Promoter influence on baculovirus-mediated gene expression in permissive and nonpermissive insect cell lines.

The activities of viral and insect promoters were examined in a range of insect cell lines permissive and nonpermissive for the replication of the baculovirus Autographa californica nuclear polyhedrosis virus. Recombinant baculoviruses were constructed to place the bacterial chloramphenicol acetyltransferase gene under the control of promoters strongly active in the early, late, or very late stages of virus replication. In fully permissive cells, expression from a very late promoter was 2- to 3-fold higher than expression from a late promoter and 10- to 20-fold higher than expression from an early promoter or from a virus-borne insect promoter. In cell lines that do not support the efficient production of viral progeny, late-promoter-driven expression was similar to or surpassed very late promoter-driven expression. In nonpermissive insect cell lines, expression driven by an insect promoter derived from Drosophila melanogaster was higher than expression from the three viral promoters and was especially high in the Drosophila cell line tested. Surprisingly, late-promoter-driven expression, which is dependent on DNA replication, was higher than early-promoter-driven expression in three of four nonpermissive lines. In contrast, very late promoter-driven expression was quite limited in nonpermissive cell lines. The results indicate that the promoter used to drive foreign-gene expression strongly influences the range of insect cells which can efficiently support the production of the foreign protein during infection with recombinant baculoviruses.     

Production of hantavirus Puumala nucleocapsid protein in Saccharomyces cerevisiae for vaccine and diagnostics

The production of hantavirus Puumala nucleocapsid (N) protein for potential applications as a vaccine and for diagnostic purposes was investigated with Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a recombinant host. The N protein gene and the hexahistidine tagged N (h-N) protein gene were expressed intracellular from a 2-microm plasmid vectors under the control of a fused galactose inducible GAL10-PYK promoter. For monitoring the recombinant gene expression, a h-N and a GFP fusion protein was used. Different cultivation strategies and growth media compositions were tested in shake flasks and a 5 l bioreactor. When using defined YNB growth medium, we found the biomass yield to be unsatisfactorily low. Higher concentrated YNB medium, promoted cell growth but showed a pronounced inhibitory effect on heterologous gene expression. This phenomenon could not be attributed to plasmid losses, as we could demonstrate high stability of the vector under the applied cultivation conditions. Supplementation of YNB medium with extracts of plant origin resulted in increased biomass yields with concomitant high expression levels of the recombinant gene. The modified medium was used for fed-batch cultivations where basic metabolic features as well as growth parameters were determined in addition to recombinant gene expression. The maximal volumetric yield of N protein was 316 mg l(-1), the respective yield of h-N protein was 284 mg l(-1). Our study provides a basis for large-scale production of hantavirus vaccines, which satisfies economic efficiency as well as biosafety regulations for human applications.     

Mutated polyadenylation signals for controlling expression levels of multiple genes in mammalian cells

A set of mutated SV40 early polyadenylation signals (SV40pA) with varying strengths is generated by mutating the AATAAA sequence in the wild-type SV40pA. They are shown to control the expression level of a gene over a 10-fold range using luciferase reporter genes in transient transfection assays. The relative strength of these SV40pA variants remains similar under three commonly used mammalian promoters and in five mammalian cell lines. Application of SV40pA variants for controlling expression level of multiple genes is demonstrated in a study of monoclonal antibody (mAb) synthesis in mammalian cells. By using SV40pA variants of different strengths, the expression of light chain (LC) and heavy chain (HC) genes encoded in a single vector is independently altered which results in different ratios of LC to HC expression spanning a range from 0.24 to 16.42. The changes in gene expression are determined by measuring mRNA levels and intracellular LC and HC polypeptides. It is found that a substantial decrease of HC expression, which increases the LC/HC mRNA ratio, only slightly reduces mAb production. However, reducing the LC expression by a similar magnitude, which decreases the LC/HC mRNA ratio results in a sharp decline of mAb production to trace amounts. This set of SV40pA variants offers a new tool for accurate control of the relative expression levels of multiple genes. It will have wide-ranging applications in fields related to the study of biosynthesis of multi-subunit proteins, proteomic research on protein interactions, and multi-gene metabolic engineering.     

