and Nicotiana benthamiana to facilitate inexpensive and scalable production. The specific antigen-binding activity of the purified antibody was verified by surface plasmon resonance spectroscopy and ELISA, confirming the same binding specificity as its hybridoma-derived counterpart. The plant-derived antibody was used to design a lateral flow immunoassay (dipstick) for the sensitive detection of [Arg4]-microcystins at concentrations of 100-300 ng/L in freshwater samples collected at different sites. Plant-based production will likely reduce the cost of the antibody, currently the most expensive component of the dipstick immunoassay, and will allow the development of further antibody-based analytical devices and water purification adsorbents for the efficient removal of toxic contaminants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stanislav Melnik
- Department of Applied Genetics and Cell Biology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria
| | - Anna-Cathrine Neumann
- Institute of Hydrochemistry and Chair for Analytical Chemistry, Technical University Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Ryan Karongo
- Institute of Hydrochemistry and Chair for Analytical Chemistry, Technical University Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Sebastian Dirndorfer
- Institute of Hydrochemistry and Chair for Analytical Chemistry, Technical University Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Martin Stübler
- Department of Applied Genetics and Cell Biology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria
| | - Verena Ibl
- Department of Applied Genetics and Cell Biology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria
| | - Reinhard Niessner
- Institute of Hydrochemistry and Chair for Analytical Chemistry, Technical University Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Dietmar Knopp
- Institute of Hydrochemistry and Chair for Analytical Chemistry, Technical University Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Eva Stoger
- Department of Applied Genetics and Cell Biology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria
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10
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Paireder M, Tholen S, Porodko A, Biniossek ML, Mayer B, Novinec M, Schilling O, Mach L. The papain-like cysteine proteinases NbCysP6 and NbCysP7 are highly processive enzymes with substrate specificities complementary to Nicotiana benthamiana cathepsin B. BIOCHIMICA ET BIOPHYSICA ACTA. PROTEINS AND PROTEOMICS 2017; 1865:444-452. [PMID: 28188928 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbapap.2017.02.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2016] [Revised: 02/01/2017] [Accepted: 02/06/2017] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
The tobacco-related plant Nicotiana benthamiana is gaining interest as a versatile host for the production of monoclonal antibodies and other protein therapeutics. However, the susceptibility of plant-derived recombinant proteins to endogenous proteolytic enzymes limits their use as biopharmaceuticals. We have now identified two previously uncharacterized N. benthamiana proteases with high antibody-degrading activity, the papain-like cysteine proteinases NbCysP6 and NbCysP7. Both enzymes are capable of hydrolysing a wide range of synthetic substrates, although only NbCysP6 tolerates basic amino acids in its specificity-determining S2 subsite. The overlapping substrate specificities of NbCysP6 and NbCysP7 are also documented by the closely related properties of their other subsites as deduced from the action of the enzymes on proteome-derived peptide libraries. Notable differences were observed to the substrate preferences of N. benthamiana cathepsin B, another antibody-degrading papain-like cysteine proteinase. The complementary activities of NbCysP6, NbCysP7 and N. benthamiana cathepsin B indicate synergistic roles of these proteases in the turnover of recombinant and endogenous proteins in planta, thus representing a paradigm for the shaping of plant proteomes by the combined action of papain-like cysteine proteinases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melanie Paireder
- Department of Applied Genetics and Cell Biology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria
| | - Stefan Tholen
- Institute for Molecular Medicine and Cell Research, University of Freiburg, Germany
| | - Andreas Porodko
- Department of Applied Genetics and Cell Biology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria
| | - Martin L Biniossek
- Institute for Molecular Medicine and Cell Research, University of Freiburg, Germany
| | - Bettina Mayer
- Institute for Molecular Medicine and Cell Research, University of Freiburg, Germany
| | - Marko Novinec
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Technology, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Oliver Schilling
- Institute for Molecular Medicine and Cell Research, University of Freiburg, Germany; BIOSS Centre for Biological Signaling Studies, University of Freiburg, Germany
| | - Lukas Mach
- Department of Applied Genetics and Cell Biology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria.
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11
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Jutras PV, Marusic C, Lonoce C, Deflers C, Goulet MC, Benvenuto E, Michaud D, Donini M. An Accessory Protease Inhibitor to Increase the Yield and Quality of a Tumour-Targeting mAb in Nicotiana benthamiana Leaves. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0167086. [PMID: 27893815 PMCID: PMC5125672 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0167086] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2016] [Accepted: 11/07/2016] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The overall quality of recombinant IgG antibodies in plants is dramatically compromised by host endogenous proteases. Different approaches have been developed to reduce the impact of endogenous proteolysis on IgGs, notably involving site-directed mutagenesis to eliminate protease-susceptible sites or the in situ mitigation of host protease activities to minimize antibody processing in the cell secretory pathway. We here characterized the degradation profile of H10, a human tumour-targeting monoclonal IgG, in leaves of Nicotiana benthamiana also expressing the human serine protease inhibitor α1-antichymotrypsin or the cysteine protease inhibitor tomato cystatin SlCYS8. Leaf extracts revealed consistent fragmentation patterns for the recombinant antibody regardless of leaf age and a strong protective effect of SlCYS8 in specific regions of the heavy chain domains. As shown using an antigen-binding ELISA and LC-MS/MS analysis of antibody fragments, SlCYS8 had positive effects on both the amount of fully-assembled antibody purified from leaf tissue and the stability of biologically active antibody fragments containing the heavy chain Fc domain. Our data confirm the potential of Cys protease inhibitors as convenient antibody-stabilizing expression partners to increase the quality of therapeutic antibodies in plant protein biofactories.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Carla Marusic
- Laboratory of Biotechnology ENEA Research Center, Casaccia, Rome, Italy
| | - Chiara Lonoce
- Laboratory of Biotechnology ENEA Research Center, Casaccia, Rome, Italy
| | - Carole Deflers
- Département de phytologie, Université Laval, Québec Quebec, Canada
| | | | - Eugenio Benvenuto
- Laboratory of Biotechnology ENEA Research Center, Casaccia, Rome, Italy
| | | | - Marcello Donini
- Laboratory of Biotechnology ENEA Research Center, Casaccia, Rome, Italy
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12
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Lonoce C, Salem R, Marusic C, Jutras PV, Scaloni A, Salzano AM, Lucretti S, Steinkellner H, Benvenuto E, Donini M. Production of a tumour-targeting antibody with a human-compatible glycosylation profile in N. benthamiana hairy root cultures. Biotechnol J 2016; 11:1209-20. [PMID: 27313150 DOI: 10.1002/biot.201500628] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2015] [Revised: 06/03/2016] [Accepted: 06/07/2016] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Hairy root (HR) cultures derived from Agrobacterium rhizogenes transformation of plant tissues are an advantageous biotechnological manufacturing platform due to the accumulation of recombinant proteins in an otherwise largely protein free culture medium. In this context, HRs descending from transgenic Nicotiana tabacum plants were successfully used for the production of several functional mAbs with plant-type glycans. Here, we expressed the tumor-targeting monoclonal antibody mAb H10 in HRs obtained either by infecting a transgenic N. tabacum line expressing H10 with A. rhizogenes or a glyco-engineered N. benthamiana line (ΔXTFT) with recombinant A. rhizogenes carrying mAb H10 heavy and light chain cDNAs. Selected HR clones derived from both plants accumulated mAb H10 in the culture medium with similar yields (2-3 mg/L). N-glycosylation profiles of antibodies purified from HR supernatant revealed the presence of plant-typical complex structures for N. tabacum-derived mAb H10 and of GnGn structures lacking xylose and fucose for the ΔXTFT-derived counterpart. Both antibody glyco-formats exhibited comparable antigen binding activities. Collectively, these data demonstrate that the co-infection of ΔXTFT Nicotiana benthamiana with recombinant A. rhizogenes is an efficient procedure for the generation of stable HR cultures expressing the tumor-targeting mAb H10 with a human-compatible glycosylation profile, thus representing an important step towards the exploitation of root cultures for the production of 'next generation' human therapeutic antibodies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chiara Lonoce
- Laboratory of Biotechnology ENEA Research Center, Rome, Italy
| | - Reda Salem
- Laboratory of Biotechnology ENEA Research Center, Rome, Italy
| | - Carla Marusic
- Laboratory of Biotechnology ENEA Research Center, Rome, Italy
| | - Philippe V Jutras
- Département de phytologie, Centre de recherche et innovation des végétaux, Université Laval, Québec, Québec, Canada
| | - Andrea Scaloni
- Proteomics & Mass Spectrometry Laboratory, ISPAAM, National Research Council, Napoli, Italy
| | - Anna Maria Salzano
- Proteomics & Mass Spectrometry Laboratory, ISPAAM, National Research Council, Napoli, Italy
| | - Sergio Lucretti
- Laboratory of Biotechnology ENEA Research Center, Rome, Italy
| | - Herta Steinkellner
- Department of Applied Genetics and Cell Biology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria
| | | | - Marcello Donini
- Laboratory of Biotechnology ENEA Research Center, Rome, Italy.
