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Bayat H, Farahmand F, Tabatabaee SH, Shams F, Mohammadian O, Pourmaleki E, Rahimpour A. Evaluation of the paired-Cas9 nickase and RNA-guided FokI genome editing tools in precise integration of an anti-CD52 bicistronic monoclonal antibody expression construct at Chinese hamster ovary cells 18S rDNA locus. Protein Expr Purif 2024; 217:106445. [PMID: 38342386 DOI: 10.1016/j.pep.2024.106445] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2023] [Revised: 01/08/2024] [Accepted: 02/08/2024] [Indexed: 02/13/2024]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION The aim of this study was to compare two CRISPR/Cas9-based orthogonal strategies, paired-Cas9 nickase (paired-Cas9n) and RNA-guided FokI (RFN), in targeting 18S rDNA locus in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells and precisely integrating a bicistronic anti-CD52 monoclonal antibody (mAb) expression cassette into this locus. METHODS T7E1 and high-resolution melt (HRM) assays were used to compare the ability of mentioned systems in inducing double-strand break (DSB) at the target site. Moreover, 5'- and 3'-junction polymerase chain reactions (PCR) were used to verify the accuracy of the targeted integration of the mAb expression cassette into the 18S rDNA locus. Finally, anti-CD52 mAb gene copy number was measured and, its expression was analyzed using ELISA and western blot assays. RESULTS Our results indicated that both paired-Cas9n and RFN induced DSB at the target site albeit RFN performance was slightly more efficient in HRM analysis. We also confirmed that the anti-CD52 mAb cassette was accurately integrated at the 18S rDNA locus and the mAb was expressed successfully in CHO cells. CONCLUSION Taken together, our findings elucidated that both paired-Cas9n and RFN genome editing tools are promising in targeting the 18S rDNA locus. Site specific integration of the bicistronic anti-CD52 mAb expression cassette at this locus in the CHO-K1 cells was obtained, using RFN. Moreover, proper expression of the anti-CD52 mAb at the 18S rDNA target site can be achieved using the bicistronic internal ribosome entry site (IRES)-based vector system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hadi Bayat
- Cellular and Molecular Biology Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; Department of Molecular Genetics, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran
| | - Faranak Farahmand
- Cellular and Molecular Biology Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; Department of Molecular Genetics, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran
| | - Sayed Hassan Tabatabaee
- Department of Life Science Engineering, Faculty of New Sciences and Technology, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
| | - Forough Shams
- Department of Medical Biotechnology, School of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Omid Mohammadian
- Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Es'hagh Pourmaleki
- Cellular and Molecular Biology Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Azam Rahimpour
- Medical Nanotechnology and Tissue Engineering Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; Department of Tissue Engineering and Applied Cell Sciences, School of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
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Rahimpour A, Mosallaei M, Pourghazi F, Tabatabaee SH, Hoseinpoor R, Pourmaleki E, Soosanabadi M. Development of an Expression Vector Engineering Strategy Based on tDNA Insulator Element for the Stable Expression of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor-Fc Fusion Protein. Monoclon Antib Immunodiagn Immunother 2023; 42:140-144. [PMID: 37624609 DOI: 10.1089/mab.2023.0006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/26/2023] Open
Abstract
During the past decades, tremendous advances have occurred in manufacturing recombinant therapeutic proteins in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells. Nevertheless, the production of stable high-producing cell lines has remained a major obstacle in the development process of the CHO cell line. It has been shown that genomic regulatory elements can promote cell line development efficiency by improving transgenes' productivity and stability. Such elements include insulators, ubiquitous chromatin opening elements, scaffold/matrix attachment regions, and antirepressors. In addition, tDNA elements are shown to act as insulators in mammalian cells. This study examines the effect of the tDNA insulator on stable expression of a vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-Fc fusion protein.
