Quantitation of soluble aggregates in recombinant monoclonal antibody cell culture by pH-gradient protein A chromatography

Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) produced from mammalian cell culture may contain significant amounts of dimers and higher order aggregates. Quantitation of soluble aggregates in the cell culture is time-consuming and labor-intensive, usually involving a purification step to remove the impurities that interfere with the subsequent size exclusion chromatography (SEC) analysis. We have developed a novel pH-gradient protein A chromatography for rapid, non-size based separation of the aggregates in mAb cell culture samples. Our results demonstrate that this method has excellent correlation with SEC and can be applied to both human immunoglobulin gamma 1 (IgG1) and IgG2 antibodies. This approach can be useful in the quantitation of soluble aggregates in crude cell culture samples.     

Light scattering study of heat-denatured globular protein aggregates

The structure of aggregates formed by the globular protein beta-lactoglobulin (beta-lg) after heat induced denaturation was studied using light scattering and size exclusion chromatography. The influence of varying the pH above the iso-electric point (pH 5.2) was investigated in the absence of added salt. Stable aggregates could be formed and characterized between pH 5.8 and pH 9. The large-scale structure of the aggregates was self-similar and remarkably insensitive to the pH. Below a critical association concentration, which decreased with decreasing pH from 10 to 1g/L, denatured monomers and small oligomers were formed. At higher concentrations larger so-called preaggregates formed containing roughly 100 monomers. With increasing concentration the size of the aggregates varied little until it rose sharply close to the gelation concentration that decreased with decreasing pH (50 g/L相似文献   

Resolution of heterogeneous charged antibody aggregates via multimodal chromatography: A comparison to conventional approaches

Clearance of aggregates during protein purification is increasingly paramount as protein aggregates represent one of the major impurities in biopharmaceutical products. Aggregates, especially dimer species, represent a significant challenge for purification processing since aggregate separation coupled with high purity protein recovery can be difficult to accomplish. Biochemical characterization of the aggregate species from the hydrophobic interaction and cation exchange chromatography elution peaks revealed two different charged populations, i.e. heterogeneous charged aggregates, which led to further challenges for chromatographic removal. This paper compares multimodal versus conventional cation exchange or hydrophobic chromatography methodologies to remove heterogeneous aggregates. A full, mixed level factorial design of experiment strategy together with high throughput experimentation was employed to rapidly evaluate chromatographic parameters such as pH, conductivity, and loading. A variety of operating conditions were identified for the multimodal chromatography step, which lead to effective removal of two different charged populations of aggregate species. This multimodal chromatography step was incorporated into a monoclonal antibody purification process and successfully implemented at commercial manufacturing scale. © 2014 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 30:636–645, 2014     

Proteoglycans from bovine nasal and articular cartilages. Fractionation of the link proteins by wheat germ agglutinin affinity chromatography

