Optimization of a glycoengineered Pichia pastoris cultivation process for commercial antibody production

Glycoengineering enabled the production of proteins with human N-linked glycans by Pichia pastoris. This study used a glycoengineered P. pastoris strain which is capable of producing humanized glycoprotein with terminal galactose for monoclonal antibody production. A design of experiments approach was used to optimize the process parameters. Followed by further optimization of the specific methanol feed rate, induction duration, and the initial induction biomass, the resulting process yielded up to 1.6 g/L of monoclonal antibody. This process was also scaled-up to 1,200-L scale, and the process profiles, productivity, and product quality were comparable with 30-L scale. The successful scale-up demonstrated that this glycoengineered P. pastoris fermentation process is a robust and commercially viable process.     

Using precipitation by polyamines as an alternative to chromatographic separation in antibody purification processes

Polyamine precipitation conditions for removing host cell protein impurities from the cell culture fluid containing monoclonal antibody were studied. We examined the impact of polyamine concentration, size, structure, cell culture fluid pH and ionic strength. A 96-well microtiter plate based high throughput screening method was developed and used for evaluating different polyamines. Polyallylamine, polyvinylamine, branched polyethyleneimine and poly(dimethylamine-co-epichlorohydrin-ethylenediamine) were identified as efficient precipitants in removing host cell protein impurities. Leveraging from the screening results, we incorporated a polyamine precipitation step into a monoclonal antibody purification process to replace the Protein A chromatography step. The optimization of the overall purification process was performed by taking the mechanisms of both precipitation and chromatographic separation into account. The precipitation-containing process removed a similar amount of process-related impurities, including host cell proteins, DNA, insulin and gentamicin and maintained similar product quality in respect of size and charge variants to chromatography based purification. Overall recovery yield was comparable to the typical Protein A affinity chromatography based antibody purification process.     

人源性抗HBsAg Fab抗体的发酵生产研究

为了适应工业生产的需要,利用fed—batch方法,重组人源性抗HBsAg Fab抗体酵母工程菌在30L发酵罐中进行了高密度发酵,发酵最适温度30℃,pH值范围5．0～5．3,溶氧范围20％～30％。发酵液OD600值达到300时开始诱导,甲醇最佳诱导浓度为10mL／L。重组人源性抗HBsAg Fab抗体经离子交换层析纯化,纯化产品经SDS-PAGE、Western blot进行分析和ELISA方法进行活性测定。结果显示,重组Fab抗体在Fed-batch发酵系统中可高效表达,经过192h的发酵生产,重组人源性抗HBsAg Fab抗体的表达量可达412mg／L。发酵上清经过离子交换层析纯化,获得纯度为95％的重组Fab抗体,该Fab抗体经ELISA分析具有较高的HBsAg抗原亲和力和特异性。结果证实可以通过高密度发酵毕赤酵母工程菌来高效生产重组人源性抗HBsAg Fab抗体,为后续的工业化生产应用奠定了基础。     

Development of purification processes for fully human bispecific antibodies based upon modification of protein A binding avidity

There is strong interest in the design of bispecific monoclonal antibodies (bsAbs) that can simultaneously bind 2 distinct targets or epitopes to achieve novel mechanisms of action and efficacy. Multiple bispecific formats have been proposed and are currently under development. Regeneron's bispecific technology is based upon a standard fully human IgG antibody in order to minimize immunogenicity and improve the pharmacokinetic profile. A single common light chain and 2 distinct heavy chains combine to form the bispecific molecule. One of the heavy chains contains a chimeric Fc sequence form (called Fc*) that ablates binding to Protein A via the constant region. As a result of co-expression of the 2 heavy chains and the common light chain, 3 products are created, 2 of which are homodimeric for the heavy chains and one that is the desired heterodimeric bispecific product. The Fc* sequence allows selective purification of the FcFc* bispecific product on commercially available affinity columns, due to intermediate binding affinity for Protein A compared to the high avidity FcFc heavy chain homodimer, or the weakly binding Fc*Fc* homodimer. This platform requires the use of Protein A chromatography in both a capture and polishing modality. Several challenges, including variable region Protein A binding, resin selection, selective elution optimization, and impacts upon subsequent non-affinity downstream unit operations, were addressed to create a robust and selective manufacturing process.     

