Considerations on the lactate consumption by CHO cells in the presence of galactose

A CHO cell line producing t-PA was cultured using glutamate and glucose or galactose to decrease the formation of metabolic end-products and therefore improving the process. In batch cultures using glutamate (6 mM) with glucose at two different levels (5 and 20 mM) or with glucose and galactose (5 and 20 mM, respectively) a remarkable difference in cell culture parameters was evidenced. For 20 mM glucose, a usual cell pattern was observed with lactate built-up in the medium. For 5 mM glucose, cell growth was arrested due to glucose depletion and only a limited use of the excreted lactate could be observed, not supporting cell growth sufficiently. However, when glucose 5 mM and galactose 20 mM were used together, cells consumed the glucose first and, interestingly, in a second phase they continued growing on galactose with the simultaneous consumption of the endogenous lactate. Under these conditions, cell growth was even improved with respect to growth on 20 mM glucose, used as a control. This metabolic behavior is further investigated by using metabolic flux analysis, suggesting that the lactate produced is not used in the oxidative metabolism through the TCA cycle. Metabolic fate of the lactate consumed is discussed.     

Flux balance analysis of CHO cells before and after a metabolic switch from lactate production to consumption

Mammalian cell cultures typically exhibit an energy inefficient phenotype characterized by the consumption of large quantities of glucose and the concomitant production of large quantities of lactate. Under certain conditions, mammalian cells can switch to a more energy efficient state during which lactate is consumed. Using a metabolic model derived from a mouse genome scale model we performed flux balance analysis of Chinese hamster ovary cells before and after a metabolic switch from lactate production (in the presence of glucose) to lactate consumption (after glucose depletion). Despite a residual degree of freedom after accounting for measurements, the calculated flux ranges and associated errors were narrow enough to enable investigation of metabolic changes across the metabolic switch. Surprisingly, the fluxes through the lower part of the TCA cycle from oxoglutarate to malate were very similar (around 60 µmol/gDW/h) for both phases. A detailed analysis of the energy metabolism showed that cells consuming lactate have an energy efficiency (total ATP produced per total C‐mol substrate consumed) six times greater than lactate producing cells. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2013; 110: 660–666. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Transport of glucose and galactose in kidney-cortex cells

1. The aerobic transport of d-glucose and d-galactose in rabbit kidney tissue at 25° was studied. 2. In slices forming glucose from added substrates an accumulation of glucose against its concentration gradient was found. The apparent ratio of intracellular ([S]_i) and extracellular ([S]_o) glucose concentrations was increased by 0·4mm-phlorrhizin and 0·3mm-ouabain. 3. Slices and isolated renal tubules actively accumulated glucose from the saline; the apparent [S]_i/[S]_o fell below 1·0 only at [S]_o higher than 0·5mm. 4. The rate of glucose oxidation by slices was characterized by the following parameters: K_m 1·16mm; V_max. 4·5μmoles/g. wet wt./hr. 5. The active accumulation of glucose from the saline was decreased by 0·1mm-2,4-dinitrophenol, 0·4mm-phlorrhizin and by the absence of external Na⁺. 6. The kinetic parameters of galactose entry into the cells were: K_m 1·5mm; V_max 10μmoles/g. wet wt./hr. 7. The efflux kinetics from slices indicated two intracellular compartments for d-galactose. The galactose efflux was greatly diminished at 0°, was inhibited by 0·4mm-phlorrhizin, but was insensitive to ouabain. 8. The following mechanism of glucose and galactose transport in renal tubular cells is suggested: (a) at the tubular membrane, these sugars are actively transported into the cells by a metabolically- and Na⁺-dependent phlorrhizin-sensitive mechanism; (b) at the basal cell membrane, these sugars are transported in accordance with their concentration gradient by a phlorrhizin-sensitive Na⁺-independent facilitated diffusion. The steady-state intracellular sugar concentration is determined by the kinetic parameters of active entry, passive outflow and intracellular utilization.     

