In this study the expression of a target human recombinant protein in different production platforms was compared. We focused on traditional fermenter-based cultures and on plants, describing the set-up of each system and highlighting, on the basis of the reported results, the inherent limits and advantages for each platform.
Plantaardige systemen worden beschouwd als een waardevol platform voor de productie van recombinante eiwitten ten gevolge van hun goed gedocumenteerde potentieel voor de flexibele, goedkope productie van hoogwaardige biologisch actieve producten.
In deze studie hebben we de expressie van een doelwit menselijk recombinant eiwit in traditionele fermentatie gebaseerde celkweken (bacteriën en insecten) met plantaardige expressiesystemen, zowel transiënte en stabiele.
Voor elk platform, beschrijven we de opzet optimalisatie en lengte van het productieproces kan de uiteindelijke kwaliteit van het product en de opbrengst en we voorlopig productiekosten, specifiek voor het gekozen doelwit recombinante eiwit geëvalueerd.
Kortom, onze resultaten aan dat bacteriën niet voor de bereiding van het doeleiwit door de ophoping ervan in onoplosbare inclusielichamen. Anderzijds, plantaardige systemen zijn veelzijdig platforms thoed kan de productie van het geselecteerde eiwit tegen lagere kosten dan baculovirus / insectencel-systeem. Vooral stabiele transgene lijnen toonde de hoogste opbrengst van het eindproduct en voorbijgaande expressie planten de snelste procesontwikkeling. Kunnen echter niet alle recombinante eiwitten profiteren van plantaardige systemen, maar de beste productie platform moet empirisch worden bepaald met een case-by-case benadering, zoals hier beschreven.
Recombinant proteins are commercially mass-produced in heterologous expression systems with the aid of emerging biotechnology tools. Key factors that have to be considered when choosing the heterologous expression system include: protein quality, functionality, process speed, yield and cost.
In the recombinant protein field, the market for pharmaceuticals is expanding rapidly and, consequently, most biopharmaceuticals produced today are recombinant. Proteins can be expressed in cell cultures of bacteria, yeasts, molds, mammals, plants and insects, as well as in plant systems (either via stable- or transient-transformation) and transgenic animals; each expression system has its inherent advantages and limitations and for each target recombinant protein the optimal production system has to be carefully evaluated.
Plant-based platforms are arising as an important alternative to traditional fermenter-based systems for safe and cost-effective recombinant protein production. Although downstream processing costs are comparable to those of microbial and mammalian cells, the lower up-front investment required for commercial production in plants and the potential economy of scale, provided by cultivation over large areas, are key advantages.
We evaluated plants as bioreactors for the expression of the 65 kDa isoform of human glutamic acid decarboxylase (hGAD65), one of the major autoantigen in Type 1 autoimmune diabetes (T1D). hGAD65 is largely adopted as a marker, both for classifying and monitoring the progression of the disease and its role in T1D prevention is currently under investigation in clinical trials. If these trials are successful, the global demand for recombinant hGAD65 will increase dramatically.
Here, we focus on the expression of the enzymatically inactive counterpart of hGAD65, hGAD65mut, a mutant generated by substituting the lysine residue that binds the cofactor PLP (pyridoxal-5′-phosphate) with an arginine residue (K396R)1.
hGAD65mut retains its immunogenicity and, in plant and insect cells, accumulates up to ten-fold higher than hGAD65, its wild-type counterpart. It was hypothesized that the enzymatic activity of hGAD65 interferes with plant cell metabolism to such an extent that it suppresses its own synthesis, whereas hGAD65mut, the enzymatically-inactive form, can be accumulated in plant cells to higher levels.
For the expression of hGAD65mut, the use of different technologies, widely used in plant biotechnology, was explored here and compared to traditional expression platforms (Escherichia coli and Baculovirus/insect cell-based).
In this work, the recombinant platforms developed for the expression of hGAD65mut comprising traditional and plant-based systems were reviewed and compared on the basis of process speed and yield, and of final product quality and functionality.
In deze studie werden drie verschillende platforms vergeleken voor de expressie van een recombinant humaan eiwit: bacteriële cellen, met baculovirus / insectencellen en planten. De plantaardige platform werd verder onderzocht door de exploitatie van drie veel gebruikte technologieën expressie (dat wil zeggen, van voorbijgaande aard – MagnICON en pK7WG2 basis – en stabiel). Het doeleiwit voor dit experiment gekozen, hGAD65mut, eerder uitgedrukt in verschillende systemen 13, en de productie en functi…
The authors have nothing to disclose.