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13
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Mandal MK, Ahvari H, Schillberg S, Schiermeyer A. Tackling Unwanted Proteolysis in Plant Production Hosts Used for Molecular Farming. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2016; 7:267. [PMID: 27014293 PMCID: PMC4782010 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2016.00267] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2015] [Accepted: 02/19/2016] [Indexed: 05/17/2023]
Abstract
Although the field of molecular farming has significantly matured over the last years, some obstacles still need to be resolved. A major limiting factor for a broader application of plant hosts for the production of valuable recombinant proteins is the low yield of intact recombinant proteins. These low yields are at least in part due to the action of endogenous plant proteases on the foreign recombinant proteins. This mini review will present the current knowledge of the proteolytic enzymes involved in the degradation of different target proteins and strategies that are applied to suppress undesirable proteolytic activities in order to safeguard recombinant proteins during the production process.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Andreas Schiermeyer
- Department of Plant Biotechnology, Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied EcologyAachen, Germany
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14
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Niemer M, Mehofer U, Verdianz M, Porodko A, Schähs P, Kracher D, Lenarcic B, Novinec M, Mach L. Nicotiana benthamiana cathepsin B displays distinct enzymatic features which differ from its human relative and aleurain-like protease. Biochimie 2016; 122:119-25. [PMID: 26166069 DOI: 10.1016/j.biochi.2015.06.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2015] [Accepted: 06/26/2015] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
The tobacco-related plant species Nicotiana benthamiana has recently emerged as a versatile expression platform for the rapid generation of recombinant biopharmaceuticals, but product yield and quality frequently suffer from unintended proteolysis. Previous studies have highlighted that recombinant protein fragmentation in plants involves papain-like cysteine proteinases (PLCPs). For this reason, we have now characterized two major N. benthamiana PLCPs in detail: aleurain-like protease (NbALP) and cathepsin B (NbCathB). As typical for PLCPs, the precursor of NbCathB readily undergoes autocatalytic activation when incubated at low pH. On the contrary, maturation of NbALP requires the presence of a cathepsin L-like PLCP as processing enzyme. While the catalytic features of NbALP closely resemble those of its mammalian homologue cathepsin H, NbCathB displays remarkable differences to human cathepsin B. In particular, NbCathB appears to be a far less efficient peptidyldipeptidase (removing C-terminal dipeptides) than its human counterpart, suggesting that it functions primarily as an endopeptidase. Importantly, NbCathB was far more efficient than NbALP in processing the human anti-HIV-1 antibody 2F5 into fragments observed during its production in N. benthamiana. This suggests that targeted down-regulation of NbCathB could improve the performance of this plant-based expression platform.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melanie Niemer
- Department of Applied Genetics and Cell Biology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria
| | - Ulrich Mehofer
- Department of Applied Genetics and Cell Biology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria
| | - Maria Verdianz
- Department of Applied Genetics and Cell Biology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria
| | - Andreas Porodko
- Department of Applied Genetics and Cell Biology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria
| | - Philipp Schähs
- Department of Applied Genetics and Cell Biology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria
| | - Daniel Kracher
- Department of Food Science and Technology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria
| | - Brigita Lenarcic
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Technology, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Marko Novinec
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Technology, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Lukas Mach
- Department of Applied Genetics and Cell Biology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria.
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15
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Marusic C, Novelli F, Salzano AM, Scaloni A, Benvenuto E, Pioli C, Donini M. Production of an active anti-CD20-hIL-2 immunocytokine in Nicotiana benthamiana. PLANT BIOTECHNOLOGY JOURNAL 2016; 14:240-51. [PMID: 25879373 DOI: 10.1111/pbi.12378] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2014] [Revised: 02/27/2015] [Accepted: 03/12/2015] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
Anti-CD20 murine or chimeric antibodies (Abs) have been used to treat non-Hodgkin lymphomas (NHLs) and other diseases characterized by overactive or dysfunctional B cells. Anti-CD20 Abs demonstrated to be effective in inducing regression of B-cell lymphomas, although in many cases patients relapse following treatment. A promising approach to improve the outcome of mAb therapy is the use of anti-CD20 antibodies to deliver cytokines to the tumour microenvironment. In particular, IL-2-based immunocytokines have shown enhanced antitumour activity in several preclinical studies. Here, we report on the engineering of an anti-CD20-human interleukin-2 (hIL-2) immunocytokine (2B8-Fc-hIL2) based on the C2B8 mAb (Rituximab) and the resulting ectopic expression in Nicotiana benthamiana. The scFv-Fc-engineered immunocytokine is fully assembled in plants with minor degradation products as assessed by SDS-PAGE and gel filtration. Purification yields using protein-A affinity chromatography were in the range of 15-20 mg/kg of fresh leaf weight (FW). Glycopeptide analysis confirmed the presence of a highly homogeneous plant-type glycosylation. 2B8-Fc-hIL2 and the cognate 2B8-Fc antibody, devoid of hIL-2, were assayed by flow cytometry on Daudi cells revealing a CD20 binding activity comparable to that of Rituximab and were effective in eliciting antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity of human PBMC versus Daudi cells, demonstrating their functional integrity. In 2B8-Fc-hIL2, IL-2 accessibility and biological activity were verified by flow cytometry and cell proliferation assay. To our knowledge, this is the first example of a recombinant immunocytokine based on the therapeutic Rituximab antibody scaffold, whose expression in plants may be a valuable tool for NHLs treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carla Marusic
- Laboratory of Biotechnology, ENEA Research Center Casaccia, Rome, Italy
| | - Flavia Novelli
- Laboratory of Radiation Biology and Biomedicine, ENEA Research Center Casaccia, Rome, Italy
| | - Anna M Salzano
- Proteomics & Mass Spectrometry Laboratory, ISPAAM, National Research Council, Napoli, Italy
| | - Andrea Scaloni
- Proteomics & Mass Spectrometry Laboratory, ISPAAM, National Research Council, Napoli, Italy
| | - Eugenio Benvenuto
- Laboratory of Biotechnology, ENEA Research Center Casaccia, Rome, Italy
| | - Claudio Pioli
- Laboratory of Radiation Biology and Biomedicine, ENEA Research Center Casaccia, Rome, Italy
| | - Marcello Donini
- Laboratory of Biotechnology, ENEA Research Center Casaccia, Rome, Italy
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16
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Chen L, Yang X, Luo D, Yu W. Efficient Production of a Bioactive Bevacizumab Monoclonal Antibody Using the 2A Self-cleavage Peptide in Transgenic Rice Callus. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2016; 7:1156. [PMID: 27555853 PMCID: PMC4977302 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2016.01156] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2016] [Accepted: 07/19/2016] [Indexed: 05/18/2023]
Abstract
Bevacizumab, a humanized monoclonal antibody (mAb) targeting to the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), has been widely used in clinical practice for the treatment of multiple cancers. Bevacizumab was mostly produced by the mammalian cell expression system. We here reported the first plant-derived Bevacizumab by using transgenic rice callus as an alternative gene expression system. Codon-optimized Bevacizumab light chain (BLC) and Bevacizumab heavy chain (BHC) genes were designed, synthesized as a polyprotein with a 2A self-cleavage linker peptide from the Foot-and-mouth disease virus, cloned into a plant binary vector under a constitutive maize ubiquitin promoter, and transformed into rice nuclear genome through Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. Southern blot and western blot analyses confirmed the integration and expression of BLC and BHC genes in transgenic rice callus. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) analysis indicated that the rice-derived Bevacizumab mAb was biologically active and the recombinant mAb was expressed at high levels (160.7-242.8 mg/Kg) in transgenic rice callus. The mAb was purified by using protein A affinity chromatography and the purified antibody was tested for its binding affinity with its target human VEGF (hVEGF) antigen by ELISA. Rice callus produced Bevacizumab and a commercial Bevacizumab (Avastin) were shown to have similar binding affinity to hVEGF. These results indicated that rice callus produced Bevacizumab could have similar biological activity and might potentially be used as a cost-effective biosimilar molecule in future cancer treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lei Chen
- School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen UniversityGuangzhou, China
- Shenzhen Research Institute, The Chinese University of Hong KongShenzhen, China
| | - Xiaoyu Yang
- College of Life Sciences, Shenzhen UniversityShenzhen, China
| | - Da Luo
- School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen UniversityGuangzhou, China
| | - Weichang Yu
- College of Life Sciences, Shenzhen UniversityShenzhen, China
- *Correspondence: Weichang Yu,
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17
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Xiao B, Tan Y, Long N, Chen X, Tong Z, Dong Y, Li Y. SNP-based genetic linkage map of tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) using next-generation RAD sequencing. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2015; 22:11. [PMID: 26473145 PMCID: PMC4607152 DOI: 10.1186/s40709-015-0034-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2015] [Accepted: 09/18/2015] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Background Tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) is an important model system, which has been widely used in plant physiological studies and it is particularly useful as a bioreactor. Despite its importance, only limited molecular marker resources are available for genome analysis, genetic mapping and breeding. Restriction-site associated DNA sequencing (RAD-seq) is a powerful new method for targeted sequencing across the genomes of many individuals. This approach has broad potential for genetic analysis through linkage mapping. Results We constructed a RAD library using genomic DNA from a BC1 backcross population. Sequencing of 196 individuals was performed on an Illumina HiSeq 2500. Two linkage maps were constructed, one with a reference genome and another, termed as de novo identification of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) by RAD-seq, without a reference genome. Overall, 4138 and 2162 SNP markers with a total length of 1944.74 and 2000.9 cM were mapped to 24 linkage groups in the genetic maps based on reference genome and without reference, respectively. Conclusions Using two different SNP discovery methods based on next generation RAD sequencing technology, we have respectively mapped 2162 and 4318 SNPs in our backcross population. This study gives an excellent example for high density linkage map construction, irrespective of genome sequence availability, and provides saturated information for downstream genetic investigations such as quantitative trait locus analyses or genomic selection (e.g. bioreactor suitable cultivars). Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s40709-015-0034-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bingguang Xiao
- Yunnan Academy of Tobacco Agricultural Science, Yuantong Street No. 33, Kunming, 650021 Yunnan China
| | - Yuntao Tan
- Faculty of Life Science and Technology, Kunming University of Science and Technology, JingMing South Road No. 727, Kunming, 650500 Yunnan China
| | - Ni Long
- Faculty of Life Science and Technology, Kunming University of Science and Technology, JingMing South Road No. 727, Kunming, 650500 Yunnan China
| | - Xuejun Chen
- Yunnan Academy of Tobacco Agricultural Science, Yuantong Street No. 33, Kunming, 650021 Yunnan China
| | - Zhijun Tong
- Yunnan Academy of Tobacco Agricultural Science, Yuantong Street No. 33, Kunming, 650021 Yunnan China
| | - Yang Dong
- Faculty of Life Science and Technology, Kunming University of Science and Technology, JingMing South Road No. 727, Kunming, 650500 Yunnan China
| | - Yongping Li
- Yunnan Academy of Tobacco Agricultural Science, Yuantong Street No. 33, Kunming, 650021 Yunnan China
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18
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Donini M, Lombardi R, Lonoce C, Di Carli M, Marusic C, Morea V, Di Micco P. Antibody proteolysis: a common picture emerging from plants. Bioengineered 2015; 6:299-302. [PMID: 26186119 DOI: 10.1080/21655979.2015.1067740] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022] Open