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Affiliation(s)
- Azam Rahimpour
- Medical Nanotechnology and Tissue Engineering Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
- Department of Tissue Engineering and Applied Cell Sciences, School of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Meysam Mosallaei
- Personalized Medicine and Genometabolomics Research Center, Hope Generation Foundation, Tehran, Iran
| | - Farzad Pourghazi
- Endocrinology and Metabolism Research Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Sayed Hassan Tabatabaee
- Department of Life Science Engineering, Faculty of New Sciences and Technology, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
| | - Reyhaneh Hoseinpoor
- Department of Medical Biotechnology, School of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Es'hagh Pourmaleki
- Medical Nanotechnology and Tissue Engineering Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
- Department of Tissue Engineering and Applied Cell Sciences, School of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Mohsen Soosanabadi
- Department of Medical Genetics, Semnan University of Medical Sciences, Semnan, Iran
- Department of Genetics, School of Medicine, Jiroft University of Medical Sciences, Jiroft, Iran
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Rahimpour A, Pourmaleki E, Shams F, Payandeh Z, Pourzardosht N, Didehdar M, Gholami M. The effect of Ccnb1ip1 insulator on monoclonal antibody expression in Chinese hamster ovary cells. Mol Biol Rep 2022; 49:3461-3468. [PMID: 35076847 DOI: 10.1007/s11033-022-07182-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2021] [Accepted: 01/20/2022] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The increasing need for therapeutic monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) entails the development of innovative and improved expression strategies. Chromatin insulators have been utilized for the enhancement of the heterologous proteins in mammalian cells. METHODS AND RESULTS In the current study the Ccnb1ip1 gene insulator element was utilized to construct a novel vector system for the expression of an anti-CD52 mAb in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells. The insulator containing (pIns-mAb) and control (pmAb) vectors were generated and stable cell pools were established using these constructs. The expression level in the cells created with pIns-mAb vector was calculated to be 233 ng/mL, and the expression rate in the control vector was 210 ng/mL, which indicated a 10.9% increase in mAb expression in pIns-mAb pool. In addition, analysis of mAb expression in clonal cells established from each pool showed a 10% increase in antibody productivity in the highest mAb producing clone derived from the pIns-mAb pool compared to the clone isolated from pmAb pool. CONCLUSIONS More studies are needed to fully elucidate the effects of Ccnb1ip1 gene insulator on recombinant therapeutic protein expression in mammalian cells. The combination of this element with other chromatin-modifying elements might improve its augmentation effect which could pave the way for efficient and cost-effective production of therapeutic drugs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Azam Rahimpour
- Medical Nano-Technology & Tissue Engineering Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.,Department of Tissue Engineering and Applied Cell Sciences, School of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Es'hagh Pourmaleki
- Medical Nano-Technology & Tissue Engineering Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.,Department of Tissue Engineering and Applied Cell Sciences, School of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Forough Shams
- Department of Medical Biotechnology, School of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Zahra Payandeh
- Immunology Research Center, Biomedicine Institute, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
| | - Navid Pourzardosht
- Biochemistry Department, Guilan University of Medical Sciences, Rasht, Iran
| | - Mojtaba Didehdar
- Department of Medical Parasitology and Mycology, School of Medicine, Arak University of Medical Sciences, Arāk, Iran
| | - Milad Gholami
- Department of Biochemistry and Genetics, School of Medicine, Arak University of Medical Sciences, Arāk, Iran.
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Naghneh E, Pourmaleki E, Rahimpour A. Evaluation of the Effects of Human Beta-Interferon Scaffold Attachment Region (IFN-SAR) on Expression of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor-Fc (VEGF-Fc) Fusion Protein Expression in Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) Cells. Pharm Sci 2020. [DOI: 10.34172/ps.2020.37] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Background: Recombinant anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) monoclonal antibodies and Fc-fusion proteins have been widely used for the effective treatment of retinal neovascular diseases. In this regard, VEGFR-Fc fusions, which act as strong VEGF inhibitors, have been approved for the treatment of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and diabetic macular edema (DME). Production of monoclonal antibodies and Fc-fusion proteins relies on mammalian host systems such as Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells. Application of genomic regulatory elements including scaffold/matrix attachment regions (SAR/MARs) can profoundly affect recombinant protein expression in CHO cells. Methods: To construct the VEGFR-Fc expression vectors, the enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) gene was replaced by the VEGFR-Fc coding sequence in pEGFP-SAR-puro and pEGFP-puro vectors. Recombinant plasmids were transfected to CHO-K1 cells using TurboFect transfection reagent. VEGFR-Fc expression was evaluated in transiently transfected cells as well as stable cell pools and clones using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results: IFN-SAR