High-end pH-controlled delivery of glucose effectively suppresses lactate accumulation in CHO fed-batch cultures

A simple method for control of lactate accumulation in suspension cultures of Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells based on the culture's pH was developed. When glucose levels in culture reach a low level (generally below 1 mM) cells begin to take up lactic acid from the culture medium resulting in a rise in pH. A nutrient feeding method has been optimized which delivers a concentrated glucose solution triggered by rising pH. We have shown that this high-end pH-controlled delivery of glucose can dramatically reduce or eliminate the accumulation of lactate during the growth phase of a fed-batch CHO cell culture at both bench scale and large scale (2,500 L). This method has proven applicable to the majority of CHO cell lines producing monoclonal antibodies and other therapeutic proteins. Using this technology to enhance a 12-day fed-batch process that already incorporated very high initial cell densities and highly concentrated medium and feeds resulted in an approximate doubling of the final titers for eight cell lines. The increase in titer was due to additional cell growth and higher cell specific productivity.     

Elevated pCO2 affects the lactate metabolic shift in CHO cell culture processes

The shift from lactate production to consumption in CHO cell metabolism is a key event during cell culture cultivations and is connected to increased culture longevity and final product titers. However, the mechanisms controlling this metabolic shift are not yet fully understood. Variations in lactate metabolism have been mainly reported to be induced by process pH and availability of substrates like glucose and glutamine. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of elevated pCO₂ concentrations on the lactate metabolic shift phenomena in CHO cell culture processes. In this publication, we show that at elevated pCO₂ in batch and fed‐batch cultures, the lactate metabolic shift was absent in comparison to control cultures at lower pCO₂ values. Furthermore, through metabolic flux analysis we found a link between the lactate metabolic shift and the ratio of NADH producing and regenerating intracellular pathways. This ratio was mainly affected by a reduced oxidative capacity of cultures at elevated pCO₂. The presented results are especially interesting for large‐scale and perfusion processes where increased pCO₂ concentrations are likely to occur. Our results suggest, that so far unexplained metabolic changes may be connected to increased pCO₂ accumulation in larger scale fermentations. Finally, we propose several mechanisms through which increased pCO₂ might affect the cell metabolism and briefly discuss methods to enable the lactate metabolic shift during cell cultivations.     

Towards dynamic metabolic flux analysis in CHO cell cultures

Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells are the most widely used mammalian cell line for biopharmaceutical production, with a total global market approaching $100 billion per year. In the pharmaceutical industry CHO cells are grown in fed-batch culture, where cellular metabolism is characterized by high glucose and glutamine uptake rates combined with high rates of ammonium and lactate secretion. The metabolism of CHO cells changes dramatically during a fed-batch culture as the cells adapt to a changing environment and transition from exponential growth phase to stationary phase. Thus far, it has been challenging to study metabolic flux dynamics in CHO cell cultures using conventional metabolic flux analysis techniques that were developed for systems at metabolic steady state. In this paper we review progress on flux analysis in CHO cells and techniques for dynamic metabolic flux analysis. Application of these new tools may allow identification of intracellular metabolic bottlenecks at specific stages in CHO cell cultures and eventually lead to novel strategies for improving CHO cell metabolism and optimizing biopharmaceutical process performance.     

Mixed glucose and lactate uptake by Corynebacterium glutamicum through metabolic engineering

The Corynebacterium glutamicum ATCC 13032 lysC(fbr) strain was engineered to grow fast on racemic mixtures of lactate and to secrete lysine during growth on lactate as well as on mixtures of lactate and glucose. The wild-type C. glutamicum only grows well on L-lactate. Overexpression of D-lactate dehydrogenase (dld) achieved by exchanging the native promoter of the dld gene for the stronger promoter of the sod gene encoding superoxide dismutase in C. glutamicum resulted in a duplication of biomass yield and faster growth without any secretion of lysine. Elementary mode analysis was applied to identify potential targets for lysine production from lactate as well as from mixtures of lactate and glucose. Two targets for overexpression were pyruvate carboxylase and malic enzyme. The overexpression of these genes using again the sod promoter resulted in growth-associated production of lysine with lactate as sole carbon source with a carbon yield of 9% and a yield of 15% during growth on a lactate-glucose mixture. Both substrates were taken up simultaneously with a slight preference for lactate. As surmised from the elementary mode analysis, deletion of glucose-6-phosphate isomerase resulted in a decreased production of lysine on the mixed substrate. Elementary mode analysis together with suitable objective functions has been found a very useful tool guiding the design of strains producing lysine on mixed substrates.     