The green fluorescent protein gene functions as a reporter of gene expression in Phanerochaete chrysosporium

The enhanced green fluorescent protein (GFP) gene (egfp) was used as a reporter of gene expression driven by the glyceraldehyde-p-dehydrogenase (gpd) gene promoter and the manganese peroxidase isozyme 1 (mnp1) gene promoter in Phanerochaete chrysosporium. Four different constructs were prepared. pUGGM3' and pUGiGM3' contain the P. chrysosporium gpd promoter fused upstream of the egfp coding region, and pUMGM3' and pUMiGM3' contain the P. chrysosporium mnp1 promoter fused upstream of the egfp gene. In all constructs, the egfp gene was followed by the mnp1 gene 3' untranslated region. In pUGGM3' and pUMGM3', the promoters were fused directly with egfp, whereas in pUGiGM3' and pUMiGM3', following the promoters, the first exon (6 bp), the first intron (55 bp), and part of the second exon (9 bp) of the gpd gene were inserted at the 5' end of the egfp gene. All constructs were ligated into a plasmid containing the ura1 gene of Schizophyllum commune as a selectable marker and were used to transform a Ural1 auxotrophic strain of P. chrysosporium to prototrophy. Crude cell extracts were examined for GFP fluorescence, and where appropriate, the extracellular fluid was examined for MnP activity. The transformants containing a construct with an intron 5' of the egfp gene (pUGiGM3' and pUMiGM3') exhibited maximal fluorescence under the appropriate conditions. The transformants containing constructs with no introns exhibited minimal or no fluorescence. Northern (RNA) blots indicated that the insertion of a 5' intron resulted in more egfp RNA than was found in transformants carrying an intronless egfp. These results suggest that the presence of a 5' intron affects the expression of the egfp gene in P. chrysosporium. The expression of GFP in the transformants carrying pUMiGM3' paralled the expression of endogenous mnp with respect to nitrogen and Mn levels, suggesting that this construct will be useful in studying cis-acting elements in the mnp1 gene promoter.     

Derivation and characterization of cholesterol-independent non-GS NS0 cell lines for production of recombinant antibodies

Presented is an antibody production platform based on the fed-batch culture of recombinant NS0-derived cell lines. NS0 host cells, obtained from the European Collection of Cell Cultures (ECACC, Salisbury, UK, Part No. 85110503), were first adapted to grow in a protein-free, cholesterol-free medium. The resulting host cell line was designated NS0-PFCF (protein-free, cholesterol-free). The five production cell lines presented here were generated using a common protocol consisting of transfection by electroporation and subcloning. The NS0-PFCF host cell line was transfected using a single expression vector containing the Escherichia coli xanthine-guanine phosphoribosyl transferase gene (gpt), and the antibody heavy and light chain genes driven by the CMV promoter. The five cell lines were chosen after one to three rounds of iterative subcloning, which resulted in a 19-64% increase in antibody productivity when four mother-daughter cell pairs were cultured in a fed-batch bioreactor process. The production cell lines were genetically characterized to determine antibody gene integrity, nucleotide sequences, copy number, and the number of insertion sites in the NS0 cell genome. Genetic characterization data indicate that each of the five production cell lines has a single stably integrated copy of the antibody expression vector, and that the antibody genes are correctly expressed. Stability of antibody production was evaluated for three of the five cell lines by comparing the early stage seed bank with the Working Cell Bank (WCB). Antibody productivity was shown to be stable in two of three cell lines evaluated, while one of the cell lines exhibited a 20% drop in productivity after passaging for approximately 4 weeks. These five NS0-derived production cell lines were successfully cultured to produce antibodies with acceptable product quality attributes in a standardized fed-batch bioreactor process, consistently achieving an average specific productivity of 20-60 pg/cell-day, and a volumetric productivity exceeding 120 mg/L-day (Burky et al., 2006). In contrast to the commonly available NS0 host cell line, which requires serum and cholesterol for growth, and the commonly used expression vector system, which uses a proprietary glutamine synthetase selection marker (GS-NS0), these NS0 cells are cholesterol-independent, grow well in a protein-free medium, use a non-proprietary selection marker, and do not require gene amplification for productivity improvement. These characteristics are advantageous for use of this NS0 cell line platform for manufacturing therapeutic antibodies.     

