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Umezawa A, Matsumoto M, Handa H, Nakazawa K, Miyagawa M, Seifert GJ, Takahashi D, Fushinobu S, Kotake T. Cytosolic UDP-L-arabinose synthesis by bifunctional UDP-glucose 4-epimerases in Arabidopsis. THE PLANT JOURNAL : FOR CELL AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2024. [PMID: 38678521 DOI: 10.1111/tpj.16779] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2023] [Revised: 03/20/2024] [Accepted: 04/04/2024] [Indexed: 05/01/2024]
Abstract
L-Arabinose (L-Ara) is a plant-specific sugar found in cell wall polysaccharides, proteoglycans, glycoproteins, and small glycoconjugates, which play physiologically important roles in cell proliferation and other essential cellular processes. L-Ara is synthesized as UDP-L-arabinose (UDP-L-Ara) from UDP-xylose (UDP-Xyl) by UDP-Xyl 4-epimerases (UXEs), a type of de novo synthesis of L-Ara unique to plants. In Arabidopsis, the Golgi-localized UXE AtMUR4 is the main contributor to UDP-L-Ara synthesis. However, cytosolic bifunctional UDP-glucose 4-epimerases (UGEs) with UXE activity, AtUGE1, and AtUGE3 also catalyze this reaction. For the present study, we first examined the physiological importance of bifunctional UGEs in Arabidopsis. The uge1 and uge3 mutants enhanced the dwarf phenotype of mur4 and further reduced the L-Ara content in cell walls, suggesting that bifunctional UGEs contribute to UDP-L-Ara synthesis. Through the introduction of point mutations exchanging corresponding amino acid residues between AtUGE1 with high UXE activity and AtUGE2 with low UXE activity, two mutations that increase relative UXE activity of AtUGE2 were identified. The crystal structures of AtUGE2 in complex forms with NAD+ and NAD+/UDP revealed that the UDP-binding domain of AtUGE2 has a more closed conformation and smaller sugar-binding site than bacterial and mammalian UGEs, suggesting that plant UGEs have the appropriate size and shape for binding UDP-Xyl and UDP-L-Ara to exhibit UXE activity. The presented results suggest that the capacity for cytosolic synthesis of UDP-L-Ara was acquired by the small sugar-binding site and several mutations of UGEs, enabling diversified utilization of L-Ara in seed plants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Akira Umezawa
- Division of Life Science, Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Saitama University, 255 Shimo-okubo, Sakura-ku, Saitama, 338-8570, Japan
| | - Mayuko Matsumoto
- Department of Biotechnology, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, 1-1-1 Yayoi, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Hiroto Handa
- Division of Life Science, Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Saitama University, 255 Shimo-okubo, Sakura-ku, Saitama, 338-8570, Japan
| | - Konatsu Nakazawa
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Saitama University, 255 Shimo-okubo, Sakura-ku, Saitama, 338-8570, Japan
| | - Megumi Miyagawa
- Division of Life Science, Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Saitama University, 255 Shimo-okubo, Sakura-ku, Saitama, 338-8570, Japan
| | - Georg J Seifert
- Institute of Plant Biotechnology and Cell biology, University of Natural Resources and Life Science, Muthgasse 18, A-1190, Vienna, Austria
| | - Daisuke Takahashi
- Division of Life Science, Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Saitama University, 255 Shimo-okubo, Sakura-ku, Saitama, 338-8570, Japan
| | - Shinya Fushinobu
- Department of Biotechnology, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, 1-1-1 Yayoi, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan
- Collaborative Research Institute for Innovative Microbiology, The University of Tokyo, 1-1-1 Yayoi, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Toshihisa Kotake
- Division of Life Science, Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Saitama University, 255 Shimo-okubo, Sakura-ku, Saitama, 338-8570, Japan
- Green Bioscience Research Center, Saitama University, 255 Shimo-okubo, Sakura-ku, Saitama, 338-8570, Japan
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Kogelmann B, Melnik S, Bogner M, Kallolimath S, Stöger E, Sun L, Strasser R, D'Aoust MA, Lavoie PO, Saxena P, Gach JS, Steinkellner H. A genome-edited N. benthamiana line for industrial-scale production of recombinant glycoproteins with targeted N-glycosylation. Biotechnol J 2024; 19:e2300323. [PMID: 37804142 DOI: 10.1002/biot.202300323] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2023] [Revised: 09/11/2023] [Accepted: 09/26/2023] [Indexed: 10/09/2023]
Abstract