showed no significant effect on transient expression of VEGFR-Fc during 72 h of culture. However, a 2.2-fold enhancement in VEGFR-Fc fusion protein titer was observed in IFN-SAR containing stable cell pools. Further evaluation of the VEGFR-Fc expression level in single-cell clones also indicated that clones with the highest VEGFR-Fc expression belonged to the pools transfected with IFN-SAR construct. Conclusion: Our results indicate that the incorporation of IFN-SAR in expression vector can increase the expression of VEGFR-Fc in stable cell pools as well as single-cell clones. In contrast, transient expression of the fusion protein was not affected by IFN-SAR. More studies are needed to investigate the mechanism underlying this effect, including the analysis of mRNA expression and gene copy number in stable cell pools as well as clonal cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ehsan Naghneh
- Department of Genetics, East Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
| | - Es'hagh Pourmaleki
- Nano-Technology and Tissue Engineering Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
- Department of Tissue Engineering and Applied Cell Sciences, School of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Azam Rahimpour
- Nano-Technology and Tissue Engineering Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
- Department of Tissue Engineering and Applied Cell Sciences, School of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
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Mohammadian O, Rajabibazl M, Pourmaleki E, Bayat H, Ahani R, Rahimpour A. Development of an improved lentiviral based vector system for the stable expression of monoclonal antibody in CHO cells. Prep Biochem Biotechnol 2019; 49:822-829. [PMID: 31156045 DOI: 10.1080/10826068.2019.1621893] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
Therapeutic monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) have become the dominant products in biopharmaceutical industry. Mammalian cell expression systems including Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells are the most commonly used hosts for the production of complex recombinant proteins. However, development of stable, high producing CHO cell lines suffers from the low expression level and instability of the transgene. The increasing efforts in the development of novel therapeutic antibodies and the advent of biosimilars have revealed the necessity for the development of improved platforms for rapid production of products for initial characterization and testing. In line with this premise, vector design and engineering has been applied to improve the expression level and stability of the transgene. This study reports the application of an improved lentiviral vector system containing the human interferon-β scaffold attachment region (IFN-SAR) for the development of antibody producing stable CHO cells. mAb expressing clones producing 1100 µg/L of IgG1 monoclonal antibody were isolated without extensive screening of a large number of clones. Our results here indicate the positive effects of IFN-SAR on stable mAb expression using lentiviral based expression vectors. We also observed that although IFN-SAR can improve light chain (LC) and heavy chain (HC) gene copy numbers in stable cell pools, mAb expression in single cell clones was not affected by the transgene copy number.
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Affiliation(s)
- Omid Mohammadian
- a Department of Clinical Biochemistry, School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences , Tehran , Iran
| | - Masoumeh Rajabibazl
- a Department of Clinical Biochemistry, School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences , Tehran , Iran.,b Nano-Technology and Tissue Engineering Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences , Tehran , Iran
| | - Es'hagh Pourmaleki
- b Nano-Technology and Tissue Engineering Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences , Tehran , Iran.,c Department of Tissue Engineering and Applied Cell Sciences, School of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences , Tehran , Iran
| | - Hadi Bayat
- b Nano-Technology and Tissue Engineering Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences , Tehran , Iran.,d Department of Molecular Genetics, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University , Tehran , Iran
| | - Roshanak Ahani
- b Nano-Technology and Tissue Engineering Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences , Tehran , Iran
| | - Azam Rahimpour
- b Nano-Technology and Tissue Engineering Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences , Tehran , Iran.,c Department of Tissue Engineering and Applied Cell Sciences, School of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences , Tehran , Iran
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Naderi F, Hashemi M, Bayat H, Mohammadian O, Pourmaleki E, Etemadzadeh MH, Rahimpour A. The Augmenting Effects of the tDNA Insulator on Stable Expression of Monoclonal Antibody in Chinese Hamster Ovary Cells. Monoclon Antib Immunodiagn Immunother 2018; 37:200-206. [DOI: 10.1089/mab.2018.0015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Fatemeh Naderi
- Department of Genetics, Tehran Medical Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
| | - Mehrdad Hashemi
- Department of Genetics, Tehran Medical Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
| | - Hadi Bayat
- Department of Tissue Engineering and Applied Cell Sciences, School of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Omid Mohammadian
- Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Es'hagh Pourmaleki
- Department of Tissue Engineering and Applied Cell Sciences, School of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | | | - Azam Rahimpour
- Department of Tissue Engineering and Applied Cell Sciences, School of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
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