Two forms of link protein, 46 and 51 kDa, are present in proteoglycan aggregates from both bovine nasal and bovine articular cartilages. Studies reported here show that the link proteins bind to concanavalin A, Lens culinaris agglutinin, Ricinus communis agglutinin, soybean agglutinin, and wheat germ agglutinin lectins. When the link proteins are eluted from these lectins with appropriate competing sugars, the 46- and the 51-kDa link proteins elute together and no separation is achieved. However, when the link proteins bound to wheat germ agglutinin are eluted with a 0 to 4 M guanidine hydrochloride linear gradient, a good separation of the 46- and 51-kDa link proteins is achieved. Wheat germ agglutinin affinity chromatography has been used on a preparative scale to isolate the 51-kDa link protein from mature bovine articular cartilage to homogeneity, in amounts sufficient to examine its effect on proteoglycan aggregate size and stability in sedimentation velocity studies. Proteoglycan aggregates were reassembled from proteoglycan monomers and hyaluronate in the absence of link protein, in the presence of both 46- and 51-kDa link proteins, and in the presence of the individual 51-kDa link protein. The sizes of the aggregates were compared in terms of sedimentation coefficients (s(0)20). The stability of the aggregates was compared in terms of the per cent aggregate present at pH 7 and 5. At pH 7, the sedimentation coefficients (s(0)20) of link-free aggregates, aggregates formed with both link proteins, and aggregates formed with 51-kDa link protein were 72, 93, and 112 S, respectively. Thus, the 51-kDa link protein has a pronounced effect on aggregate size. The link-free aggregate was grossly unstable, and only 36% aggregate was present at pH 5. The aggregate formed with both link proteins was effectively stabilized against dissociation and 79% aggregate was present at pH 5. The aggregate formed with 51-kDa link protein was not effectively stabilized against dissociation, and only 60% aggregate was present at pH 5. Thus, despite its pronounced effect on aggregate size, the 51-kDa link protein does not effectively stabilize the proteoglycan aggregate against dissociation. These results suggest that the 51-kDa link protein may selectively increase aggregate size, while the 46-kDa link protein may be required to effectively stabilize the proteoglycan aggregate against dissociation.     

Surfactant-aided size exclusion chromatography

The flexibility and selectivity of size exclusion chromatography (SEC) for protein purification can be modified by adding non-ionic micelle-forming surfactants to the mobile phase. The micelles exclude proteins from a liquid phase similar to the exclusion effect of the polymer fibers of the size exclusion resin. This surfactant-aided size exclusion chromatography technology (SASEC) is demonstrated on the separation of two model proteins; bovine serum albumin (BSA) and myoglobin (Myo). The effect of the added surfactants on the distribution behavior of the proteins is predicted adequately by a size exclusion model presented in this paper.     

Purification of Escherichia coli 30S ribosomal proteins by high performance liquid chromatography

High performance liquid chromatography was applied to the separation of proteins derived from the Escherichia coli 30S ribosomal subunit. Several methods of separating this protein mixture has been tested: size-exclusion chromatography on hydrophilic phases; ion exchange and reversed phase chromatography (on C2 to C18 hydrocarbon-bonded supports). Various elution systems were examined in order to obtain pure proteins suitable for micro-sequence analysis. The resolution and yields of the proteins varied considerably, depending on the type of support and gradient system used. The best results were achieved with uniformly globular-shaped supports of large pore size, and by combining high performance size exclusion with rechromatography on reversed phase columns. Purification conditions for the individual proteins are listed. The methods employed avoid any precipitation step and allow easy identification of the proteins by one or two-dimensional gel electrophoresis, amino-acid analysis or direct manual or automatic micro-sequencing. Since the isolation time is much reduced compared with conventional purification procedures, the proteins obtained by the techniques described here are well suited for topographical and immunological studies or reconstitution assays. Ribosomal proteins of other organisms can be separated under similar conditions.     

Yeast [PSI+] prion aggregates are formed by small Sup35 polymers fragmented by Hsp104

The yeast [PSI+] determinant is related to formation of large prion-like aggregates of the conformationally altered Sup35 protein. Here, we show that these aggregates are composed of small Sup35 prion polymers and associated proteins. In contrast to other protein complexes of yeast lysates, but similarly to amyloid fibers, these polymers are insoluble in SDS at room temperature. The polymers on average are about 30-fold smaller than the aggregates and comprise from 8 to 50 Sup35 monomers. The size of polymers is characteristic of a given [PSI+] variant and differs between the variants. Blocked expression of Hsp104 chaperone causes gradual increase in the size of prion polymers, while inactivation of Hsp104 by guanidine HCl completely stops their fragmentation, which shows indispensability of Hsp104 for this process.     

