Rapid recombinant protein production from piggyBac transposon-mediated stable CHO cell pools

Heterogeneous populations of stably transfected cells (cell pools) can serve for the rapid production of moderate amounts of recombinant proteins. Here, we propose the use of the piggyBac (PB) transposon system to improve the productivity and long-term stability of cell pools derived from Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells. PB is a naturally occurring genetic element that has been engineered to facilitate the integration of a transgene into the genome of the host cell. In this report PB-derived cell pools were generated after 10 days of selection with puromycin. The resulting cell pools had volumetric productivities that were 3–4 times higher than those achieved with cell pools generated by conventional plasmid transfection even though the number of integrated transgene copies per cell was similar in the two populations. In 14-day batch cultures, protein levels up to 600 and 800 mg/L were obtained for an Fc-fusion protein and a monoclonal antibody, respectively, at volumetric scales up to 1 L. In general, the volumetric protein yield from cell pools remained constant for up to 3 months in the absence of selection. In conclusion, transfection of CHO cells with the PB transposon system is a simple, efficient, and reproducible approach to the generation of cell pools for the rapid production of recombinant proteins.

Study of transposon-mediated cell pool and cell line generation in CHO cells

Sowmya Balasubramanian

The goal of this thesis was to evaluate the use of artificial transposon systems for the generation of recombinant cell pools and cell lines with Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells as the production host. Transposons are naturally occurring genetic elements present in the genome of most organisms. Several transposons of metazoan origin have been engineered to facilitate the integration of one or more recombinant genes (transgenes) into the genome of the host cell. In this thesis, three of the most commonly used transposons, piggyBac (PB), Tol2, and Sleeping Beauty (SB), were used for transgene delivery into CHO-DG44 cells. The transposon systems described here involves co-transfection of the host cells with a helper plasmid for the transient expression of the transposase, and a donor plasmid coding for the transgene and a gene for the selection, both positioned between two transposon repeat sequences that are required for DNA transposition. Through the optimization of various selection parameters we showed that PB-mediated cell pools can be generated with selection duration of as little as 5 days in the presence of puromycin. All three transposon systems, PB, Tol2, and SB, resulted in cell pools with similar volumetric TNFR:Fc productivities that were about 9 times higher than those generated by conventional plasmid transfection. Transposon-mediated cell pools had 10 - 12 transgene integrations per cell. However, we demonstrated that some the integration events occurred via DNA recombination rather than transposition. We also isolated clonal cell lines from cell pools. As expected, the average volumetric TNFR:Fc productivity of transposon-derived cell lines was higher than that of cell lines generated by conventional transfection. In 14-day fed-batch cultures, protein levels up to 900 mg/L and 1.5 g/L were obtained from transposon-mediated cell pools and cell lines, respectively. The stability over time of the volumetric productivity of cell pools was determined by maintaining the cells in culture for 3 months in the absence of selection. In general, the productivity decreased to 50 % its initial level over the first 7 weeks in culture and then remained constant for the following 5 weeks. In contrast, the volumetric protein yield from transposon-mediated cell lines remained constant for up to 4 months in the absence of selection. We also showed that the three transposon systems could be used for cell pool generation with CHO-K1 and CHO-S with similar volumetric productivities as observed with CHO-DG44 cells. Finally, we utilized the PB transposon system for generating cell pools co-expressing up to 4 different transgenes, enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP), secreted alkaline phosphatase (SEAP), and the light and heavy chains of an IgG1 monoclonal antibody, by simultaneous transfection of all four transgenes. We showed that PB-mediated cell pools had increased volumetric productivity of each of the proteins compared to those generated by conventional co-transfection. The use of the PB transposon system increased the percentage of cells in the pools that were co-expressing all four proteins as compared to the results with cell pools generated by conventional transfection. In conclusion, the transfection of CHO cells with the PB, Tol2 or SB transposon system is a simple, efficient, and reproducible approach to the generation of cell pools and cell lines for the rapid production of recombinant proteins.