Abstract
We have recently characterized the degradation profiles of 2 human IgG1 monoclonal antibodies, the tumor-targeting mAb H10 and the anti-HIV mAb 2G12. Both mAbs were produced in plants either as stable transgenics or using a transient expression system based on leaf agroinfiltration. The purified antibodies were separated by 1DE and protein bands were characterized by N-terminal sequencing. The proteolytic cleavage sites identified in the heavy chain (HC) of both antibodies were localized in 3 inter-domain regions, suggesting that the number of proteolytic cleavage events taking place in plants is limited. One of the cleavage sites, close to the hinge region, was common to both antibodies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marcello Donini
- a Laboratory of Biotechnology; ENEA Research Center Casaccia ; Rome , Italy
| | - Raffaele Lombardi
- a Laboratory of Biotechnology; ENEA Research Center Casaccia ; Rome , Italy
| | - Chiara Lonoce
- a Laboratory of Biotechnology; ENEA Research Center Casaccia ; Rome , Italy
| | - Mariasole Di Carli
- a Laboratory of Biotechnology; ENEA Research Center Casaccia ; Rome , Italy
| | - Carla Marusic
- a Laboratory of Biotechnology; ENEA Research Center Casaccia ; Rome , Italy
| | - Veronica Morea
- b National Research Council; Institute of Molecular Biology and Pathology ; Rome , Italy
| | - Patrizio Di Micco
- c Department of Radiology, Oncology and Pathology ; Sapienza University of Rome ; Rome , Italy
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19
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Hehle VK, Lombardi R, van Dolleweerd CJ, Paul MJ, Di Micco P, Morea V, Benvenuto E, Donini M, Ma JKC. Site-specific proteolytic degradation of IgG monoclonal antibodies expressed in tobacco plants. PLANT BIOTECHNOLOGY JOURNAL 2015; 13:235-45. [PMID: 25283551 DOI: 10.1111/pbi.12266] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2014] [Revised: 08/11/2014] [Accepted: 08/16/2014] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
Abstract
Plants are promising hosts for the production of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs). However, proteolytic degradation of antibodies produced both in stable transgenic plants and using transient expression systems is still a major issue for efficient high-yield recombinant protein accumulation. In this work, we have performed a detailed study of the degradation profiles of two human IgG1 mAbs produced in plants: an anti-HIV mAb 2G12 and a tumour-targeting mAb H10. Even though they use different light chains (κ and λ, respectively), the fragmentation pattern of both antibodies was similar. The majority of Ig fragments result from proteolytic degradation, but there are only a limited number of plant proteolytic cleavage events in the immunoglobulin light and heavy chains. All of the cleavage sites identified were in the proximity of interdomain regions and occurred at each interdomain site, with the exception of the VL /CL interface in mAb H10 λ light chain. Cleavage site sequences were analysed, and residue patterns characteristic of proteolytic enzymes substrates were identified. The results of this work help to define common degradation events in plant-produced mAbs and raise the possibility of predicting antibody degradation patterns 'a priori' and designing novel stabilization strategies by site-specific mutagenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Verena K Hehle
- Molecular Immunology Unit, Division of Clinical Sciences, St. George's University of London, London, UK
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20
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Niemer M, Mehofer U, Torres Acosta JA, Verdianz M, Henkel T, Loos A, Strasser R, Maresch D, Rademacher T, Steinkellner H, Mach L. The human anti-HIV antibodies 2F5, 2G12, and PG9 differ in their susceptibility to proteolytic degradation: down-regulation of endogenous serine and cysteine proteinase activities could improve antibody production in plant-based expression platforms. Biotechnol J 2014; 9:493-500. [PMID: 24478053 PMCID: PMC4162989 DOI: 10.1002/biot.201300207] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2013] [Revised: 12/20/2013] [Accepted: 01/27/2014] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
The tobacco-related species Nicotiana benthamiana has recently emerged as a promising host for the manufacturing of protein therapeutics. However, the production of recombinant proteins in N. benthamiana is frequently hampered by undesired proteolysis. Here, we show that the expression of the human anti-HIV antibodies 2F5, 2G12, and PG9 in N. benthamiana leaves leads to the accumulation of discrete heavy chain-derived degradation products of 30-40 kDa. Incubation of purified 2F5 with N. benthamiana intercellular fluid resulted in rapid conversion into the 40-kDa fragment, whereas 2G12 proved largely resistant to degradation. Such a differential susceptibility to proteolytic attack was also observed when these two antibodies were exposed to various types of proteinases in vitro. While serine and cysteine proteinases are both capable of generating the 40-kDa 2F5 fragment, the 30-kDa polypeptide is most readily obtained by treatment with the latter class of enzymes. The principal cleavage sites reside within the antigen-binding domain, the VH -CH 1 linker segment and the hinge region of the antibodies. Collectively, these results indicate that down-regulation of endogenous serine and cysteine proteinase activities could be used to improve the performance of plant-based expression platforms destined for the production of biopharmaceuticals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melanie Niemer
- Department of Applied Genetics and Cell Biology, University of Natural Resources and Life SciencesVienna, Austria
| | - Ulrich Mehofer
- Department of Applied Genetics and Cell Biology, University of Natural Resources and Life SciencesVienna, Austria
| | - Juan Antonio Torres Acosta
- Department of Applied Genetics and Cell Biology, University of Natural Resources and Life SciencesVienna, Austria
| | - Maria Verdianz
- Department of Applied Genetics and Cell Biology, University of Natural Resources and Life SciencesVienna, Austria
| | - Theresa Henkel
- Department of Applied Genetics and Cell Biology, University of Natural Resources and Life SciencesVienna, Austria
| | - Andreas Loos
- Department of Applied Genetics and Cell Biology, University of Natural Resources and Life SciencesVienna, Austria
| | - Richard Strasser
- Department of Applied Genetics and Cell Biology, University of Natural Resources and Life SciencesVienna, Austria
| | - Daniel Maresch
- Department of Chemistry, University of Natural Resources and Life SciencesVienna, Austria
| | - Thomas Rademacher
- Institute of Molecular Biotechnology, RWTH Aachen UniversityAachen, Germany
| | - Herta Steinkellner
- Department of Applied Genetics and Cell Biology, University of Natural Resources and Life SciencesVienna, Austria
| | - Lukas Mach
- Department of Applied Genetics and Cell Biology, University of Natural Resources and Life SciencesVienna, Austria
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21
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Ding BJ, Hofvander P, Wang HL, Durrett TP, Stymne S, Löfstedt C. A plant factory for moth pheromone production. Nat Commun 2014; 5:3353. [PMID: 24569486 PMCID: PMC3948062 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms4353] [Citation(s) in RCA: 62] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2013] [Accepted: 01/30/2014] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Moths depend on pheromone communication for mate finding and synthetic pheromones are used for monitoring or disruption of pheromone communication in pest insects. Here we produce moth sex pheromone, using Nicotiana benthamiana as a plant factory, by transient expression of up to four genes coding for consecutive biosynthetic steps. We specifically produce multicomponent sex pheromones for two species. The fatty alcohol fractions from the genetically modified plants are acetylated to mimic the respective sex pheromones of the small ermine moths Yponomeuta evonymella and Y. padella. These mixtures are very efficient and specific for trapping of male moths, matching the activity of conventionally produced pheromones. Our long-term vision is to design tailor-made production of any moth pheromone component in genetically modified plants. Such semisynthetic preparation of sex pheromones is a novel and cost-effective way of producing moderate to large quantities of pheromones with high purity and a minimum of hazardous waste.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bao-Jian Ding
- Department of Biology, Lund University, Sölvegatan 37, SE-22362 Lund, Sweden
| | - Per Hofvander
- Department of Plant Breeding and Biotechnology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE-23053 Alnarp, Sweden
| | - Hong-Lei Wang
- Department of Biology, Lund University, Sölvegatan 37, SE-22362 Lund, Sweden
| | - Timothy P. Durrett
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas 66506, USA
| | - Sten Stymne
- Department of Plant Breeding and Biotechnology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE-23053 Alnarp, Sweden
| | - Christer Löfstedt
- Department of Biology, Lund University, Sölvegatan 37, SE-22362 Lund, Sweden
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22
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De Buck S, Nolf J, De Meyer T, Virdi V, De Wilde K, Van Lerberge E, Van Droogenbroeck B, Depicker A. Fusion of an Fc chain to a VHH boosts the accumulation levels in Arabidopsis seeds. PLANT BIOTECHNOLOGY JOURNAL 2013; 11:1006-16. [PMID: 23915060 DOI: 10.1111/pbi.12094] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2012] [Revised: 05/22/2013] [Accepted: 05/24/2013] [Indexed: 05/18/2023]
Abstract
Nanobodies® (VHHs) provide powerful tools in therapeutic and biotechnological applications. Nevertheless, for some applications, bivalent antibodies perform much better, and for this, an Fc chain can be fused to the VHH domain, resulting in a bivalent homodimeric VHH-Fc complex. However, the production of bivalent antibodies in Escherichia coli is rather inefficient. Therefore, we compared the production of VHH7 and VHH7-Fc as antibodies of interest in Arabidopsis seeds for detecting prostate-specific antigen (PSA), a well-known biomarker for prostate cancer in the early stages of tumour development. The influence of the signal sequence (camel versus plant) and that of the Fc chain origin (human, mouse or pig) were evaluated. The accumulation levels of VHHs were very low, with a maximum of 0.13% VHH of total soluble protein (TSP) in homozygous T3 seeds, while VHH-Fc accumulation levels were at least 10- to 100-fold higher, with a maximum of 16.25% VHH-Fc of TSP. Both the camel and plant signal peptides were efficiently cleaved off and did not affect the accumulation levels. However, the Fc chain origin strongly affected the degree of proteolysis, but only had a slight influence on the accumulation level. Analysis of the mRNA levels suggested that the low amount of VHHs produced in Arabidopsis seeds was not due to a failure in transcription, but rather to translation inefficiency, protein instability and/or degradation. Most importantly, the plant-produced VHH7 and VHH7-Fc antibodies were functional in detecting PSA and could thus be used for diagnostic applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sylvie De Buck
- Department of Plant Systems Biology, VIB, Gent, Belgium; Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Ghent University, Gent, Belgium
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In vivo neutralization of α-cobratoxin with high-affinity llama single-domain antibodies (VHHs) and a VHH-Fc antibody. PLoS One 2013; 8:e69495. [PMID: 23894495 PMCID: PMC3718736 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0069495] [Citation(s) in RCA: 75] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2013] [Accepted: 06/10/2013] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Small recombinant antibody fragments (e.g. scFvs and VHHs), which are highly tissue permeable, are being investigated for antivenom production as conventional antivenoms consisting of IgG or F(ab')2 antibody fragments do not effectively neutralize venom toxins located in deep tissues. However, antivenoms composed entirely of small antibody fragments may have poor therapeutic efficacy due to their short serum half-lives. To increase serum persistence and maintain tissue penetration, we prepared low and high molecular mass antivenom antibodies. Four llama VHHs were isolated from an immune VHH-displayed phage library and were shown to have high affinity, in the low nM range, for α-cobratoxin (α-Cbtx), the most lethal component of Naja kaouthia venom. Subsequently, our highest affinity VHH (C2) was fused to a human Fc fragment to create a VHH2-Fc antibody that would offer prolonged serum persistence. After in planta (Nicotiana benthamiana) expression and purification, we show that our VHH2-Fc antibody retained high affinity binding to α-Cbtx. Mouse α-Cbtx challenge studies showed that our highest affinity VHHs (C2 and C20) and the VHH2-Fc antibody effectively neutralized lethality induced by α-Cbtx at an antibody:toxin molar ratio as low as ca. 0.75×:1. Further research towards the development of an antivenom therapeutic involving these anti-α-Cbtx VHHs and VHH2-Fc antibody molecules should involve testing them as a combination, to determine whether they maintain tissue penetration capability and low immunogenicity, and whether they exhibit improved serum persistence and therapeutic efficacy.