Co-planar 3,3',4,4',5-pentachlorinated biphenyl and non-co-planar 2,2',4,6,6'-pentachlorinated biphenyl differentially induce recruitment of oestrogen receptor alpha to aryl hydrocarbon receptor target genes

In the present study we examined the ability of 3,3',4,4',5-pentachlorinated biphenyl [PCB126 (polychlorinated biphenyl 126)], a prototypical AHR (aryl hydrocarbon receptor) agonist, and 2,2',4,6,6'-PCB (PCB104), which does not activate AHR, to induce the recruitment of ERalpha (oestrogen receptor alpha) to CYP1A1 (cytochrome P4501A1 gene) and CYP1B1 promoters in T-47D human breast cancer cells and other cell lines. PCB126 treatment strongly induced CYP1A1 and CYP1B1 mRNA expression that was unaffected by co-treatment with E2 (17beta-oestradiol). PCB104 failed to induce changes in either CYP1A1 or CYP1B1 expression levels. ChIP (chromatin immunoprecipitation) assays show that PCB126, but not PCB104, increased the promoter occupancy by ERalpha to CYP1A1 and CYP1B1 promoters. Co-treatment with PCB126+E2 significantly enhanced the promoter occupancy of ERalpha at CYP1A1, whereas co-treatment with PCB126+4-hydroxytamoxifen or ICI182,780 did not. Competitive binding studies revealed that neither PCB126 nor PCB104 bound to ERalpha. HEK-293 cells (human embryonic kidney-293 cells) stably transfected with ERalpha showed significantly higher PCB126-induced CYP1A1 expression compared with empty vector controls, whereas no increase was observed in cells stably transfected with ERalpha lacking its N-terminal AF1 (activation function-1) domain (ERalphaDeltaAF1). Despite no increase in AHR-mediated gene expression, ChIP assays revealed that ERalphaDeltaAF1 was present at CYP1A1 and CYP1B1 promoters. HC11 mouse mammary cells stably expressing shRNA (small-hairpin RNA) against ERalpha showed an 8-fold reduction in PCB126-dependent Cyp1a1 expression. Our results provide further evidence that AHR agonists induce ERalpha promoter occupancy at AHR target genes through indirect activation of ERalpha, and support a role for ERalpha in AHR transactivation.     

Enhanced cell culture performance using inducible anti-apoptotic genes E1B-19K and Aven in the production of a monoclonal antibody with Chinese hamster ovary cells

Mammalian cells are used for the production of numerous biologics including monoclonal antibodies. Unfortunately, mammalian cells can lose viability at later stages in the cell culture process. In this study, the effects of expressing the anti-apoptosis genes, E1B-19K and Aven, separately and in combination on cell growth, survival, and monoclonal antibody (MAb) production were investigated for a commercial Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) mammalian cell line. CHO cells were observed to undergo apoptosis following a model insult, glucose deprivation, and at later stages of batch cell culture. The CHO cell line was then genetically modified to express the anti-apoptotic proteins E1B-19K and/or Aven using an ecdysone-inducible expression system. Stable transfected pools induced to express Aven or E1B-19K alone were found to survive 1-2 days longer than the parent cell line following glucose deprivation while the expression of both genes in concert increased cell survival by 3 days. In spinner flask batch studies, a clonal isolate engineered to express both anti-apoptosis genes exhibited a longer operating lifetime and higher final MAb titer as a result of higher viable cell densities and viabilities. Interestingly, survival was increased in the absence of an inducer, most likely as a result of leaky expression of the anti-apoptosis genes confirmed in subsequent PCR studies. In fed-batch bioreactors, the expression of both anti-apoptosis genes resulted in higher growth rates and cell densities in the exponential phase and significantly higher viable cell densities, viabilities, and extended survival during the post-exponential phase. As a result, the integral of viable cells (IVC) was between 40 and 100% higher for cell lines engineered to express both Aven and E1B-19K in concert, and the operational lifetime of the fed-batch bioreactors was increased from 2 to 5 days. The maximum titers of MAb were also increased by 40-55% for bioreactors containing cells expressing Aven and E1B-19K. These increases in volumetric productivity arose primarily from enhancements in viable cell density over the course of the fed-batch culture period since the specific productivities for the cells expressing anti-apoptosis genes were comparable or slightly lower than the parental hosts. These results demonstrate that expression of anti-apoptosis genes can enhance culture performance and increase MAb titers for mammalian CHO cell cultures especially under conditions such as extended fed-batch bioreactor operation.     