EPFL2015

Transient recombinant protein expression in mammalian cells

Sarah Wulhfard

Transient gene expression (TGE) is a rapid method for generating recombinant proteins in mammalian cells, but the volumetric productivities for secreted proteins in transiently transfected CHO DG44 cells are typically more than an order of magnitude lower than the yields achieved with recombinant CHO-derived cell lines. The goals of the thesis are to identify the limitations to higher TGE yields in CHO DG44 cells and to find possible solutions to overcome the problems. Initially an attempt was made to enhance TGE production by increasing the amount of transfected plasmid DNA. However, this approach did not result in increased recombinant protein levels; on the contrary, transfection with an excess of plasmid DNA (> 1.25 μg/ml) had a negative impact on transgene mRNA levels and protein production. Moreover, it was also observed that recombinant protein yield was strongly dependent on the mRNA level. Therefore, three strategies aimed at increasing the amount of transgene mRNA were investigated. For the first approach, transfected cells were exposed to hypothermic conditions during the production phase. It was already known that lower temperatures increase protein production several fold in recombinant CHO DG44-derived cell lines. The second strategy involved the treatment of transfected cells with valproic acid, a histone deacetylase inhibitor that reduces the effects of gene silencing. The third approach aimed to increase transgene mRNA levels by overexpressing transcription factors and growth factors. With the first two strategies recombinant antibody yields of 60-80 mg/L were achieved whereas the untreated control transfections produced only 5-10 mg/L. Combination of the two strategies led to the production of 90 mg/L of antibody. Moreover, in the treated cultures, the steady-state level of transgene mRNA was 3-5 times higher than in the untreated cultures and remained stable up to 6 days post-transfection. Using the third approach, the increase in recombinant protein production was moderate and transgene mRNA amounts were only 2-fold higher in treated samples compared to the control. When specific proteins such as c-fos, c-jun, NF-kB, and acidic fibroblast growth factor (aFGF) were overexpressed the recombinant antibody production was 20 mg/L compared to 5 mg/L for the control transfection. Overexpression of either a transcription factor or a growth factor in combination with treatment with valproic acid allowed the recombinant protein yield to reach 90 mg/L. However, the benefit of the overexpressed factors was minimal compared to the effect of valproic acid alone. In conclusion, it was demonstrated that the level and stability of transgene mRNA are important factors for increasing volumetric yields in transiently transfected CHO DG44 cells. Furthermore, three approaches aimed to increase mRNA amounts were tested. Exposure to hypothermic conditions and treatment with valproic acid were the two best strategies tested. Both are simple, cost-effective, and scalable making transient gene expression in CHO DG44 cells a feasible alternative for rapid production of gram amounts of recombinant protein.

EPFL2009

Development of plasmid-based expression technology for rapid and sustained production of recombinant proteins in insect cells

Xiao Shen

Due to the high demand for heterogeneous protein production in insect cells, we have established efficient methods for plasmid-based transient gene expression (TGE) in various insect cell lines, including commonly used Spodoptera cell lines Sf9 and HighFive™ (H5) and the Diptera cell line Schneider S2 from Drosophila melanogaster, as a high-yield protein production platform. The cells were grown in suspension in orbitally shaken containers at working volumes of 5-300 mL. Rapid cell growth and high cell densities were obtained. Among the various transfection agents tested, polyethylenimine supported high transfection efficiencies in all three cell lines. Intensive optimizations of TGE processes for the three cell lines were executed. For example, various promoter and enhancer elements were compared. Using an optimal TGE process, transfection efficiencies (percentage of transfected cells) of over 85% were obtained for all three cell lines. Yields of the secreted protein tumor necrosis factor receptor-Fc fusion (TNFR-Fc) ranged from 100 – 200 mg/L for the three cell lines using a gene optimized for expression in insect cells. The molecular weight of the Sf9-derived dimeric TNFR-Fc was about 6 kDa less than the equivalent product synthesized by Chinese hamster ovary cells due to differences in glycosylation. In addition, several difficult-to-express proteins, that failed to be delivered at sufficient quantity using other expression systems, were successfully produced in S2 cells by TGE. A human serotonin receptor was expressed at 20-60 mg/L; empty and peptideloaded MHC II tetramer complexes were expressed at up to 150 mg/L; neutrophil serine proteases were expressed at levels over 50 mg/L; and protein tyrosine kinases were expressed at levels over 2 mg/L. These yields were obtained within 5 days of transfection at volumetric scales up to 300 mL. We also developed methods for the generation of stable polyclonal pools of recombinant S2 cells based on plasmid cotransfection in the context of the Piggybac transposon. After two weeks of genetic selection of recombinant cells, the recombinant pools remained stable for at least 100 days in the absence of selection with volumetric TNFR-Fc productivity over 40 mg/L in a 4-day batch culture. Our data highlight the use of plasmid-based expression systems in insect cells to meet the demand for rapid and sustained production of proteins in sufficient quantities for biomedical research and for the biotechnology industry.

EPFL2014