Generation of diploid Pichia pastoris strains by mating and their application for recombinant protein production

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Yeast mating provides an efficient means for strain and library construction. However, biotechnological applications of mating in the methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris have been hampered because of concerns about strain stability of P. pastoris diploids. The aim of the study reported here is to investigate heterologous protein expression in diploid P. pastoris strains and to evaluate diploid strain stability using high cell density fermentation processes. RESULTS: By using a monoclonal antibody as a target protein, we demonstrate that recombinant protein production in both wild-type and glycoengineered P. pastoris diploids is stable and efficient during a nutrient rich shake flask cultivation. When diploid strains were cultivated under bioreactor conditions, sporulation was observed. Nevertheless, both wild-type and glycoengineered P. pastoris diploids showed robust productivity and secreted recombinant antibody of high quality. Specifically, the yeast culture maintained a diploid state for 240 h post-induction phase while protein titer and N-linked glycosylation profiles were comparable to that of a haploid strain expressing the same antibody. As an application of mating, we also constructed an antibody display library and used mating to generate novel full-length antibody sequences. CONCLUSIONS: To the best of our knowledge, this study reports for the first time a comprehensive characterization of recombinant protein expression and fermentation using diploid P. pastoris strains. Data presented here support the use of mating for various applications including strain consolidation, variable-region glycosylation antibody display library, and process optimization.     

重组人小分子抗体ScFv-Fc发酵条件的优化及纯化

目的：研究重组人小分子抗体ScFv—Fc在毕赤酵母中分泌表达的最佳条件,以及ScFv—Fc的纯化方法。方法：分别从甲醇浓度、pH、诱导时间等方面对毕赤酵母重组菌株产生ScFv-Fc的发酵过程进行了优化;通过硫酸铵沉淀结合proteinA亲和层析柱,对ScFv—Fc的纯化方法进行了研究。结果：确定ScFv—Fc在毕赤酵母中分泌表达的最佳条件为：在pH5．2的条件下,以0．5％甲醇诱导72h。经过proteinA亲和层析柱纯化后,ScFv—Fc纯度可达94％以上。结论：确定了ScFv-Fe在毕赤酵母中分泌表达的最佳条件以及纯化方法,为重组抗体分子诊断、治疗试剂的开发以及抗体的人源化奠定了物质基础。     

内皮细胞抑制素酵母工程菌的高密度发酵及产物纯化和活性分析

用 30升发酵罐研究了内皮细胞抑制素 (EDN)酵母工程菌P .pastorisGS115 (pPIC9K EDN)的高密度发酵工艺 ,摸索出发酵培养基 ,pH ,诱导时间等对菌体生长和基因表达的影响 .根据所确定的最适条件进行发酵 ,通过补料和甲醇诱导 4 8h后 ,工程菌GS115 (pPIC9K EDN)生物量的A60 0 值达到 2 5 0 ,分泌量为 15 0mg L .发酵液经StreamlineSP ,SepharoseSPFF离子交换柱和Sepharose HeparinHiTrap亲和柱纯化 ,产物纯度达 97%以上 ,回收率为 6 0 % .Western印迹结果表明 ,酵母工程菌GS115 (pPIC9K EDN)表达的重组人内皮细胞抑制素具有天然EDN的免疫原性 .MTT法和抑癌实验结果显示 :纯化产物能抑制人脐静脉内皮细胞的增殖并能抑制移植于小鼠的黑色素瘤的生长 ,其平均抑瘤率是 94 2 % .     