铁蛋白基因表达对烟草耐低铁能力的影响

铁是植物生长发育的必需元素。由于土壤中的三价铁离子不能被植物直接利用, 使一些植物经常表现出缺铁症状。为探讨利用铁蛋白基因提高植物耐低铁胁迫的作用, 利用农杆菌介导法将大豆铁蛋白基因SoyFer1和内源反义铁蛋白基因NtFer2的cDNA分别导入烟草基因组, 采集转基因烟草种子。对T1转基因烟草的卡那霉素抗性分析表明, 整合到烟草基因组的外源基因多为单拷贝基因, 也有少数为多拷贝基因。对具有卡那霉素抗性的转基因植株进行PCR检测和Northern杂交分析表明, 外源基因已整合到烟草基因组中, 并且得到了正确表达。将转基因株系移栽到铁离子浓度不同的培养基中生长2个月后进行比较表明, 转大豆铁蛋白基因烟草株系的生长量明显高于非转基因烟草株系, 而转内源反义铁蛋白基因烟草株系的生长量则明显低于非转基因烟草株系。转大豆铁蛋白基因和转内源反义铁蛋白基因烟草株系的叶绿素含量、丙二醛(MDA)含量和过氧化物酶(POD)活性等生理性状也发生了明显变化, 表现为转大豆铁蛋白基因株系的叶绿素含量明显增加, POD活性明显增强, MDA含量明显降低; 而转内源反义铁蛋白基因株系的叶绿素含量、POD活性和MDA含量等则表现为与转大豆铁蛋白基因株系的相反。铁蛋白过量表达提高了烟草耐低铁能力, 而铁蛋白抑制表达则降低了烟草耐低铁能力。     

铁蛋白基因表达对烟草耐低铁能力的影响

铁是植物生长发育的必需元素。由于土壤中的三价铁离子不能被植物直接利用。使一些植物经常表现出缺铁症状。为探讨利用铁蛋白基因提高植物耐低铁胁迫的作用,利用农杆菌介导法将大豆铁蛋白基因SoyFer1和内源反义铁蛋白基因NtFer2的cDNA分别导人烟草基因组,采集转基因烟草种子。对T1转基因烟草的卡那霉素抗性分析表明,整合到烟草基因组的外源基因多为单拷贝基因,也有少数为多拷贝基因。对具有卡那霉素抗性的转基因植株进行PCR检测和Northern杂交分析表明,外源基因已整合到烟草基因组中,并且得到了正确表达。将转基因株系移栽到铁离子浓度不同的培养基中生长2个月后进行比较表明,转大豆铁蛋白基因烟草株系的生长量明显高于非转基因烟草株系,而转内源反义铁蛋白基因烟草株系的生长量则明显低于非转基因烟草株系。转大豆铁蛋白基因和转内源反义铁蛋白基因烟草株系的叶绿素含量、丙二醛（MDA）含量和过氧化物酶（POD）活性等生理性状也发生了明显变化,表现为转大豆铁蛋白基因株系的叶绿素含量明显增加,POD活性明显增强,MDA含量明显降低：而转内源反义铁蛋白基因株系的叶绿素含量、POD活性和MDA含量等则表现为与转大豆铁蛋白基因株系的相反。铁蛋白过量表达提高了烟草耐低铁能力,而铁蛋白抑制表达则降低了烟草耐低铁能力。     