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Gao SJ, Damaj MB, Park JW, Beyene G, Buenrostro-Nava MT, Molina J, Wang X, Ciomperlik JJ, Manabayeva SA, Alvarado VY, Rathore KS, Scholthof HB, Mirkov TE. Enhanced transgene expression in sugarcane by co-expression of virus-encoded RNA silencing suppressors. PLoS One 2013; 8:e66046. [PMID: 23799071 PMCID: PMC3682945 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0066046] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2013] [Accepted: 04/30/2013] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Post-transcriptional gene silencing is commonly observed in polyploid species and often poses a major limitation to plant improvement via biotechnology. Five plant viral suppressors of RNA silencing were evaluated for their ability to counteract gene silencing and enhance the expression of the Enhanced Yellow Fluorescent Protein (EYFP) or the β-glucuronidase (GUS) reporter gene in sugarcane, a major sugar and biomass producing polyploid. Functionality of these suppressors was first verified in Nicotiana benthamiana and onion epidermal cells, and later tested by transient expression in sugarcane young leaf segments and protoplasts. In young leaf segments co-expressing a suppressor, EYFP reached its maximum expression at 48-96 h post-DNA introduction and maintained its peak expression for a longer time compared with that in the absence of a suppressor. Among the five suppressors, Tomato bushy stunt virus-encoded P19 and Barley stripe mosaic virus-encoded γb were the most efficient. Co-expression with P19 and γb enhanced EYFP expression 4.6-fold and 3.6-fold in young leaf segments, and GUS activity 2.3-fold and 2.4-fold in protoplasts compared with those in the absence of a suppressor, respectively. In transgenic sugarcane, co-expression of GUS and P19 suppressor showed the highest accumulation of GUS levels with an average of 2.7-fold more than when GUS was expressed alone, with no detrimental phenotypic effects. The two established transient expression assays, based on young leaf segments and protoplasts, and confirmed by stable transgene expression, offer a rapid versatile system to verify the efficiency of RNA silencing suppressors that proved to be valuable in enhancing and stabilizing transgene expression in sugarcane.
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Affiliation(s)
- San-Ji Gao
- Key Laboratory of Sugarcane Biology and Genetic Breeding, Ministry of Agriculture, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, Fujian, China
| | - Mona B. Damaj
- Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology, Texas A&M AgriLife Research, Weslaco, Texas, United States of America
| | - Jong-Won Park
- Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology, Texas A&M AgriLife Research, Weslaco, Texas, United States of America
| | - Getu Beyene
- Institute for International Crop Improvement, Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, Saint Louis, Missouri, United States of America
| | | | - Joe Molina
- Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology, Texas A&M AgriLife Research, Weslaco, Texas, United States of America
| | - Xiaofeng Wang
- Department of Plant Pathology, Physiology and Weed Science, VirginiaTech University, Blacksburg, Virginia, United States of America
| | - Jessica J. Ciomperlik
- Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, United States of America
| | - Shuga A. Manabayeva
- National Center for Biotechnology of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Astana, Republic of Kazakhstan
| | - Veria Y. Alvarado
- Stoller Enterprises, Inc., Norman E. Borlaug Center for Southern Crop Improvement, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, United States of America
| | - Keerti S. Rathore
- Laboratory for Crop Transformation, Institute for Plant Genomics and Biotechnology, Norman E. Borlaug Center for Southern Crop Improvement, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, United States of America
| | - Herman B. Scholthof
- Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, United States of America
| | - T. Erik Mirkov
- Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology, Texas A&M AgriLife Research, Weslaco, Texas, United States of America
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25
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Arcangeli C, Circelli P, Donini M, Aljabali AAA, Benvenuto E, Lomonossoff GP, Marusic C. Structure-based design and experimental engineering of a plant virus nanoparticle for the presentation of immunogenic epitopes and as a drug carrier. J Biomol Struct Dyn 2013; 32:630-47. [PMID: 23672348 DOI: 10.1080/07391102.2013.785920] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Biomaterials research for the discovery of new generation nanoparticles is one of the most active areas of nanotechnology. In the search of nature-made nanometer-sized objects, plant virus particles appear as symmetrically defined entities that can be formed by protein self-assembly. In particular, in the field of plant virology, there is plenty of literature available describing the exploitation of plant viral cages to produce safe vaccine vehicles and nanoparticles for drug delivery. In this context, we have investigated on the use of the artichoke mottled crinkle virus (AMCV) capsid both as a carrier of immunogenic epitopes and for the delivery of anticancer molecules. A dual approach that combines both in silico tools and experimental virology was applied for the rational design of immunologically active chimeric virus-like particles (VLPs) carrying immunogenic peptides. The atomic structures of wild type (wt) and chimeric VLPs were obtained by homology modeling. The effects of insertion of the HIV-1 2F5 neutralizing epitope on the structural stability of chimeric VLPs were predicted and assessed by detailed inspection of the nanoparticle intersubunit interactions at atomic level. Wt and chimeric VLPs, exposing on their surface the 2F5 epitope, were successfully produced in plants. In addition, we demonstrated that AMCV capsids could also function as drug delivery vehicles able to load the chemotherapeutic drug doxorubicin. To our knowledge, this is the first systematic predictive and empirical research addressing the question of how this icosahedral virus can be used for the production of both VLPs and viral nanoparticles for biomedical applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caterina Arcangeli
- a ENEA, Laboratorio Biotecnologie , UTBIORAD , C.R. Casaccia, via Anguillarese 301, 00123, Roma , Italy
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26
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Sabalza M, Madeira L, van Dolleweerd C, Ma JK, Capell T, Christou P. Functional characterization of the recombinant HIV-neutralizing monoclonal antibody 2F5 produced in maize seeds. PLANT MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2012; 80:477-88. [PMID: 22965278 DOI: 10.1007/s11103-012-9962-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2012] [Accepted: 08/24/2012] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) that neutralize human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) can be used as microbicides to help prevent the spread of HIV in human populations. As an industry standard, HIV-neutralizing mAbs are produced as recombinant proteins in mammalian cells, but the high manufacturing costs and limited capacity reduce the ability of target populations in developing countries to gain access to these potentially life-saving medicines. Plants offer a more cost-effective and deployable production platform because they can be grown inexpensively and on a large scale in the region where the products are required. Here we show that the maize-derived HIV-neutralizing mAb 2F5 is assembled correctly in planta and binds to its antigen with the same affinity as 2F5 produced in mammalian cells. Although 2F5 has been produced at high levels in non-plant platforms, the yield in maize seeds is lower than previously achieved with another HIV-neutralizing mAb, 2G12. This suggests that the intrinsic properties of the antibody (e.g. sensitivity to specific proteases) and the environment provided by the production host (e.g. the relative abundance of different proteases, potential transgene silencing) may combine to limit the accumulation of some antibodies on a case-by-case basis.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Sabalza
- Departament de Produccio Vegetal I Ciencia Forestal (PVCF), Universitat de Lleida-Agrotecnio Center, Lleida, Spain.