An optimized fermentation process for high-level production of a single-chain Fv antibody fragment in Pichia pastoris

The expression of a humanized single-chain variable domain fragment antibody (A33scFv) was optimized for Pichia pastoris with yields exceeding 4 g L(-1). A33scFv recognizes a cell surface glycoprotein (designated A33) expressed in colon cancer that serves as a target antigen for immunotherapy of colon cancer. P. pastoris with a MutS phenotype was selected to express A33scFv, which was cloned under regulation of the methanol-inducible AOX1 promoter. We report the optimization of A33scFv production by examining methanol concentrations using fermentation technology with an on-line methanol control in fed-batch fermentation of P. pastoris. In addition, we examined the effect of pH on A33scFv production and biomass accumulation during the methanol induction phase. A33scFv production was found to increase with higher methanol concentrations, reaching 4.3 g L(-1) after 72 h induction with 0.5% (v/v) methanol. Protein production was also greatly affected by pH, resulting in higher yields (e.g., 4.88 g L(-1)) at lower pH values. Biomass accumulation did not seem to vary when cells were induced at different pH values, but was greatly affected by lower concentration of methanol. Purification of A33scFv from clarified medium was done using a two-step chromatographic procedure using anion-exchange and hydrophobic interaction chromatography, resulting in 25% recovery and >90% purity. Pure A33scFv was tested for functionality using surface plasmon resonance and showed activity against immobilized A33 antigen. Our results demonstrate that functional A33scFv can be produced in sufficient quantities using P. pastoris for use in further functionality studies and diagnostic applications.     

Camelid VHH affinity ligands enable separation of closely related biopharmaceuticals

Interest in new and diverse classes of molecules such as recombinant toxins, enzymes, and blood factors continues to grow for use a biotherapeutics. Compared to monoclonal antibodies, these novel drugs typically lack a commercially available affinity chromatography option, which leads to greater process complexity, longer development timelines, and poor platformability. To date, for both monoclonal antibodies and novel molecules, affinity chromatography has been mostly reserved for separation of process‐related impurities such as host cell proteins and DNA. Reports of affinity purification of closely related product variants and modified forms are much rarer. In this work we describe custom affinity chromatography development using camelid V_HH antibody fragments as "tunable" immunoaffinity ligands for separation of product‐related impurities. One example demonstrates high selectivity for a recombinant immunotoxin where no binding was observed for an undesired deamidated species. Also discussed is affinity purification of a coagulation factor through specific recognition of the gamma‐carboxylglutamic acid domain.     

甲醇-山梨醇混合碳源诱导提高抗HER2抗体在糖基工程毕赤酵母中的表达

目的：以抗HER2抗体为模型,研究抗体在糖基工程酵母菌中的表达及工程菌发酵技术。方法：首先通过摇瓶试验分析诱导用甲醇浓度对抗体表达的影响,并用高表达HER2的SK-BR-3细胞分析抗HER2抗体的抗原结合活性。以此为基础,在5 L发酵罐中研究甲醇-山梨醇混合碳源流加诱导对抗HER2抗体表达水平的影响;收集发酵培养液,采用阳离子交换层析对目标产物进行纯化;利用SDS-PAGE、Western印迹、Lowry法对抗体的相对分子质量、浓度等进行分析。结果：摇瓶试验结果表明,甲醇浓度为0.5%时抗体表达量最高,且糖基工程毕赤酵母菌表达的抗HER2抗体具有与SK-BR-3细胞抗原结合的活性;在5 L发酵罐中,利用甲醇和山梨醇混合诱导方式发酵表达抗体,其表达量可提高至0.6 g/L,比摇瓶诱导表达的抗体产量提高了近10倍;非还原SDS-PAGE及Western印迹表明抗体相对分子质量为1.5×105,与商业化抗体Herceptin的大小一致;经过一步阳离子交换层析纯化,纯化后抗体浓度为0.365 g/L。结论：采用甲醇-山梨醇混合碳源诱导方式在5 L发酵罐中进行发酵表达,能够提高抗HER2抗体在糖基工程酵母菌中的表达量,本研究可为抗体在酵母中的规模发酵技术提供重要参考。     