Reduction of ammonia and lactate through the coupling of glutamine synthetase selection and downregulation of lactate dehydrogenase-A in CHO cells

Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell cultivation for production of therapeutic proteins is accompanied by production of metabolic wastes, mostly ammonia and lactate. To reduce ammonia production, the glutamine synthetase (GS) system was used to develop therapeutic monoclonal antibody (mAb)-producing CHO cells (SM-0.025). Additionally, the lactate dehydrogenase-A (LDH-A) was downregulated with shRNA to reduce lactate production in SM-0.025. The resulting mAb-producing cell lines (#2, #46, and #52) produced less ammonia than the host cell line during the exponential phase due to GS protein overexpression. LDH-A downregulation in SM-0.025 not only reduced lactate production but also further reduced ammonia production. Among the three LDH-A-downregulated clones, clone #2 had the highest mAb production along with significantly reduced specific lactate and ammonia production rates compared to those in SM-0.025. Waste reduction increased the galactosylation level of N-glycosylation, which improved mAb quality. LDH-A downregulation was also successfully applied to the host cell lines (CHO K1 and GS knockout CHO-K1). However, LDH-A downregulated host cells could not survive the pool-selection process wherein glutamine was excluded and methionine sulfoximine was added to the media. Taken together, LDH-A downregulation in the mAb-producing cell line generated with the GS system successfully reduced both ammonia and lactate levels, improving mAb galactosylation. However, LDH-A downregulation could not be applied to host cell lines because it hampered the selection process of the GS system.

     

Comparative metabolic flux analysis of lysine-producing Corynebacterium glutamicum cultured on glucose or fructose

A comprehensive approach to (13)C tracer studies, labeling measurements by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, metabolite balancing, and isotopomer modeling, was applied for comparative metabolic network analysis of lysine-producing Corynebacterium glutamicum on glucose or fructose. Significantly reduced yields of lysine and biomass and enhanced formation of dihydroxyacetone, glycerol, and lactate in comparison to those for glucose resulted on fructose. Metabolic flux analysis revealed drastic differences in intracellular flux depending on the carbon source applied. On fructose, flux through the pentose phosphate pathway (PPP) was only 14.4% of the total substrate uptake flux and therefore markedly decreased compared to that for glucose (62.0%). This result is due mainly to (i) the predominance of phosphoenolpyruvate-dependent phosphotransferase systems for fructose uptake (PTS(Fructose)) (92.3%), resulting in a major entry of fructose via fructose 1,6-bisphosphate, and (ii) the inactivity of fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase (0.0%). The uptake of fructose during flux via PTS(Mannose) was only 7.7%. In glucose-grown cells, the flux through pyruvate dehydrogenase (70.9%) was much less than that in fructose-grown cells (95.2%). Accordingly, flux through the tricarboxylic acid cycle was decreased on glucose. Normalized to that for glucose uptake, the supply of NADPH during flux was only 112.4% on fructose compared to 176.9% on glucose, which might explain the substantially lower lysine yield of C. glutamicum on fructose. Balancing NADPH levels even revealed an apparent deficiency of NADPH on fructose, which is probably overcome by in vivo activity of malic enzyme. Based on these results, potential targets could be identified for optimization of lysine production by C. glutamicum on fructose, involving (i) modification of flux through the two PTS for fructose uptake, (ii) amplification of fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase to increase flux through the PPP, and (iii) knockout of a not-yet-annotated gene encoding dihydroxyacetone phosphatase or kinase activity to suppress overflow metabolism. Statistical evaluation revealed high precision of the estimates of flux, so the observed differences for metabolic flux are clearly substrate specific.     

Impact of aeration on the metabolic end-products formed from glucose and galactose by Streptococcus lactis

Compared with cultures grown aerobically in batch culture with glucose, aerated cultures of lactic streptococci had a less homolactic type of metabolism when galactose was the carbohydrate source in batch cultures, or when glucose was limiting in chemostat cultures. Differences in end-products of sugar metabolism between aerated and unaerated cultures were observed. In addition to lactate, formate, acetate and ethanol were produced in anaerobic cultures, whereas acetate and acetoin were formed in aerated cultures. Acetate production in aerated cultures depended on lipoic acid, an essential cofactor of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex. In a chemically defined medium with glucose as the energy substrate, lipoic acid (or acetate) was an essential growth factor. Formation of acetoin was inversely related to lipoic acid concentration in the growth medium. Although not observed in unaerated cultures, acetoin (and 2,3-butanediol) was produced in unaerated buffered suspensions metabolizing pyruvate. Aeration caused a modest increase in the activities of aP-acetolactate synthetase and phosphate acetyl trans-ferase, but it is unlikely that the increases were sufficient to account for the changes in end-products of sugar metabolism observed.     