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27
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Lombardi R, Donini M, Villani ME, Brunetti P, Fujiyama K, Kajiura H, Paul M, Ma JKC, Benvenuto E. Production of different glycosylation variants of the tumour-targeting mAb H10 in Nicotiana benthamiana: influence on expression yield and antibody degradation. Transgenic Res 2012; 21:1005-21. [PMID: 22238065 DOI: 10.1007/s11248-012-9587-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2011] [Accepted: 12/30/2011] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
We previously described the expression of a tumour-targeting antibody (mAb H10) in Nicotiana benthamiana by vacuum-agro-infiltration and the remarkable yields of highly pure protein achieved. The objective of the present work was to investigate different strategies for transient overexpression of the mAb H10 in which glycan configuration was modulated and assess how these strategies affect the accumulation yield and stability of the antibody. To this aim, three procedures have been assayed: (1) Site-directed mutagenesis to abolish the glycosylation site; (2) endoplasmic reticulum retention (C-terminal SEKDEL fusion) to ensure predominantly high-mannose type glycans; and (3) expression in a N. benthamiana RNAi down-regulated line in which β1,2-xylosyltransferase and α1,3-fucosyltransferase gene expression is silenced. The three antibody variants (H10-Mut) (H10-SEKDEL) (H10(XylT/FucT)) were transiently expressed, purified and characterised for their glycosylation profile, expression/purification yield and antibody degradation pattern. Glycosylation analysis of H10(XylT/FucT) demonstrated the absence of plant complex-type sugars, while H10-SEKDEL, although substantially retained in the ER, revealed the presence of β1,2-xylose and α1,3-fucose residues, indicating a partial escape from the ER retrieval system. Antibody accumulation and purification yields were not enhanced by ER retention. All H10 antibody glyco-forms revealed greater degradation compared to the original, resulting mostly in the formation of Fab fragments. In the case of aglycosylated H10-Mut, more than 95% of the heavy chain was cleaved, confirming the pivotal role of the sugar moiety in protein stability. Identification of possible 'fragile' sites in the H10 antibody hinge region could be of general interest for the development of new strategies to reduce antibody degradation and increase the yield of intact IgGs in plants.
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MESH Headings
- Agrobacterium tumefaciens/genetics
- Agrobacterium tumefaciens/metabolism
- Antibodies, Monoclonal/biosynthesis
- Antibodies, Monoclonal/isolation & purification
- Antibodies, Neoplasm/biosynthesis
- Antibodies, Neoplasm/isolation & purification
- Cloning, Molecular
- Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel
- Endoplasmic Reticulum/metabolism
- Gene Expression Regulation, Plant
- Genes, Suppressor
- Glycosylation
- Humans
- Immunoglobulin Fab Fragments/biosynthesis
- Immunoglobulin G/biosynthesis
- Mutagenesis, Site-Directed
- Plant Leaves/metabolism
- Plants, Genetically Modified/genetics
- Plants, Genetically Modified/metabolism
- Polysaccharides/metabolism
- Protein Engineering
- Protein Stability
- Protoplasts/metabolism
- RNA Interference
- Nicotiana/genetics
- Nicotiana/metabolism
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Affiliation(s)
- Raffaele Lombardi
- ENEA, Laboratorio Biotecnologie, UTBIORAD, C.R. Casaccia, Via Anguillarese 301, 00123, Rome, Italy.
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28
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Kanagarajan S, Muthusamy S, Gliszczyńska A, Lundgren A, Brodelius PE. Functional expression and characterization of sesquiterpene synthases from Artemisia annua L. using transient expression system in Nicotiana benthamiana. PLANT CELL REPORTS 2012; 31:1309-19. [PMID: 22565787 DOI: 10.1007/s00299-012-1250-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2012] [Revised: 03/13/2012] [Accepted: 03/17/2012] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
UNLABELLED Artemisia annua L. produces a number of sesquiterpene synthases, which catalyze the conversion of farnesyl diphosphate to various sesquiterpenes. The cDNAs encoding amorpha-4,11-diene synthase (ADS), a key enzyme in the artemisinin biosynthesis, and epi-cedrol synthase (ECS), a complex sesquiterpene cyclization synthase, were cloned into Cowpea mosaic virus-based viral vector (pEAQ-HT) with Kozak consensus motif and C-terminal histidine tag. The plasmids were transformed into Agrobacterium LBA4404 and, agroinfiltrated into Nicotiana benthamiana leaves along with vector (pJL3:p19) containing Tomato bushy stunt virus post-transcriptional gene silencing suppressor. Quantitative PCR was carried out to measure the transcript levels at 0, 3, 6, 9, 12 and 15 days post-infiltration (dpi). The highest relative expression was observed at 9 dpi for both genes. Transiently expressed recombinant proteins of ADS and ECS were confirmed by SDS-PAGE and western blot. Recombinant proteins were extracted from 9 dpi leaves and purified by immobilized metal ion affinity chromatography using histidine tag, which produced yields of 90 and 96 mg kg⁻¹ fresh weight of leaves for ADS and ECS, respectively. Activities of the purified enzymes were assayed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry for product identification and quantification using valencene as internal standard. The recombinant ADS and ECS converted farnesyl diphosphate into amorpha-4,11-diene (97 %) and epi-cedrol (96 %) as the major products, respectively. The purified enzymes exhibited the specific activity of 0.002 and 0.01 μmol min⁻¹ mg⁻¹ protein for ADS and ECS, respectively. The apparent k(cat) values were 2.1 × 10⁻³ s⁻¹ and 11 × 10⁻³ s⁻¹ for ADS and ECS, respectively. KEY MESSAGE Agroinfiltration of leaves of Nicotiana bentamiana can be used to produce recombinant biosynthetic enzymes as exemplified by two sesquiterpene synthases from Artemisia annua in relatively high yields.
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29
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Egelkrout E, Rajan V, Howard JA. Overproduction of recombinant proteins in plants. PLANT SCIENCE : AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL PLANT BIOLOGY 2012; 184:83-101. [PMID: 22284713 DOI: 10.1016/j.plantsci.2011.12.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2011] [Revised: 12/06/2011] [Accepted: 12/09/2011] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
Recombinant protein production in microbial hosts and animal cell cultures has revolutionized the pharmaceutical and industrial enzyme industries. Plants as alternative hosts for the production of recombinant proteins are being actively pursued, taking advantage of their unique characteristics. The key to cost-efficient production in any system is the level of protein accumulation, which is inversely proportional to the cost. Levels of up to 5 g/kg biomass have been obtained in plants, making this production system competitive with microbial hosts. Increasing protein accumulation at the cellular level by varying host, germplasm, location of protein accumulation, and transformation procedure is reviewed. At the molecular level increased expression by improving transcription, translation and accumulation of the protein is critically evaluated. The greatest increases in protein accumulation will occur when various optimized parameters are more fully integrated with each other. Because of the complex nature of plants, this will take more time and effort to accomplish than has been the case for the simpler unicellular systems. However the potential for plants to become one of the major avenues for protein production appears very promising.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erin Egelkrout
- Applied Biotechnology Institute, Cal Poly Technology Park, Building 83, San Luis Obispo, CA 93407, USA
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30
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Valdés R, Tamayo A, González M, Padilla S, Geada D, Ferro W, Milá L, Gómez L, Alemán R, Leyva A, García C, Mendoza O, Alvarez T, Dorta L, Villega Y, Cecilia D, Aragón H, González T, La O M, López J. Production of a monoclonal antibody by ascites, hollow fiber system, and transgenic plants for vaccine production using CB.Hep-1 mAb as a study case. BIOTECHNOL BIOPROC E 2012. [DOI: 10.1007/s12257-011-0196-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/14/2022]
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31
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Hehle VK, Paul MJ, Drake PM, Ma JKC, van Dolleweerd CJ. Antibody degradation in tobacco plants: a predominantly apoplastic process. BMC Biotechnol 2011; 11:128. [PMID: 22208820 PMCID: PMC3260137 DOI: 10.1186/1472-6750-11-128] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2011] [Accepted: 12/30/2011] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Interest in using plants for production of recombinant proteins such as monoclonal antibodies is growing, but proteolytic degradation, leading to a loss of functionality and complications in downstream purification, is still a serious problem. RESULTS In this study, we investigated the dynamics of the assembly and breakdown of a human IgG(1)κ antibody expressed in plants. Initial studies in a human IgG transgenic plant line suggested that IgG fragments were present prior to extraction. Indeed, when the proteolytic activity of non-transgenic Nicotiana tabacum leaf extracts was tested against a human IgG1 substrate, little activity was detectable in extraction buffers with pH > 5. Significant degradation was only observed when the plant extract was buffered below pH 5, but this proteolysis could be abrogated by addition of protease inhibitors. Pulse-chase analysis of IgG MAb transgenic plants also demonstrated that IgG assembly intermediates are present intracellularly and are not secreted, and indicates that the majority of proteolytic degradation occurs following secretion into the apoplastic space. CONCLUSIONS The results provide evidence that proteolytic fragments derived from antibodies of the IgG subtype expressed in tobacco plants do not accumulate within the cell, and are instead likely to occur in the apoplastic space. Furthermore, any proteolytic activity due to the release of proteases from subcellular compartments during tissue disruption and extraction is not a major consideration under most commonly used extraction conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Verena K Hehle
- Molecular Immunology Unit, Division of Clinical Sciences, St George's, University of London, Cranmer Terrace, London SW17 0RE, UK
| | - Matthew J Paul
- Molecular Immunology Unit, Division of Clinical Sciences, St George's, University of London, Cranmer Terrace, London SW17 0RE, UK
| | - Pascal M Drake
- Molecular Immunology Unit, Division of Clinical Sciences, St George's, University of London, Cranmer Terrace, London SW17 0RE, UK
| | - Julian KC Ma
- Molecular Immunology Unit, Division of Clinical Sciences, St George's, University of London, Cranmer Terrace, London SW17 0RE, UK
| | - Craig J van Dolleweerd
- Molecular Immunology Unit, Division of Clinical Sciences, St George's, University of London, Cranmer Terrace, London SW17 0RE, UK
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32
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Capodicasa C, Chiani P, Bromuro C, De Bernardis F, Catellani M, Palma AS, Liu Y, Feizi T, Cassone A, Benvenuto E, Torosantucci A. Plant production of anti-β-glucan antibodies for immunotherapy of fungal infections in humans. PLANT BIOTECHNOLOGY JOURNAL 2011; 9:776-87. [PMID: 21265996 DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-7652.2010.00586.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/30/2023]
Abstract
There is an increasing interest in the development of therapeutic antibodies (Ab) to improve the control of fungal pathogens, but none of these reagents is available for clinical use. We previously described a murine monoclonal antibody (mAb 2G8) targeting β-glucan, a cell wall polysaccharide common to most pathogenic fungi, which conferred significant protection against Candida albicans, Aspergillus fumigatus and Cryptococcus neoformans in animal models. Transfer of this wide-spectrum, antifungal mAb into the clinical setting would allow the control of most frequent fungal infections in many different categories of patients. To this aim, two chimeric mouse-human Ab derivatives from mAb 2G8, in the format of complete IgG or scFv-Fc, were generated, transiently expressed in Nicotiana benthamiana plants and purified from leaves with high yields (approximately 50 mg Ab/kg of plant tissues). Both recombinant Abs fully retained the β-glucan-binding specificity and the antifungal activities of the cognate murine mAb against C. albicans. In fact, they recognized preferentially β1,3-linked glucan molecules present at the fungal cell surface and directly inhibited the growth of C. albicans and its adhesion to human epithelial cells in vitro. In addition, both the IgG and the scFv-Fc promoted C. albicans killing by isolated, human polymorphonuclear neutrophils in ex vivo assays and conferred significant antifungal protection in animal models of systemic or vulvovaginal C. albicans infection. These recombinant Abs represent valuable molecules for developing novel, plant-derived immunotherapeutics against candidiasis and, possibly, other fungal diseases.