转铁蛋白基因烟草中内源铁蛋白基因的差异表达及含铁量的变化

铁蛋白是一种由24个亚基组成的高分子贮藏蛋白质,可以储存多达4500个铁原子,在动植物及微生物的新陈代谢中起着非常重要的作用。有研究表明,外源铁蛋白的大量表达可以提高植物储存铁离子的能力。为了明确外源铁蛋白基因转化植物中内源铁蛋白基因差异表达与植物含铁量的关系,本研究在成功获得2个烟草铁蛋白基因的全长cDNA克隆NtFerl（登录号：ay083924）和NtFer2（登录号：ay141105）的基础上,以烟草品种SR-1（Nicotiana tabacum cv．Petit Havana SR-1）为受体,培育了转铁蛋白基因烟草。将双元载体pBI121中的GUS基因用来自大豆的铁蛋白基因SoyFer1（登录号：m64337）置换,利用农杆菌介导法转化烟草叶盘,获得在CaMV35S启动子驱动表达的大豆铁蛋白基因转化烟草植株。Northern杂交和Western杂交分析表明外源铁蛋白基因在转基因烟草中得到了正确表达。比较转基因烟草和非转基因烟草的内源铁蛋白基因表达强度、叶片铁含量、根系铁还原酶活性、株高和鲜重表明,外源铁蛋白基因不但促进了NtFer1的表达,提高转基因植株的储存铁的能力和根系铁还原酶活性,而且促进植株的生长速度。以上结果说明,外源铁蛋白基因转化烟草中内源铁蛋白基因的表达、铁离子的还原吸收及光和作用都得到了进一步的提高。     

Bioreactor production of recombinant herpes simplex virus vectors

Serotypical application of herpes simplex virus (HSV) vectors to gene therapy (type 1) and prophylactic vaccines (types 1 and 2) has garnered substantial clinical interest recently. HSV vectors and amplicons have also been employed as helper virus constructs for manufacture of the dependovirus adeno-associated virus (AAV). Large quantities of infectious HSV stocks are requisite for these therapeutic applications, requiring a scalable vector manufacturing and processing platform comprised of unit operations which accommodate the fragility of HSV. In this study, production of a replication deficient rHSV-1 vector bearing the rep and cap genes of AAV-2 (denoted rHSV-rep2/cap2) was investigated. Adaptation of rHSV production from T225 flasks to a packed bed, fed-batch bioreactor permitted an 1100-fold increment in total vector production without a decrease in specific vector yield (pfu/cell). The fed-batch bioreactor system afforded a rHSV-rep2/cap2 vector recovery of 2.8 x 10(12) pfu. The recovered vector was concentrated by tangential flow filtration (TFF), permitting vector stocks to be formulated at greater than 1.5 x 10(9) pfu/mL.     

Glial Promoter Selectivity following AAV-Delivery to the Immature Brain

Recombinant adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors are versatile tools for gene transfer to the central nervous system (CNS) and proof-of-concept studies in adult rodents have shown that the use of cell type-specific promoters is sufficient to target AAV-mediated transgene expression to glia. However, neurological disorders caused by glial pathology usually have an early onset. Therefore, modelling and treatment of these conditions require expanding the concept of targeted glial transgene expression by promoter selectivity for gene delivery to the immature CNS. Here, we have investigated the AAV-mediated green fluorescent protein (GFP) expression driven by the myelin basic protein (MBP) or glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) promoters in the developing mouse brain. Generally, the extent of transgene expression after infusion at immature stages was widespread and higher than in adults. The GFAP promoter-driven GFP expression was found to be highly specific for astrocytes following vector infusion to the brain of neonates and adults. In contrast, the selectivity of the MBP promoter for oligodendrocytes was poor following neonatal AAV delivery, but excellent after vector injection at postnatal day 10. To extend these findings obtained in naïve mice to a disease model, we performed P10 infusions of AAV-MBP-GFP in aspartoacylase (ASPA)-deficient mouse mutants presenting with early onset oligodendrocyte pathology. Spread of GFP expression and selectivity for oligodendrocytes in ASPA-mutants was comparable with our observations in normal animals. Our data suggest that direct AAV infusion to the developing postnatal brain, utilising cellular promoters, results in targeted and long-term transgene expression in glia. This approach will be relevant for disease modelling and gene therapy for the treatment of glial pathology.