Purification of monomeric mAb from associated aggregates using selective desorption chromatography in hydroxyapatite systems

Selective desorption on ceramic hydroxyapatite (CHT) was implemented for the purification of monomeric monoclonal antibody (mAb) from associated aggregates and other post-protein A step impurities. A robotic liquid handling system was employed to carry out a parallel batch screen of selective desorbents on a post-protein A step mAb mixture. The effect of different phosphate concentrations was also investigated. Selective batch separations were achieved between monomeric mAb and associated aggregates/impurities. The batch screen results also established optimal mobile phase conditions for each selective desorbent. These initial batch results were then used to guide column separations, and baseline separation of monomeric mAb from associated aggregates and impurities was achieved, validating the screening results. Selective desorption also resulted in improved separations on CHT, with 100% yield of pure monomeric mAb as compared to 61% and 79%, respectively, for conventional linear and step gradient operations. This proof of concept study demonstrates selective desorption on CHT as an effective separation technique for the purification of monomeric mAb from associated aggregates and other post-protein A step impurities in a single process step.     

Continuous separation of multicomponent protein mixtures by annular displacement chromatography

Displacement chromatography is a predominantly nonlinear mode of chromatography, which has certain advantages over the elution mode for preparative bioseparations. Whereas continuous production (and separation) processes have their theoretical benefits in this context, protein displacement chromatography has up to now only been performed in the batch mode. In this contribution, we demonstrate that the principle of continuous annular chromatography can be adapted to displacement chromatography. Separations of up to three standard proteins (two whey proteins, soybean trypsin inhibitor) were developed and optimized using a small (4 x 250 mm) batch column. These separations were subsequently transferred directly to the continuous system (500-mL column). Separations of similar quality in terms of final product purity and recovery yield were obtained using the continuous system.     

Multidimensional proteome analysis of human mammary epithelial cells

Recent multidimensional liquid chromatography MS/MS studies have contributed to the identification of large numbers of expressed proteins for numerous species. The present study couples size exclusion chromatography of intact proteins with the separation of tryptically digested peptides using a combination of strong cation exchange and high resolution, reversed phase capillary chromatography to identify proteins extracted from human mammary epithelial cells (HMECs). In addition to conventional conservative criteria for protein identifications, the confidence levels were additionally increased through the use of peptide normalized elution times (NET) for the liquid chromatographic separation step. The combined approach resulted in a total of 5838 unique peptides identified covering 1574 different proteins with an estimated 4% gene coverage of the human genome, as annotated by the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI). This database provides a baseline for comparison against variations in other genetically and environmentally perturbed systems. Proteins identified were categorized based upon intracellular location and biological process with the identification of numerous receptors, regulatory proteins, and extracellular proteins, demonstrating the usefulness of this application in the global analysis of human cells for future comparative studies.     

Purification of recombinant rotavirus VP7 glycoprotein for the study of in vitro rotavirus-like particles assembly

Rotavirus VP7 is a glycoprotein that forms the viral capsid outerlayer and is essential to the correct assembly of triple-layered rotavirus-like particles (RLPs). In this work, a novel purification strategy was designed to allow obtaining highly pure monomeric VP7 required for the RLPs in vitro assembly. VP7 production kinetics in baculovirus-insect cells at cell concentration at infection (CCI) of 1x10(6)cellsmL(-1) was compared in terms of VP7/glycoprotein 64 (gp64) ratio at different multiplicity of infection (MOI). The best productivity was achieved at MOI of 0.1plaque forming unit (pfu)cell(-1) and time of harvest of 80h post-infection. After preliminary clarification steps, the proteins eluted from Concanavalin A were concentrated and loaded onto size exclusion chromatography. The polishing step was anion exchange chromatography with Mono Q. The high resolution of this column resulted in separation of monomers from dimers of VP7. Overall, the purification protocol yielded high level of purity (>90%). Purified VP7 was characterized by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry and SDS-capillary gel electrophoresis. The MW and apparent MW were determined as 31.6 and 39kDa, respectively, confirming the efficacy of the proposed purification strategy that now enables RLPs assembly studies.     