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MESH Headings
- Animals
- Antibodies, Fungal/biosynthesis
- Antibodies, Fungal/genetics
- Antibodies, Fungal/immunology
- Antibodies, Fungal/therapeutic use
- Antibodies, Monoclonal/biosynthesis
- Antibodies, Monoclonal/genetics
- Antibodies, Monoclonal/immunology
- Antibodies, Monoclonal/therapeutic use
- Antigens, Fungal/immunology
- Aspergillus fumigatus/immunology
- Candida albicans/growth & development
- Candida albicans/immunology
- Candida albicans/physiology
- Candidiasis/microbiology
- Candidiasis/therapy
- Cell Adhesion/immunology
- Cell Line
- Cell Wall/immunology
- Cryptococcus neoformans/immunology
- Female
- Humans
- Immunoglobulin Fc Fragments/genetics
- Immunoglobulin Fc Fragments/metabolism
- Immunoglobulin G/genetics
- Immunoglobulin G/metabolism
- Immunotherapy
- Mice
- Models, Animal
- Mycoses/microbiology
- Mycoses/therapy
- Plant Leaves/genetics
- Plant Leaves/metabolism
- Plantibodies/genetics
- Plantibodies/immunology
- Plantibodies/metabolism
- Plantibodies/therapeutic use
- Rats
- Recombinant Fusion Proteins/immunology
- Recombinant Fusion Proteins/metabolism
- Single-Chain Antibodies/genetics
- Single-Chain Antibodies/metabolism
- Nicotiana/genetics
- Nicotiana/immunology
- beta-Glucans/immunology
- beta-Glucans/metabolism
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Affiliation(s)
- Cristina Capodicasa
- ENEA, UT BIORAD, Laboratory of Biotechnology, Research Center Casaccia, Rome, Italy
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33
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Thomas DR, Penney CA, Majumder A, Walmsley AM. Evolution of plant-made pharmaceuticals. Int J Mol Sci 2011; 12:3220-36. [PMID: 21686181 PMCID: PMC3116187 DOI: 10.3390/ijms12053220] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2011] [Revised: 05/05/2011] [Accepted: 05/09/2011] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The science and policy of pharmaceuticals produced and/or delivered by plants has evolved over the past twenty-one years from a backyard remedy to regulated, purified products. After seemingly frozen at Phase I human clinical trials with six orally delivered plant-made vaccines not progressing past this stage over seven years, plant-made pharmaceuticals have made a breakthrough with several purified plant-based products advancing to Phase II trials and beyond. Though fraught with the usual difficulties of pharmaceutical development, pharmaceuticals made by plants have achieved pertinent milestones albeit slowly compared to other pharmaceutical production systems and are now at the cusp of reaching the consumer. Though the current economic climate begs for cautious investment as opposed to trail blazing, it is perhaps a good time to look to the future of plant-made pharmaceutical technology to assist in planning for future developments in order not to slow this technology's momentum. To encourage continued progress, we highlight the advances made so far by this technology, particularly the change in paradigms, comparing developmental timelines, and summarizing the current status and future possibilities of plant-made pharmaceuticals.
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Affiliation(s)
- David R. Thomas
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria 3800, Australia; E-Mails: (D.R.T.); (C.A.P.); (A.M.)
| | - Claire A. Penney
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria 3800, Australia; E-Mails: (D.R.T.); (C.A.P.); (A.M.)
| | - Amrita Majumder
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria 3800, Australia; E-Mails: (D.R.T.); (C.A.P.); (A.M.)
| | - Amanda M. Walmsley
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria 3800, Australia; E-Mails: (D.R.T.); (C.A.P.); (A.M.)
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34
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Komarova TV, Kosorukov VS, Frolova OY, Petrunia IV, Skrypnik KA, Gleba YY, Dorokhov YL. Plant-made trastuzumab (herceptin) inhibits HER2/Neu+ cell proliferation and retards tumor growth. PLoS One 2011; 6:e17541. [PMID: 21390232 PMCID: PMC3048398 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0017541] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2010] [Accepted: 02/07/2011] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Plant biotechnology provides a valuable contribution to global health, in part because it can decrease the cost of pharmaceutical products. Breast cancer can now be successfully treated by a humanized monoclonal antibody (mAb), trastuzumab (Herceptin). A course of treatment, however, is expensive and requires repeated administrations of the mAb. Here we used an Agrobacterium-mediated transient expression system to produce trastuzumab in plant cells. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS We describe the cloning and expression of gene constructs in Nicotiana benthamiana plants using intron-optimized Tobacco mosaic virus- and Potato virus X-based vectors encoding, respectively, the heavy and light chains of trastuzumab. Full-size antibodies extracted and purified from plant tissues were tested for functionality and specificity by (i) binding to HER2/neu on the surface of a human mammary gland adenocarcinoma cell line, SK-BR-3, in fluorescence-activated cell sorting assay and (ii) testing the in vitro and in vivo inhibition of HER-2-expressing cancer cell proliferation. We show that plant-made trastuzumab (PMT) bound to the Her2/neu oncoprotein of SK-BR-3 cells and efficiently inhibited SK-BR-3 cell proliferation. Furthermore, mouse intraperitoneal PMT administration retarded the growth of xenografted tumors derived from human ovarian cancer SKOV3 Her2+ cells. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE We conclude that PMT is active in suppression of cell proliferation and tumor growth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tatiana V. Komarova
- A.N. Belozersky Institute of Physico-Chemical Biology, Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia
| | - Vyacheslav S. Kosorukov
- N.N. Blokhin National Cancer Research Center, Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, Moscow, Russia
| | - Olga Y. Frolova
- N.I. Vavilov Institute of General Genetics, Russian Academy of Science, Moscow, Russia
| | - Igor V. Petrunia
- N.I. Vavilov Institute of General Genetics, Russian Academy of Science, Moscow, Russia
| | - Ksenia A. Skrypnik
- N.N. Blokhin National Cancer Research Center, Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, Moscow, Russia
| | - Yuri Y. Gleba
- Nomad Bioscience GmbH, Biozentrum Halle, Halle (Saale), Germany
| | - Yuri L. Dorokhov
- A.N. Belozersky Institute of Physico-Chemical Biology, Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia
- N.I. Vavilov Institute of General Genetics, Russian Academy of Science, Moscow, Russia
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Abstract
Recombinant protein pharmaceuticals are now widely used in treatment of chronic diseases, and several recombinant protein subunit vaccines are approved for human and veterinary use. With growing demand for complex protein pharmaceuticals, such as monoclonal antibodies, manufacturing capacity is becoming limited. There is increasing need for safe, scalable, and economical alternatives to mammalian cell culture-based manufacturing systems, which require substantial capital investment for new manufacturing facilities. Since a seminal paper reporting immunoglobulin expression in transgenic plants was published in 1989, there have been many technological advances in plant expression systems to the present time where production of proteins in leaf tissues of nonfood crops such as Nicotiana species is considered a viable alternative. In particular, transient expression systems derived from recombinant plant viral vectors offer opportunities for rapid expression screening, construct optimization, and expression scale-up. Extraction of recombinant proteins from Nicotiana leaf tissues can be achieved by collection of secreted protein fractions, or from a total protein extract after grinding the leaves with buffer. After separation from solids, the major purification challenge is contamination with elements of the photosynthetic complex, which can be solved by application of a variety of facile and proven strategies. In conclusion, the technologies required for safe, efficient, scalable manufacture of recombinant proteins in Nicotiana leaf tissues have matured to the point where several products have already been tested in phase I clinical trials and will soon be followed by a rich pipeline of recombinant vaccines, microbicides, and therapeutic proteins.
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Boivin EB, Lepage É, Matton DP, De Crescenzo G, Jolicoeur M. Transient expression of antibodies in suspension plant cell suspension cultures is enhanced when co-transformed with the tomato bushy stunt virus p19 viral suppressor of gene silencing. Biotechnol Prog 2010; 26:1534-43. [DOI: 10.1002/btpr.485] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
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Lombardi R, Villani ME, Di Carli M, Brunetti P, Benvenuto E, Donini M. Optimisation of the purification process of a tumour-targeting antibody produced in N. benthamiana using vacuum-agroinfiltration. Transgenic Res 2010; 19:1083-97. [PMID: 20229286 DOI: 10.1007/s11248-010-9382-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2009] [Accepted: 03/01/2010] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Abstract
It was previously demonstrated that the tumour-targeting antibody mAb H10 can be transiently expressed and purified at high levels in Nicotiana benthamiana by using a vacuum-agroinfiltration system boosted by the use of a virus silencing suppressor protein. Scope of this work was to analyse different steps of protein extraction from agroinfiltrated leaves to optimise the purification process of the secretory mAb H10 providing new insights in the field of large-scale plant production. Two different extraction procedures (mechanical shearing/homogenisation and recovery of intercellular fluids -IFs-) were evaluated and compared in terms of purified antibody yields, antibody degradation and total phenolic compounds content. Mechanical grinding from fresh leaf tissues gave the highest purification yield (75 mg/kg Fresh Weight -75% intact tetrameric IgG-) and total phenolics concentration in the range of 420 μg/g FW. The second extraction procedure, based on the recovery of IFs, gave purification yields of 15-20 mg/kg FW (corresponding to 27% of total soluble protein) in which about 40% of purified protein is constituted by fully assembled IgG with a total phenolic compounds content reduced by one order of magnitude (21 μg/g FW). Despite a higher antibody degradation, purification from intercellular fluids demonstrated to be very promising since extraction procedures resulted extremely fast and amenable to scaling-up. Overall data highlight that different extraction procedures can dramatically affect the proteolytic degradation and quality of antibody purified from agroinfiltrated N. benthamiana leaves. Based on these results, we optimised a pilot-scale purification protocol using a two-step purification procedure from batches of fresh agroinfiltrated leaves (250 g) allowing purification of milligram quantities (average yield 40 mg/kg FW) of fully assembled and functional IgG with a 99.4% purity, free of phenolic and alkaloid compounds with low endotoxin levels (<1 EU/ml).