A metabolic switch in brain: glucose and lactate metabolism modulation by ascorbic acid

In this review, we discuss a novel function of ascorbic acid in brain energetics. It has been proposed that during glutamatergic synaptic activity neurons preferably consume lactate released from glia. The key to this energetic coupling is the metabolic activation that occurs in astrocytes by glutamate and an increase in extracellular [K⁺]. Neurons are cells well equipped to consume glucose because they express glucose transporters and glycolytic and tricarboxylic acid cycle enzymes. Moreover, neuronal cells express monocarboxylate transporters and lactate dehydrogenase isoenzyme 1, which is inhibited by pyruvate. As glycolysis produces an increase in pyruvate concentration and a decrease in NAD⁺/NADH, lactate and glucose consumption are not viable at the same time. In this context, we discuss ascorbic acid participation as a metabolic switch modulating neuronal metabolism between rest and activation periods. Ascorbic acid is highly concentrated in CNS. Glutamate stimulates ascorbic acid release from astrocytes. Ascorbic acid entry into neurons and within the cell can inhibit glucose consumption and stimulate lactate transport. For this switch to occur, an ascorbic acid flow is necessary between astrocytes and neurons, which is driven by neural activity and is part of vitamin C recycling. Here, we review the role of glucose and lactate as metabolic substrates and the modulation of neuronal metabolism by ascorbic acid.     

Comparative metabolic effects of fructose and glucose in human fibroblast cultures

Summary The comparative metabolic effects of fructose and glucose were determined in human fibroblast cultures. Cells were grown in four different media containing 5.5 and 27.5 mM of glucose and fructose, respectively. For these two hexoses, we compared their uptake, consumption, and conversion into¹⁴CO₂ and¹⁴C-lipids. D-Fructose was taken up in fibroblasts by an unsaturable process and its consumption was much smaller than that ofD-glucose. Whatever the experimental procedure, the glycogen content of cells grown in fructose media was significantly lower than of those grown in glucose media. Labeling of fructose and glucose with¹⁴C showed that more carbon from fructose than from glucose was incorporated into CO₂ and glycerolipids. The relative distribution of¹⁴C in the different lipid fractions was similar for both hexoses. These results indicated that the pathways of intermediary metabolism in fibroblast cultures were influenced by the nature of the carbohydrate present in the culture medium and that fructose was a better lipogenic substrate than glucose in human fibroblast cultures. This work was supported by grants for the Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Medicale (ATP 82-79-114).     

Proteome analysis of antibody-producing CHO cell lines with different metabolic profiles

Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and tandem mass spectrometry were used to identify proteins associated with a metabolic shift during fed-batch cultures of two recombinant antibody-producing CHO cell lines. The first cell line underwent a marked change in lactate metabolism during culture, initially producing lactate and then consuming it, while the second cell line produced lactate for a similar duration but did not later consume it. The first cell line displayed a declining specific antibody productivity during culture, correlating to the 2-D gel results and the intracellular antibody concentration determined by HPLC. Several statistical analysis methods were compared during this work, including a fixed fold-change criterion and t-tests using standard deviations determined in several ways from the raw data and mathematically transformed data. Application of a variance-stabilizing transformation enabled the use of a global empirical standard deviation in the t-tests. Most of the protein spots changing in each cell line did not change significantly in the other cell line. A substantial fraction of the changing proteins were glycolytic enzymes; others included proteins related to antibody production, protein processing, and cell structure. Enolase, pyruvate kinase, BiP/GRP78, and protein disulfide isomerase were found in spots that changed over time in both cell lines, and some protein changes differed from previous reports. These data provide a foundation for future investigation of metabolism in industrially relevant mammalian cell culture processes, and suggest that along with differences between cell types, the proteins expressed in cultures with low lactate concentrations may depend on how those conditions were generated.     