Antibody purification from CHO cell supernatant using new multimodal membranes

This contribution describes strategies to purify monoclonal antibodies from Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell culture supernatant using newly designed multimodal membranes (MMMs). The MMMs were used for the capture step purification of human IgG₁ following a size‐exclusion desalting column to remove chaotropic salts that interfere with IgG binding. The MMM column attained higher dynamic binding capacity than a Protein A resin column at an equivalent residence time of 1 min. The two‐step MMM chromatography process achieved high selectivity for capturing hIgG₁ from the CHO cell culture supernatant, though the desalting step resulted in product dilution. Product purity and host cell protein (HCP) level in the elution pool were analyzed and compared to results from a commercial Protein A column. The product purity was >98% and HCP levels were <20 ppm for both purification methods. In addition, hIgG₁ could be eluted from the MMM chromatography column at neutral pH, which is important for limiting the formation of aggregates; although slow elution dilutes the product. Overall, this paper shows that MMMs are highly effective for capture step purification of proteins and should be considered when Protein A cannot be used, e.g., for pH sensitive mAbs or proteins lacking an Fc binding domain. © 2017 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 33:658–665, 2017     

Influence of the ionic strength on the heat-induced aggregation of the globular protein beta-lactoglobulin at pH 7

The influence of the ionic strength on the structure of beta-lactoglobulin aggregates formed after heating at pH 7 has been studied using static and dynamic light scattering. The native protein depletion has been monitored using size exclusion chromatography. Above a critical association concentration (CAC) well-defined clusters are formed containing about 100 monomers. The CAC increases with decreasing ionic strength. The so-called primary aggregates associate to form self similar semi-flexible aggregates with a large scale structure that is only weakly dependent on the ionic strength. The local density of the aggregates increases with increasing ionic strength. At a critical gel concentration, Cg, the size of the aggregates diverges. Cg decreases from 100 g/l without added salt to 1 g/l at 0.4M NaCl. For C > Cg the system gels except at high ionic strength close to Cg where the gels collapse under gravity and a precipitate is formed.     

Cloning,expression and two-step purification of recombinant His-tag enhanced green fluorescent protein over-expressed in Escherichia coli

In this report, we describe a two-step chromatographic procedure for the purification of His-tag EGFP by immobilized metal affinity expanded bed adsorption (IMAEBA) as the capture step and size exclusion chromatography as the polishing step. The use of proteins including a histidine-tag facilitates their subsequent purification after expression in many microorganisms. This meets the needs of scientific researchers as well as industrialists in purifying recombinant proteins. The procedure described allowed the obtention of 230 mg pure EGFP from 1 l simple batch culture with a recovery of 90%.     

Displacement to separate host‐cell proteins and aggregates in cation‐exchange chromatography of monoclonal antibodies

An efficient and consistent method of monoclonal antibody (mAb) purification can improve process productivity and product consistency. Although protein A chromatography removes most host‐cell proteins (HCPs), mAb aggregates and the remaining HCPs are challenging to remove in a typical bind‐and‐elute cation‐exchange chromatography (CEX) polishing step. A variant of the bind‐and‐elute mode is the displacement mode, which allows strongly binding impurities to be preferentially retained and significantly improves resin utilization. Improved resin utilization renders displacement chromatography particularly suitable in continuous chromatography operations. In this study we demonstrate and exploit sample displacement between a mAb and impurities present at low prevalence (0.002%–1.4%) using different multicolumn designs and recycling. Aggregate displacement depends on the residence time, sample concentration, and solution environment, the latter by enhancing the differences between the binding affinities of the product and the impurities. Displacement among the mAb and low‐prevalence HCPs resulted in an effectively bimodal‐like distribution of HCPs along the length of a multi‐column system, with the mAb separating the relatively more basic group of HCPs from those that are more acidic. Our findings demonstrate that displacement of low‐prevalence impurities along multiple CEX columns allows for selective separation of mAb aggregates and HCPs that persist through protein A chromatography.     