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Affiliation(s)
- Raffaele Lombardi
- ENEA, Dipartimento BIOTEC, Sezione Genetica e Genomica Vegetale, C.R. Casaccia, Via Anguillarese 301, 00123, Rome, Italy
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38
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Sainsbury F, Sack M, Stadlmann J, Quendler H, Fischer R, Lomonossoff GP. Rapid transient production in plants by replicating and non-replicating vectors yields high quality functional anti-HIV antibody. PLoS One 2010; 5:e13976. [PMID: 21103044 PMCID: PMC2980466 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0013976] [Citation(s) in RCA: 67] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2010] [Accepted: 10/21/2010] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The capacity of plants and plant cells to produce large amounts of recombinant protein has been well established. Due to advantages in terms of speed and yield, attention has recently turned towards the use of transient expression systems, including viral vectors, to produce proteins of pharmaceutical interest in plants. However, the effects of such high level expression from viral vectors and concomitant effects on host cells may affect the quality of the recombinant product. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS To assess the quality of antibodies transiently expressed to high levels in plants, we have expressed and characterised the human anti-HIV monoclonal antibody, 2G12, using both replicating and non-replicating systems based on deleted versions of Cowpea mosaic virus (CPMV) RNA-2. The highest yield (approximately 100 mg/kg wet weight leaf tissue) of affinity purified 2G12 was obtained when the non-replicating CPMV-HT system was used and the antibody was retained in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Glycan analysis by mass-spectrometry showed that the glycosylation pattern was determined exclusively by whether the antibody was retained in the ER and did not depend on whether a replicating or non-replicating system was used. Characterisation of the binding and neutralisation properties of all the purified 2G12 variants from plants showed that these were generally similar to those of the Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell-produced 2G12. CONCLUSIONS Overall, the results demonstrate that replicating and non-replicating CPMV-based vectors are able to direct the production of a recombinant IgG similar in activity to the CHO-produced control. Thus, a complex recombinant protein was produced with no apparent effect on its biochemical properties using either high-level expression or viral replication. The speed with which a recombinant pharmaceutical with excellent biochemical characteristics can be produced transiently in plants makes CPMV-based expression vectors an attractive option for biopharmaceutical development and production.
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Affiliation(s)
- Frank Sainsbury
- Department of Biological Chemistry, John Innes Centre, Norwich, United Kingdom.
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39
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Komarova TV, Baschieri S, Donini M, Marusic C, Benvenuto E, Dorokhov YL. Transient expression systems for plant-derived biopharmaceuticals. Expert Rev Vaccines 2010; 9:859-76. [PMID: 20673010 DOI: 10.1586/erv.10.85] [Citation(s) in RCA: 103] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
In the molecular farming area, transient expression approaches for pharmaceutical proteins production, mainly recombinant monoclonal antibodies and vaccines, were developed almost two decades ago and, to date, these systems basically depend on Agrobacterium-mediated delivery and virus expression machinery. We survey here the current state-of-the-art of this research field. Several vectors have been designed on the basis of DNA- and RNA-based plant virus genomes and viral vectors are used both as single- and multicomponent expression systems in different combinations depending on the protein of interest. The obvious advantages of these systems are ease of manipulation, speed, low cost and high yield of proteins. In addition, Agrobacterium-mediated expression also allows the production in plants of complex proteins assembled from subunits. Currently, the transient expression methods are preferential over any other transgenic system for the exploitation of large and unrestricted numbers of plants in a contained environment. By designing optimal constructs and related means of delivery into plant cells, the overall technology plan considers scenarios that envisage high yield of bioproducts and ease in monitoring the whole spectrum of upstream production, before entering good manufacturing practice facilities. In this way, plant-derived bioproducts show promise of high competitiveness towards classical eukaryotic cell factory systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tatiana V Komarova
- N.I. Vavilov Institute of General Genetics, Russian Academy of Science and A.N. Belozersky Institute of Physico-Chemical Biology, Moscow State University, Russia
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40
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Goulet C, Goulet C, Goulet MC, Michaud D. 2-DE proteome maps for the leaf apoplast of Nicotiana benthamiana. Proteomics 2010; 10:2536-44. [PMID: 20422621 DOI: 10.1002/pmic.200900382] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2009] [Accepted: 04/08/2010] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
We provide 2-D gel reference maps for the apoplastic proteome of Nicotiana benthamiana leaves infiltrated or not with the bacterial gene vector Agrobacterium tumefaciens. About 90 proteins were analyzed by LC-MS/MS for identification and function assignment. We show, overall, an effective response of the plant to agroinfiltration involving a specific, cell wall maintenance-independent up-regulation of defense protein secretion. The proteome maps described should be a useful tool for systemic studies on plant-pathogen interactions or cell wall metabolism. They also should prove useful for the monitoring of secreted recombinant proteins and their possible pleiotropic effects along the cell secretory pathway of N. benthamiana leaves used as an expression platform for clinically useful proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charles Goulet
- Département de phytologie, Université Laval, Québec QC, Canada
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41
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De Muynck B, Navarre C, Boutry M. Production of antibodies in plants: status after twenty years. PLANT BIOTECHNOLOGY JOURNAL 2010; 8:529-63. [PMID: 20132515 DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-7652.2009.00494.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 93] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/18/2023]
Abstract
Thanks to their potential to bind virtually all types of molecules; monoclonal antibodies are in increasing demand as therapeutics and diagnostics. To overcome the overloading of current production facilities, alternative expression systems have been developed, of which plants appear the most promising. In this review, we focus on the expression of monoclonal IgG or IgM in plant species. We analyse the data for 32 different antibodies expressed in various ways, differing in DNA construction, transformation method, signal peptide source, presence or absence of an endoplasmic reticulum retention sequence, host species and the organs tested, together resulting in 98 reported combinations. A large heterogeneity is found in the quantity and quality of the antibody produced. We discuss in more detail the strategy used to express both chains, the nature of the transcription promoters, subcellular localization and unintended proteolysis, when encountered.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benoit De Muynck
- Institut des Sciences de la Vie, Université catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
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42
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Hefferon KL. The mucosal immune response to plant-derived vaccines. Pharm Res 2010; 27:2040-2. [PMID: 20467887 DOI: 10.1007/s11095-010-0168-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2010] [Accepted: 05/03/2010] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
Transgenic plants present enormous potential as one of the most cost-effective and safe systems for large-scale production of proteins for industrial, pharmaceutical, veterinary and agricultural uses. Heat-stable plant-derived vaccines that are administered orally could in effect enhance vaccine coverage in children and infants, particularly in developing countries. Here we discuss the current status of plant-derived vaccines and their potential to champion the battle against infectious diseases in the least developed countries.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kathleen Laura Hefferon
- Cornell Research Foundation, Cornell University, 395 Pine Tree Rd Suite 310, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA.
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43
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Circelli P, Donini M, Villani ME, Benvenuto E, Marusic C. Efficient Agrobacterium-based transient expression system for the production of biopharmaceuticals in plants. Bioeng Bugs 2010; 1:221-4. [PMID: 21326930 PMCID: PMC3026429 DOI: 10.4161/bbug.1.3.11722] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2010] [Revised: 02/26/2010] [Accepted: 03/02/2010] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
We have recently described an efficient transient expression system mediated by Agrobacterium tumefaciens for the production of HIV-1 Nef protein in Nicotiana benthamiana plants. In order to enhance the yield of recombinant protein we assayed the effect of three gene-silencing viral suppressor proteins (P25 of Potato Virus X, P19 of Artichoke Mottled Crinckle virus and Tomato Bushy Stunt virus) on Nef expression levels. Results demonstrated that AMCV-P19 gave the highest Nef yield (1.3% of total soluble protein) and that this effect was correlated to a remarkable decrease of Nef-specific small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) indicating an effective modulation of RNA silencing mechanisms. Here we report additional data on the production of different heterologous proteins including human immunoglobulin heavy and light chains and a virus coat protein that demonstrate the robustness of this co-agroinfiltration expression system boosted by the AMCV-P19 gene-silencing suppressor.
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44
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Tremblay R, Wang D, Jevnikar AM, Ma S. Tobacco, a highly efficient green bioreactor for production of therapeutic proteins. Biotechnol Adv 2010; 28:214-21. [PMID: 19961918 PMCID: PMC7132750 DOI: 10.1016/j.biotechadv.2009.11.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 90] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2009] [Revised: 11/06/2009] [Accepted: 11/19/2009] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Molecular farming of pharmaceuticals in plants has the potential to provide almost unlimited amounts of recombinant proteins for use in disease diagnosis, prevention or treatment. Tobacco has been and will continue to be a major crop for molecular farming and offers several practical advantages over other crops. It produces significant leaf biomass, has high soluble protein content and is a non-food crop, minimizing the risk of food-chain contamination. This, combined with its flexibility and highly-efficient genetic transformation/regeneration, has made tobacco particularly well suited for plant-based production of biopharmaceutical products. The goal of this review is to provide an update on the use of tobacco for molecular farming of biopharmaceuticals as well the technologies developed to enhance protein production/purification/efficacy. We show that tobacco is a robust biological reactor with a multitude of applications and may hold the key to success in plant molecular farming.