甲型H1N1流感病毒血凝素HA1在糖基工程毕赤酵母中的表达

目的:建立用糖基工程酵母制备流感血凝素的方法 ,研究其免疫原性,为酵母表达流感疫苗提供基础。方法:通过PCR的方法扩增编码H1N1流感病毒血凝素HA1(1～330 aa)的基因片段,将HA1基因克隆到表达载体pPIC9质粒上,电转化到糖基工程酵母中,甲醇诱导表达并用镍亲和层析柱纯化重组蛋白,N-糖苷酶F(PNGF)酶切分析N-糖链,Western印迹验证纯化蛋白,免疫小鼠并测定HA1诱导抗体的滴度。结果:获得HA1基因的酵母重组表达菌株,SDS-PAGE分析可见野生型GS115表达的重组HA1相对分子质量约为100×103,而糖基工程酵母GJK01表达的HA1约为60×103,PNGF酶切后相对分子质量均降至45×103左右;经Western印迹检测,这些条带均为目的蛋白条带,野生型和糖基工程酵母表达的HA1分子大小不同是由于不同的N-糖基化修饰引起的。重组HA1免疫小鼠可产生抗HA1抗体,随着抗原剂量的增加,其产生的抗体滴度相应增加;3次免疫后,4μg HA1诱导小鼠产生的抗体滴度最高。结论:利用糖基工程酵母表达制备了低糖化的流感病毒血凝素HA1,该重组蛋白可以诱导小鼠产生HA1抗体,且产生的抗体滴度具有HA1剂量依赖性。     

Purification of the therapeutic antibody trastuzumab from genetically modified plants using safflower Protein A-oleosin oilbody technology

Production of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies using genetically modified plants may provide low cost, high scalability and product safety; however, antibody purification from plants presents a challenge due to the large quantities of biomass that need to be processed. Protein A column chromatography is widely used in the pharmaceutical industry for antibody purification, but its application is limited by cost, scalability and column fouling problems when purifying plant-derived antibodies. Protein A-oleosin oilbodies (Protein A-OB), expressed in transgenic safflower seeds, are relatively inexpensive to produce and provide a new approach for the capture of monoclonal antibodies from plants. When Protein A-OB is mixed with crude extracts from plants engineered to express therapeutic antibodies, the Protein A-OB captures the antibody in the oilbody phase while impurities remain in the aqueous phase. This is followed by repeated partitioning of oilbody phase against an aqueous phase via centrifugation to remove impurities before purified antibody is eluted from the oilbodies. We have developed this purification process to recover trastuzumab, an anti-HER2 monoclonal antibody used for therapy against specific breast-cancers that over express HER2 (human epidermal growth factor receptor 2), from transiently infected Nicotiana benthamiana. Protein A-OB overcomes the fouling problem associated with traditional Protein A chromatography, allowing for the development of an inexpensive, scalable and novel high-resolution method for the capture of antibodies based on simple mixing and phase separation.     

An Integrated Approach to Aggregate Control for Therapeutic Bispecific Antibodies Using an Improved Three Column Mab Platform-Like Purification Process

Single chain variable fragment-IgGs (scFv-IgG) are a class of bispecific antibodies consisting of two single chain variable fragments (scFv) that are fused to an intact IgG molecule. A common trend observed for expression of scFv-IgGs in mammalian cell culture is a higher level of aggregates (10%–30%) compared to mAbs, which results in lower purification yields in order to meet product quality targets. Furthermore, the high aggregate levels also pose robustness risks to a conventional mAb three column platform purification process which uses only the polishing steps (e.g., cation exchange chromatography [CEX]) for aggregate removal. Protein A chromatography with pH gradient elution, high performance tangential flow filtration (HP-TFF) and calcium phosphate precipitation were evaluated at the bench scale as means of introducing orthogonal aggregate removal capabilities into other aspects of the purification process. The two most promising process variants, namely Protein A pH gradient elution followed by calcium phosphate precipitation were evaluated at pilot scale, demonstrating comparable performance. Implementing Protein A chromatography with gradient elution and/or calcium phosphate precipitation removed a sufficient portion of the aggregate burden prior to the CEX polishing step, enabling CEX to be operated robustly under conditions favoring higher monomer yield. From starting aggregate levels ranging from 15% to 23% in the condition media, levels were reduced to between 2% and 3% at the end of the CEX step. The overall yield for the optimal process was 71%. Results of this work suggest an improved three-column mAb platform-like purification process for purification of high aggregate scFv-IgG bispecific antibodies is feasible. © 2018 The Authors. Biotechnology Progress published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of American Institute of Chemical Engineers. Biotechnol. Prog., 35: e2720, 2019     