Integrated bioprocess for production of human proinsulin C-peptide via heat release of an intracellular heptameric fusion protein

An integrated bioprocess has been developed suitable for production of recombinant peptides using a gene multimerization strategy and site-specific cleavage of the resulting gene product. The process has been used for production in E. coli of the human proinsulin C-peptide via a fusion protein BB-C7 containing seven copies of the 31-residues C-peptide monomer. The fusion protein BB-C7 was expressed at high level, 1.8 g l(-1), as a soluble gene product in the cytoplasm. A heat treatment procedure efficiently released the BB-C7 fusion protein into the culture medium. This step also served as an initial purification step by precipitating the majority of the host cell proteins, resulting in a 70% purity of the BB-C7 fusion protein. Following cationic polyelectrolyte precipitation of the nucleic acids and anion exchange chromatography, native C-peptide monomers were obtained by enzymatic cleavage at flanking arginine residues. The released C-peptide material was further purified by reversed-phase chromatography and size exclusion chromatography. The overall yield of native C-peptide at a purity exceeding 99% was 400 mg l(-1) culture, corresponding to an overall recovery of 56%. The suitability of this process also for the production of other recombinant proteins is discussed.     

High productivity refolding of an inclusion body protein using pulsed-fed size exclusion chromatography

Protein refolding using size exclusion chromatography (SEC) is advantageous over conventional refolding methods in terms of ease of automation, simultaneous purification capabilities, and the non-adsorptive protein–matrix interaction which eliminates steric constraints. Despite these advantages, the widespread use of SEC refolding remains restricted by low process productivity and product concentration bottlenecks. This study aims to address those limitations and exploit SEC advantages for large-scale refolding applications. Specifically, this study reports the development of a pulsed-fed size exclusion chromatography (PF-SEC) refolding platform, which successfully refolded E. coli-derived α-fetoprotein (AFP) to achieve 53% refolding yield at 0.9 mg/ml AFP refolding concentration. AFP was introduced into the column by pulsed injection to increase feed load, while suppressing concentration-induced aggregation. Refolding was initiated by a urea gradient in the column, where the gradient length could be readily adjusted to complement pulsed feeding patterns. AFP refolding productivity with PF-SEC improved by 8- and 64-fold compared to ion-exchange chromatography refolding and pulsed dilution refolding, respectively, at a fixed refolding concentration. Through a unique integration of pulsed feeding and urea gradient development, this new PF-SEC refolding methodology overcomes ‘productivity and concentration’-related disadvantages inherent in SEC, and will be scalable for large-scale protein refolding applications.     

Separation of proteins by high-speed pressure liquid chromatography

Two chromatographic systems for separation of proteins by high-speed pressure liquid chromatography are described. Molecular size exclusion chromatography was achieved by the use of porous silica deactivated by Carbowax-20M to prevent protein adsorption. Protein separations were successful provided the salt concentration in the eluting buffer was relatively high.The second system described is adsorption chromatography of proteins on deactivated Porasil. This technique involves elution of the proteins from the gel by means of a salt and pH gradient. In both systems the total time required for the chromatography is less than 1 hr.     

Model-based design and integration of a two-step biopharmaceutical production process

This paper presents the design of a two-step process in which the first step is PEGylation of a protein, and the second step is chromatographic purification of the target mono-PEGylated protein from the unreacted and the di-PEGylated impurities. The difference between optimizing each process step separately and optimizing them simultaneously is studied. It was found that by optimizing the steps simultaneously up to a 100 % increase in productivity could be obtained without reduction in yield. Optimizing both steps at the same time makes it possible for the optimization method to take into account that the di-PEGylated protein is much easier to separate than the non-PEGylated protein. The easier separation makes it possible to get a higher yield and productivity at the same time. The effect of recycling was also studied and the yield could be increased by 30 % by recycling the unreacted protein. However, if maximum productivity is required, batch mode is preferable.