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Affiliation(s)
- Reynald Tremblay
- Department of Biology, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada N6A 5B7
| | - David Wang
- Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544-1014, USA
| | - Anthony M. Jevnikar
- Transplantation Immunology Group, Lawson Health Research Institute, London, Ontario, Canada N6A 4G5
| | - Shengwu Ma
- Department of Biology, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada N6A 5B7
- Transplantation Immunology Group, Lawson Health Research Institute, London, Ontario, Canada N6A 4G5
- Plantigen Inc., 700 Collip Circle, London, Ontario, Canada N6G 4X8
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45
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Drake PMW, Barbi T, Drever MR, van Dolleweerd CJ, Porter AJR, Ma JKC. Generation of transgenic plants expressing antibodies to the environmental pollutant microcystin-LR. FASEB J 2010; 24:882-90. [PMID: 19841035 DOI: 10.1096/fj.09-140848] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
We describe the engineering, regeneration, and characterization of transgenic tobacco plants expressing a recombinant antibody specific to microcystin-LR (MC-LR), the environmental toxin pollutant produced by species of cyanobacteria. The antibody was created by a genetic fusion of the antigen-binding regions of the microcystin-specific single-chain antibody, 3A8, with constant regions from the murine IgG1kappa, Guy's 13. IgG transgenes were controlled by a leader peptide that targets the transgene products to the secretory pathway and also allows for rhizosecretion. The antibody, extracted from the leaves or rhizosecreted into hydroponic medium by transgenic plants, was shown to have functional binding to MC-LR. Antibody yields in transgenic plant leaves reached a maximum of 64 microg/g leaf fresh weight (0.6% total soluble protein), and the rate of antibody rhizosecretion reached a maximum of 5 microg/g root dry weight/24 h. Rhizosecreted antibody bound to MC-LR in hydroponic medium, and transgenic plants grew more efficiently on medium containing MC-LR compared to wild-type controls. This proof of concept paves the way for applications to produce diagnostic antibodies to microcystin-LR, remove it from the environment by phytoremediation, or enhance yields in crops exposed to MC-LR.-Drake, P. M. W., Barbi, T., Drever, M. R., van Dolleweerd, C. J., Porter, A. J. R., Ma, J. K.-C. Generation of transgenic plants expressing antibodies to the environmental pollutant microcystin-LR.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pascal M W Drake
- Molecular Immunology Unit, Centre for Infection, Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Room 2.148, Floor 2, Jenner Wing, St. George's University of London, Cranmer Terr., London SW17 0RE, UK.
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46
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Wood CC, Petrie JR, Shrestha P, Mansour MP, Nichols PD, Green AG, Singh SP. A leaf-based assay using interchangeable design principles to rapidly assemble multistep recombinant pathways. PLANT BIOTECHNOLOGY JOURNAL 2009; 7:914-24. [PMID: 19843252 DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-7652.2009.00453.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
The assembly of multistep recombinant pathways in stably transformed plants is a cornerstone of crops producing new products yet can be a laborious and time-consuming process. Any heterologous expression platform capable of providing a rapid estimation of the functional assembly of an entire pathway would guide the design of such transgenic traits. In this study, we use a Nicotiana benthamiana transient leaf expression system to simultaneously express five genes, from five independent T(DNA) binary vectors, to assemble a complete recombinant pathway in five days. In this study, we demonstrate the production of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFA) requiring five transgene-encoded reactions to convert endogenous fatty acids to LC-PUFA. The addition of a triacylglycerol assembly enzyme, Arabidopsis thaliana diacylglyceride-O-acyltransferase, and fractionation of the total lipid profile demonstrated that leaf oils contained 37% newly synthesised LC-PUFA, including 7% arachidonic acid (AA), 6% eicosopentaenoic acid and 3% docosahexaenoic acid. The calculation of enzymatic conversion efficiencies at each step of LC-PUFA synthesis suggests that this transient assembly of a complicated multistep pathway is highly efficient. Unlike experiments using stably transformed plants our assembly of an intricate pathway maintained full gene-for-gene interchangeability and required a fraction of the time and glasshouse space. Furthermore, an exogenous LC-PUFA fatty acid substrate, AA, was fed and metabolised by a transiently expressed Delta17-desaturase enzyme, and provided results similar to those obtained in yeast feeding experiments. Although the assay was ideal for LC-PUFA pathways, this assay format may become a powerful tool for the characterisation and step-wise improvement of other recombinant pathways and multigenic traits.
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47
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Lombardi R, Circelli P, Villani ME, Buriani G, Nardi L, Coppola V, Bianco L, Benvenuto E, Donini M, Marusic C. High-level HIV-1 Nef transient expression in Nicotiana benthamiana using the P19 gene silencing suppressor protein of Artichoke Mottled Crinckle Virus. BMC Biotechnol 2009; 9:96. [PMID: 19930574 PMCID: PMC2785776 DOI: 10.1186/1472-6750-9-96] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2009] [Accepted: 11/20/2009] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND In recent years, different HIV antigens have been successfully expressed in plants by either stable transformation or transient expression systems. Among HIV proteins, Nef is considered a promising target for the formulation of a multi-component vaccine due to its implication in the first steps of viral infection. Attempts to express Nef as a single protein product (not fused to a stabilizing protein) in transgenic plants resulted in disappointingly low yields (about 0.5% of total soluble protein). In this work we describe a transient expression system based on co-agroinfiltration of plant virus gene silencing suppressor proteins in Nicotiana benthamiana, followed by a two-step affinity purification protocol of plant-derived Nef. RESULTS The effect of three gene silencing viral suppressor proteins (P25 of Potato Virus X, P19 of either Artichoke Mottled Crinckle virus and Tomato Bushy Stunt virus) on Nef transient expression yield was evaluated. The P19 protein of Artichoke Mottled Crinckle virus (AMCV-P19) gave the highest expression yield in vacuum co-agroinfiltration experiments reaching 1.3% of total soluble protein, a level almost three times higher than that previously reported in stable transgenic plants. The high yield observed in the co-agroinfiltrated plants was correlated to a remarkable decrease of Nef-specific small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) indicating an effective modulation of RNA silencing mechanisms by AMCV-P19. Interestingly, we also showed that expression levels in top leaves of vacuum co-agroinfiltrated plants were noticeably reduced compared to bottom leaves. Moreover, purification of Nef from agroinfiltrated tissue was achieved by a two-step immobilized metal ion affinity chromatography protocol with yields of 250 ng/g of fresh tissue. CONCLUSION We demonstrated that expression level of HIV-1 Nef in plant can be improved using a transient expression system enhanced by the AMCV-P19 gene silencing suppressor protein. Moreover, plant-derived Nef was purified, with enhanced yield, exploiting a two-step purification protocol. These results represent a first step towards the development of a plant-derived HIV vaccine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raffaele Lombardi
- Centro Ricerche Casaccia, Via Anguillarese 301, I-00123, Rome, Italy
| | - Patrizia Circelli
- Centro Ricerche Casaccia, Via Anguillarese 301, I-00123, Rome, Italy
| | | | - Giampaolo Buriani
- Centro Ricerche Casaccia, Via Anguillarese 301, I-00123, Rome, Italy
| | - Luca Nardi
- Centro Ricerche Casaccia, Via Anguillarese 301, I-00123, Rome, Italy
| | - Valentina Coppola
- Centro Ricerche Casaccia, Via Anguillarese 301, I-00123, Rome, Italy
| | - Linda Bianco
- Centro Ricerche Trisaia, SS 106 Ionica, I-75026, Rotondella (Matera), Italy
| | - Eugenio Benvenuto
- Centro Ricerche Casaccia, Via Anguillarese 301, I-00123, Rome, Italy
| | - Marcello Donini
- Centro Ricerche Casaccia, Via Anguillarese 301, I-00123, Rome, Italy
| | - Carla Marusic
- Centro Ricerche Casaccia, Via Anguillarese 301, I-00123, Rome, Italy
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48
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Abstract
The extracellular matrix molecule tenascin-C is highly expressed during embryonic development, tissue repair and in pathological situations such as chronic inflammation and cancer. Tenascin-C interacts with several other extracellular matrix molecules and cell-surface receptors, thus affecting tissue architecture, tissue resilience and cell responses. Tenascin-C modulates cell migration, proliferation and cellular signaling through induction of pro-inflammatory cytokines and oncogenic signaling molecules amongst other mechanisms. Given the causal role of inflammation in cancer progression, common mechanisms might be controlled by tenascin-C during both events. Drugs targeting the expression or function of tenascin-C or the tenascin-C protein itself are currently being developed and some drugs have already reached advanced clinical trials. This generates hope that increased knowledge about tenascin-C will further improve management of diseases with high tenascin-C expression such as chronic inflammation, heart failure, artheriosclerosis and cancer.
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49
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Midwood KS, Orend G. The role of tenascin-C in tissue injury and tumorigenesis. J Cell Commun Signal 2009; 3:287-310. [PMID: 19838819 PMCID: PMC2778592 DOI: 10.1007/s12079-009-0075-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 312] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2009] [Accepted: 09/30/2009] [Indexed: 01/14/2023] Open
Abstract
The extracellular matrix molecule tenascin-C is highly expressed during embryonic development, tissue repair and in pathological situations such as chronic inflammation and cancer. Tenascin-C interacts with several other extracellular matrix molecules and cell-surface receptors, thus affecting tissue architecture, tissue resilience and cell responses. Tenascin-C modulates cell migration, proliferation and cellular signaling through induction of pro-inflammatory cytokines and oncogenic signaling molecules amongst other mechanisms. Given the causal role of inflammation in cancer progression, common mechanisms might be controlled by tenascin-C during both events. Drugs targeting the expression or function of tenascin-C or the tenascin-C protein itself are currently being developed and some drugs have already reached advanced clinical trials. This generates hope that increased knowledge about tenascin-C will further improve management of diseases with high tenascin-C expression such as chronic inflammation, heart failure, artheriosclerosis and cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kim S. Midwood
- Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology Division, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, 65 Aspenlea Road, Hammersmith, London, W6 8LH UK
| | - Gertraud Orend
- Inserm U682, Strasbourg, 67200 France
- University of Strasbourg, UMR-S682, Strasbourg, 67081 France
- Department of Molecular Biology, CHRU Strasbourg, Strasbourg, 67200 France
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