基于密码子优化的蛋白酶K在毕赤酵母中的表达及分离纯化

【目的】提高蛋白酶K在毕赤酵母中的表达产量,建立分离纯化方法。【方法】首先对蛋白酶K密码子进行优化,将其导入毕赤酵母GS115中实现分泌表达。然后对甲醇浓度、发酵温度和p H等表达条件进行优化,再对硫酸铵沉淀、亲和层析等纯化工艺进行比对分析。【结果】蛋白酶K密码子优化后实现了在毕赤酵母中的高效表达。在甲醇量0.75%、温度25°C和p H 7.0条件下进行发酵罐培养,蛋白酶K表达量达到2.2 g/L。采用Ni-NTA亲和柱对发酵液进行纯化可以得到较好的纯化效果。【结论】密码子优化后的蛋白酶K在毕赤酵母中高效表达并可以利用Ni-NTA亲和柱进行有效分离纯化。     

A combined screening and in silico strategy for the rapid design of integrated downstream processes for process and product-related impurity removal

Integrated designs of chromatographic processes for purification of biopharmaceuticals provides potential gains in operational efficiency and reductions of costs and material requirements. We describe a combined method using screening and in silico algorithms for ranking chromatographic steps to rapidly design orthogonally selective integrated processes for purifying protein therapeutics from both process- and product-related impurities. IFN-α2b produced in Pichia pastoris containing a significant product variant challenge was used as a case study. The product and product-related variants were screened on a set of 14 multimodal, ion exchange, and hydrophobic charge induction chromatography resins under various pH and salt linear gradient conditions. Data generated from reversed-phase chromatography of the fractions collected were used to generate a retention database for IFN-α2b and its variants. These data, in combination with a previously constructed process-related impurity database for P. pastoris, were input into an in silico process development tool that generated and ranked all possible integrated chromatographic sequences for their ability to remove both process and product-related impurities. Top-ranking outputs guided the experimental refinement of two successful three step purification processes, one comprising all bind-elute steps and the other having two bind-elute steps and a flowthrough operation. This approach suggests a new platform-like approach for rapidly designing purification processes for a range of proteins where separations of both process- and product-related impurities are needed.     

6C6鼠-人嵌合抗体的纯化及鉴定

采用基因工程技术 ,将小鼠 6C6单克隆抗体可变区基因与人抗体恒定区基因连接 ,构建了鼠 人 6C6嵌合抗体基因 ,并在CHO细胞中高效表达 .利用ProteinA亲和层析柱从细胞培养上清中分离纯化 6C6嵌合抗体 ,得到电泳纯度大于 98%的 6C6嵌合抗体 ,其重链 (5 5kD)和轻链 (2 4kD)符合IgG相对分子质量的理论值 .Western印迹、细胞免疫荧光和免疫组织化学实验结果均呈阳性 .表明6C6嵌合抗体可识别人乳腺癌细胞表面上的肿瘤相关抗原 ,保持了 6C6单克隆抗体的特性 ,为后续的研究工作奠定了基础     

Bispecific antibody process development: Assembly and purification of knob and hole bispecific antibodies

Production of knob and hole dual light chain bispecific antibodies poses several unique challenges for development of a feasible industrial scale manufacturing process. We developed an efficient process for the assembly and purification of knob and hole dual light chain bispecific antibodies. Two distinct half‐antibodies targeting two different antigens were expressed separately in Escherichia coli cells and captured independently using Protein A chromatography. When combined, the knob and hole mutations in the CH3 domains promoted heterodimer formation. The hinge region disulfides were reduced and reoxidized to form the disulfide bridge between the two complementary half antibodies. Unreacted half antibodies, noncovalently linked homodimers, covalently linked homodimers, and noncovalently linked heterodimers are impurities closely related to the product of interest and are challenging to remove by standard processes. Characterization of the molecular properties of the half antibodies and high‐throughput screening predicted column chromatography performance and allowed for rapid development of downstream purification steps for removal of unique product‐related and process‐related impurities. © 2018 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 34:397–404, 2018     