This work was supported by the COST action ‘Molecular pharming: Plants as a production platform for high-value proteins’ FA0804. The Authors thank Dr Anatoli Giritch and Prof. Yuri Gleba for providing the MagnICON vectors for research purposes.
Yeast extract | Sigma | Y1333 | |
Tryptone | Formedium | TRP03 | |
Agar Bacteriological Grade | Applichem | A0949 | |
Sf-900 II SFM medium | Gibco | 10902-088 | |
Grace’s Insect Medium, unsupplemented | Gibco | 11595-030 | |
Cellfectin II Reagent | Invitrogen | 10362-100 | |
MS medium including vitamins | Duchefa Biochemie | M0222 | |
Sucrose | Duchefa Biochemie | S0809 | |
Plant agar | Duchefa Biochemie | P1001 | |
Ampicillin sodium | Duchefa Biochemie | A0104 | Toxic |
Gentamycin sulphate | Duchefa Biochemie | G0124 | Toxic |
Ganciclovir | Invitrogen | I2562-023 | |
Carbenicillin disodium | Duchefa Biochemie | C0109 | Toxic |
Kanamycin sulfate | Sigma | K4000 | Toxic |
Rifampicin | Duchefa Biochemie | R0146 | Toxic – 25 mg/ml stock in DMSO |
Streptomycin sulfate | Duchefa Biochemie | S0148 | Toxic |
Spectinomycin dihydrochloride | Duchefa Biochemie | S0188 | |
IPTG (Isopropil-β-D-1-tiogalattopiranoside) | Sigma | I5502 | Toxic |
MES hydrate | Sigma | M8250 | |
MgCl2 | Biochemical | 436994U | |
Acetosyringone | Sigma | D134406 | Toxic – 0.1 M stock in DMSO |
Syringe (1 ml) | Terumo | ||
MgSO4 | Fluka | 63136 | |
BAP (6-Benzylaminopurine) | Sigma | B3408 | Toxic |
NAA (Naphtalene acetic acid) | Duchefa Biochemie | N0903 | Irritant |
Cefotaxime | Mylan generics | ||
Trizma base | Sigma | T1503 | Adjust pH with 1 N HCl to make Tris-HCl buffer |
HCl | Sigma | H1758 | Corrosive |
NaCl | Sigma | S3014 | 1 M stock |
KCl | Sigma | P9541 | |
Na2HPO4 | Sigma | S7907 | |
KH2PO4 | Sigma | P9791 | |
PMSF (Phenylmethanesulfonylfluoride) | Sigma | P7626 | Corrosive, toxic |
Urea | Sigma | U5378 | |
β-mercaptoethanol | Sigma | M3148 | Toxic |
Tween-20 | Sigma | P5927 | |
Hepes | Sigma | H3375 | |
DTT (Dithiothreitol) | Sigma | D0632 | Toxic – 1 M stock, store at -20 °C |
CHAPS | Duchefa Biochemie | C1374 | Toxic |
Plant protease inhibitor cocktail | Sigma | P9599 | Do not freeze/thaw too many times |
SDS (Sodium dodecyl sulphate) | Sigma | L3771 | Flammable, toxic, corrosive – 10% stock |
Glycerol | Sigma | G5516 | |
Brilliant Blue R-250 | Sigma | B7920 | |
Isopropanol | Sigma | 24137 | Flammable |
Acetic acid | Sigma | 27221 | Corrosive |
Anti-Glutamic acid decarboxylase 65/67 | Sigma | G5163 | Do not freeze/thaw too many times |
Horseradish peroxidase (HRP)-conjugate anti-rabbit antibody | Sigma | A6154 | Do not freeze/thaw too many times |
Sf9 Cells | Life Technologies | 11496 | |
BL21 Competent E.coli | New England Biolabs | C2530H | |
Protein A Sepharose | Sigma | P2545 | |
Cell culture plates | Sigma | CLS3516 | |
Radio Immuno Assay kit | Techno Genetics | 12650805 | Radioactive material |