Synergizing metabolic flux analysis and nucleotide sugar metabolism to understand the control of glycosylation of recombinant protein in CHO cells

Background

The photorespiratory nitrogen cycle in C₃ plants involves an extensive diversion of carbon and nitrogen away from the direct pathways of assimilation. The liberated ammonia is re-assimilated, but up to 25% of the carbon may be released into the atmosphere as CO₂. Because of the loss of CO₂ and high energy costs, there has been considerable interest in attempts to decrease the flux through the cycle in C₃ plants. Transgenic tobacco plants were generated that contained the genes gcl and hyi from E. coli encoding glyoxylate carboligase (EC 4.1.1.47) and hydroxypyruvate isomerase (EC 5.3.1.22) respectively, targeted to the peroxisomes. It was presumed that the two enzymes could work together and compete with the aminotransferases that convert glyoxylate to glycine, thus avoiding ammonia production in the photorespiratory nitrogen cycle.

Results

When grown in ambient air, but not in elevated CO₂, the transgenic tobacco lines had a distinctive phenotype of necrotic lesions on the leaves. Three of the six lines chosen for a detailed study contained single copies of the gcl gene, two contained single copies of both the gcl and hyi genes and one line contained multiple copies of both gcl and hyi genes. The gcl protein was detected in the five transgenic lines containing single copies of the gcl gene but hyi protein was not detected in any of the transgenic lines. The content of soluble amino acids including glycine and serine, was generally increased in the transgenic lines growing in air, when compared to the wild type. The content of soluble sugars, glucose, fructose and sucrose in the shoot was decreased in transgenic lines growing in air, consistent with decreased carbon assimilation.

Conclusions

Tobacco plants have been generated that produce bacterial glyoxylate carboligase but not hydroxypyruvate isomerase. The transgenic plants exhibit a stress response when exposed to air, suggesting that some glyoxylate is diverted away from conversion to glycine in a deleterious short-circuit of the photorespiratory nitrogen cycle. This diversion in metabolism gave rise to increased concentrations of amino acids, in particular glutamine and asparagine in the leaves and a decrease of soluble sugars.     

Overexpression of the mitochondrial pyruvate carrier reduces lactate production and increases recombinant protein productivity in CHO cells

Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells are characterized by a low glucose catabolic efficiency, resulting in undesirable lactate production. Here, it is hypothesized that such low efficiency is determined by the transport of pyruvate into the mitochondria. The mitochondrial pyruvate carrier (MPC), responsible for introducing pyruvate into the mitochondria, is formed by two subunits, MPC1 and MPC2. Stable CHO cell lines, overexpressing the genes of both subunits, were constructed to facilitate the entry of pyruvate into the mitochondria and its incorporation into oxidative pathways. Significant overexpression of both genes, compared to the basal level of the control cells, was verified, and subcellular localization of both subunits in the mitochondria was confirmed. Kinetic evaluation of the best MPC overexpressing CHO cells showed a reduction of up to 50% in the overall yield of lactate production with respect to the control. An increase in specific growth rate and maximum viable cell concentration, as well as an increase of up to 40% on the maximum concentration of two recombinant model proteins transiently expressed (alkaline phosphatase or a monoclonal antibody), was also observed. Hybrid cybernetic modeling, that considered 89 reactions, 25 extracellular metabolites, and a network of 62 intracellular metabolites, explained that the best MPC overexpression case resulted in an increased metabolic flux across the mitochondrial membrane, activated a more balanced growth, and reduced the Warburg effect without compromising glucose consumption rate and maximum cell concentration. Overall, this study showed that transport of pyruvate into the mitochondria limits the efficiency of glucose oxidation, which can be overcome by a cell engineering approach.     

Development of a fed-batch cultivation for antibody-producing cells based on combined feeding strategy of glucose and galactose

In order to achieve enhanced cell mass and productivity with less lactate accumulation, a fed-batch culture based on a combined feeding strategy of glucose and galactose was developed. Cell performance was first examined with feeding of galactose alone. While cell growth was improved compared with glucose-feeding culture, cell maintenance was inefficient with rapid lactate depletion and considerable ammonium accumulation. Subsequently, to improve cell maintenance, a combined feeding strategy of glucose and galactose was proposed focusing on optimizing the ratio of glucose to galactose and feeding time. In addition, the compositions of amino acids and vitamins in feeding medium were refined for balanced supply of nutrients. With the combined feeding strategy, the metabolic shift of lactate from production to consumption occurred, but not accompanied by rapid lactate depletion and ammonium production. Furthermore, energy metabolism was more efficient and better utilization of carbon sources was achieved. Compared with the glucose-feeding culture in bioreactor, maximum lactate concentration was reduced by 55%; IVCC and the specific production rate of antibody were increased by 45% and 143%, respectively.