High‐efficiency affinity precipitation of multiple industrial mAbs and Fc‐fusion proteins from cell culture harvests using Z‐ELP‐E2 nanocages

Affinity precipitation using Z‐elastin‐like polypeptide‐functionalized E2 protein nanocages has been shown to be a promising alternative to Protein A chromatography for monoclonal antibody (mAb) purification. We have previously described a high‐yielding, affinity precipitation process capable of rapidly capturing mAbs from cell culture through spontaneous, multivalent crosslinking into large aggregates. To challenge the capabilities of this technology, nanocage affinity precipitation was investigated using four industrial mAbs (mAbs A–D) and one Fc fusion protein (Fc A) with diverse molecular properties. A molar binding ratio of 3:1 Z:mAb was sufficient to precipitate >95% mAb in solution for all molecules evaluated at ambient temperature without added salt. The effect of solution pH on aggregation kinetics was studied using a simplified two‐step model to investigate the protein interactions that occur during mAb–nanocage crosslinking and to determine the optimal solution pH for precipitation. After centrifugation, the pelleted mAb–nanocage complex remained insoluble and was capable of being washed at pH ≥ 5 and eluted with at pH < 4 with >90% mAb recovery for all molecules. The four mAbs and one Fc fusion were purified from cell culture using optimal process conditions, and >94% yield and >97% monomer content were obtained. mAb A–D purification resulted in a 99.9% reduction in host cell protein and >99.99% reduction in DNA from the cell culture fluids. Nanocage affinity precipitation was equivalent to or exceeded expected Protein A chromatography performance. This study highlights the benefits of nanoparticle crosslinking for enhanced affinity capture and presents a robust platform that can be applied to any target mAb or Fc‐containing proteins with minimal optimization of process parameters.     

Isolation of pure,catalytically active human liver monoamine oxidase B: Antibody complex

Monoamine oxidase B was purified from human liver mitochondria using a monoclonal antibody, MAO B-1C2, which recognizes monoamine oxidase B but not A. Triton X-100 extracts of mitochondria were incubated with purified MAO B-1C2 (IgG₁), and the catalytically active enzyme:antibody complex was isolated by affinity chromatography on Protein A-Sepharose. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of the complex revealed the presence of four polypeptide bands (monoamine oxidase B, 57,900 dalton; antibody heavy chain, 52,200 dalton; and two light chains, 29,400 and 27,700 dalton), and indicated a 1:1 stoichiometric ratio of enzyme to antibody. This method gave 154-fold purification of the enzyme from mitochondria.     

Pichia pastoris酵母中表达人源中和性抗甲型肝炎病毒scFv-Fc融合抗体的研究

为了探讨人源抗甲型肝炎（甲肝）病毒scFv—Fc融合抗体在酵母中的表达特性,将获得的人源抗甲肝病毒中和性单链可变区抗体（scFv抗体）基因克隆入含信号肽及人IgG1Fc抗体基因的酵母细胞表达载体中,获得了一株中和性人源抗甲肝病毒pPiscFv—FcHA16融合抗体的分泌表达,并对表达产物进行了纯化。同时对表达产物的生物学特性进行了一系列鉴定。表达的pPiscFv—FcHA16融合抗体为具有不同糖基化形式的同源二聚体,与相应的CHO细胞表达的IgG抗体相比,pPiscFv—FcHA16融合抗体仍保持很好的抗原结合活性,以及与中和性鼠抗甲肝病毒单克隆抗体的竞争抑制能力。同时也保持了对甲肝病毒的体外中和活性。这些结果表明,在酵母中表达的单链可变区（scFv）与IgG1Fc区的融合抗体具有很好的生物学活性,有希望用做体外诊断,用纯化相应的抗原,或者可能用于体内预防与治疗。