Control over glycosylation is an important quality parameter in recombinant protein production. Here, we demonstrate the generation of a marker-free genome edited Nicotiana benthamiana N-glycosylation mutant (NbXF-KO) carrying inactivated β1,2-xylosyltransferase and α1,3-fucosyltransferase genes. The knockout of seven genes and their stable inheritance was confirmed by DNA sequencing. Mass spectrometric analyses showed the synthesis of N-glycans devoid of plant-specific β1,2-xylose and core α 1,3-fucose on endogenous proteins and a series of recombinantly expressed glycoproteins with different complexities. Further transient glycan engineering towards more diverse human-type N-glycans resulted in the production of recombinant proteins decorated with β1,4-galactosylated and α2,6-sialylated structures, respectively. Notably, a monoclonal antibody expressed in the NbXF-KO displayed glycosylation-dependent activities. Collectively, the engineered plants grow normally and are well suited for upscaling, thereby meeting industrial and regulatory requirements for the production of high-quality therapeutic proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin Kogelmann
- Department of Applied Genetics and Cell Biology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria
- acib - Austrian Centre of Industrial Biotechnology, Vienna, Austria
| | - Stanislav Melnik
- Department of Applied Genetics and Cell Biology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria
- acib - Austrian Centre of Industrial Biotechnology, Vienna, Austria
| | - Michaela Bogner
- Department of Applied Genetics and Cell Biology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria
| | - Somanath Kallolimath
- Department of Applied Genetics and Cell Biology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria
| | - Eva Stöger
- Department of Applied Genetics and Cell Biology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria
| | - Lin Sun
- Department of Applied Genetics and Cell Biology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria
| | - Richard Strasser
- Department of Applied Genetics and Cell Biology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria
| | | | | | | | - Johannes S Gach
- Division of Infectious Diseases, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, California, USA
| | - Herta Steinkellner
- Department of Applied Genetics and Cell Biology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria
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Nguyen KD, Kajiura H, Kamiya R, Yoshida T, Misaki R, Fujiyama K. Production and N-glycan engineering of Varlilumab in Nicotiana benthamiana. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2023; 14:1215580. [PMID: 37615027 PMCID: PMC10442953 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2023.1215580] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2023] [Accepted: 07/03/2023] [Indexed: 08/25/2023]
Abstract
N-glycan engineering has dramatically evolved for the development and quality control of recombinant antibodies. Fc region of IgG contains two N-glycans whose galactose terminals on Fc-glycan have been shown to increase the stability of CH2 domain and improve effector functions. Nicotiana benthamiana has become one of the most attractive production systems for therapeutic antibodies. In this study, Varlilumab, a CD27-targeting monoclonal antibody, was transiently produced in fresh leaves of soil-grown and hydroponic-grown N. benthamiana, resulted in the yield of 174 and 618 µg/gram, respectively. However, the IgG produced in wild-type N. benthamiana lacked the terminal galactose residues in its N-glycan. Therefore, N-glycan engineering was applied to fine-tune recombinant antibodies produced in plant platforms. We further co-expressed IgG together with murine β1,4-galactosyltransferase (β1,4-GALT) to modify plant N-glycan with β1,4-linked Gal residue(s) and Arabidopsis thaliana β1,3-galactosylatransferase (β1,3-GALT) to improve galactosylation. The co-expression of IgG with each of GALTs successfully resulted in modification of N-glycan structures on the plant-produced IgG. Notably, IgG co-expressed with murine β1,4-GALT in soil-grown N. benthamiana had 42.5% of N-glycans variants having galactose (Gal) residues at the non-reducing terminus and 55.3% of that in hydroponic-grown N. benthamiana plants. Concomitantly, N-glycan profile analysis of IgG co-expressed with β1,3-GALT demonstrated that there was an increased efficiency of galactosylation and an enhancement in the formation of Lewis a structure in plant-derived antibodies. Taken together, our findings show that the first plant-derived Varlilumab was successfully produced with biantennary β1,4-galactosylated N-glycan structures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kim Dua Nguyen
- International Center for Biotechnology, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan
| | - Hiroyuki Kajiura
- International Center for Biotechnology, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan
- Industrial Biotechnology Initiative Division, Institute for Open and Transdisciplinary Research Initiatives (OTRI), Osaka University, Osaka, Japan
| | - Ryo Kamiya
- GreenLand-Kidaya Group Co Ltd., Fukui, Japan
| | | | - Ryo Misaki
- International Center for Biotechnology, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan
- Industrial Biotechnology Initiative Division, Institute for Open and Transdisciplinary Research Initiatives (OTRI), Osaka University, Osaka, Japan
| | - Kazuhito Fujiyama
- International Center for Biotechnology, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan
- Industrial Biotechnology Initiative Division, Institute for Open and Transdisciplinary Research Initiatives (OTRI), Osaka University, Osaka, Japan
- Osaka University Cooperative Research Station in Southeast Asia (OU: CRS), Faculty of Science, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand
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Karki U, Wright T, Xu J. High yield secretion of human erythropoietin from tobacco cells for ex vivo differentiation of hematopoietic stem cells towards red blood cells. J Biotechnol 2022; 355:10-20. [PMID: 35777457 PMCID: PMC9492895 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbiotec.2022.06.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2022] [Accepted: 06/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Human erythropoietin (EPO) is a key cytokine in erythropoiesis by regulating differentiation of erythroid progenitor cells into red blood cells (RBCs). Plant cell cultures are considered as promising alternative bioproduction platforms for EPO. To overcome the bottlenecks of low protein productivity and secretion, EPO was expressed in tobacco BY-2 cells with a designer peptide tag, termed (SP)20 that consists of 20 tandem repeats of a "Ser-Pro" motif. This de novo designed tag directed extensive O-glycosylation on each Pro residue in plant cells and acted as a molecular carrier to promote the extracellular secretion of EPO. To facilitate the establishment of stable and high-expression BY-2 cell lines, EPO molecules were co-expressed with a reporter protein GFP, which could be used as a visual marker to monitor the protein expression during the subculture. The engineered (SP)20 glycomodule substantially increased the secreted yields of EPO up to 4.31 μg/mL. The (SP)20-tagged EPOs exhibited the expected activity in promoting the proliferation of TF-1 cells, though their EC50 was 12-fold higher than that of EPO standard. The (SP)20-tagged EPOs could also stimulate the ex vivo expansion and differentiation of hematopoietic stem cell (CD34+ cells) towards RBCs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Uddhab Karki
- Arkansas Biosciences Institute, USA; Department of Biological Sciences, USA
| | | | - Jianfeng Xu
- Arkansas Biosciences Institute, USA; College of Agriculture, Arkansas State University, Jonesboro, AR 72401, USA.
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Investigation of the N-Glycosylation of the SARS-CoV-2 S Protein Contained in VLPs Produced in Nicotiana benthamiana. Molecules 2022; 27:molecules27165119. [PMID: 36014368 PMCID: PMC9412417 DOI: 10.3390/molecules27165119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2022] [Revised: 07/29/2022] [Accepted: 08/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
The emergence of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus pandemic in China in late 2019 led to the fast development of efficient therapeutics. Of the major structural proteins encoded by the SARS-CoV-2 genome, the SPIKE (S) protein has attracted considerable research interest because of the central role it plays in virus entry into host cells. Therefore, to date, most immunization strategies aim at inducing neutralizing antibodies against the surface viral S protein. The SARS-CoV-2 S protein is heavily glycosylated with 22 predicted N-glycosylation consensus sites as well as numerous mucin-type O-glycosylation sites. As a consequence, O- and N-glycosylations of this viral protein have received particular attention. Glycans N-linked to the S protein are mainly exposed at the surface and form a shield-masking specific epitope to escape the virus antigenic recognition. In this work, the N-glycosylation status of the S protein within virus-like particles (VLPs) produced in Nicotiana benthamiana (N. benthamiana) was investigated using a glycoproteomic approach. We show that 20 among the 22 predicted N-glycosylation sites are dominated by complex plant N-glycans and one carries oligomannoses. This suggests that the SARS-CoV-2 S protein produced in N. benthamiana adopts an overall 3D structure similar to that of recombinant homologues produced in mammalian cells.
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