Production of selenomethionyl-derivatized proteins in baculovirus-infected insect cells

A protocol is described for the production of both intracellularly expressed and secreted selenomethionyl-derivatized recombinant proteins in baculovirus-infected insect cells. The method results in the production of recombinant soluble proteins with an SeMet occupancy of approximately 75% and with a recovery of approximately 20% that of native protein expression. The method is independent of the percentage methionine content of the protein and is reliable and consistent. Similar results are obtained using either Spodoptera frugiperda Sf9 or Trichoplusia ni High Five insect cells as the expression host, and when cultures are grown in either shake flasks or in Wave BioReactors.     

人白血病抑制因子在昆虫细胞Sf9中的表达

人白血病抑制因子(hLIF)cDNA装入p2bac,受其多角蛋白启动子控制,并与野生型线性杆状病毒DNA共转染昆虫细胞Sf9。经ELISA和免疫印迹证实,该重组病毒感染Sf9 24h后(胞解液)和48h后(培养液),均可测得表达的hLIF,在72h时蛋白浓度可达每毫升(1×10~7细胞)4～10μg;经细胞活性观察表明,该蛋白可促进人白血病细胞U937分化,并使U937内信号分子STAT_3合成增加。结果表明,昆虫细胞表达的hLIF可分泌于培养液中且含量高。它的高表达、易纯化、强活性,有实用价值。     

Evidence for a sialic acid salvaging pathway in lepidopteran insect cells

We previously described a transgenic insect cell line, Sfbeta4GalT/ST6, that expresses mammalian beta-1,4-galactosyltransferase and alpha2,6-sialyltransferase genes and produces glycoproteins with terminally sialylated N-glycans. The ability of these cells to produce sialylated N-glycans was surprising because insect cells contain only small amounts of sialic acid and no detectable CMP-sialic acid. Thus, it was of interest to investigate potential sources of sialic acids for sialoglycoprotein synthesis by these cells. We found that Sfbeta4GalT/ST6 cells can produce sialylated N-glycans when cultured in the presence but not in the absence of fetal bovine serum. The serum component(s) supporting N-glycan sialylation by Sfbeta4GalT/ST6 cells is relatively large-it was not removed by dialysis in a 50,000-molecular-weight cutoff membrane. Serum-free media supplemented with purified fetuin but not asialofetuin supported N-glycan sialylation by Sfbeta4GalT/ST6 cells. The terminally sialylated N-glycans isolated from fetuin also supported glycoprotein sialylation by Sfbeta4GalT/ST6 cells. Finally, serum-free medium supplemented with N-acetylneuraminic acid or N-acetylmannosamine supported glycoprotein sialylation by Sfbeta4GalT/ST6 cells but to a much lower degree than serum or fetuin. These results provide the first evidence of a sialic acid salvaging pathway in insect cells, which begins to explain how Sfbeta4GalT/ST6 and other transgenic insect cell lines can sialylate recombinant glycoproteins in the absence of a more obvious source of CMP-sialic acid.     

Protein production using the baculovirus‐insect cell expression system

The baculovirus‐insect cell expression system is widely used in producing recombinant proteins. This review is focused on the use of this expression system in developing bioprocesses for producing proteins of interest. The issues addressed include: the baculovirus biology and genetic manipulation to improve protein expression and quality; the suppression of proteolysis associated with the viral enzymes; the engineering of the insect cell lines for improved capability in glycosylation and folding of the expressed proteins; the impact of baculovirus on the host cell and its implications for protein production; the effects of the growth medium on metabolism of the host cell; the bioreactors and the associated operational aspects; and downstream processing of the product. All these factors strongly affect the production of recombinant proteins. The current state of knowledge is reviewed. © 2013 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 30:1–18, 2014     

Expression and purification of a recombinant Fip-fve protein from Flammulina velutipes in baculovirus-infected insect cells

Aims: To develop an efficient and facile expression system supply of high purity and stable activity of rFip-fve for oral administration, medicinal study and applications. Methods and Results: A recombinant virus that contained the chimera gene, encoding a bombyxin signal peptide sequence fused to a Fip-fve-6His sequence, was constructed. The rFip-fve was purified from the supernatant of the infected Sf21 cells using a nickel-chelated affinity column, and was verified by Western blot and MALDI-MS (matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization mass spectrometry) analyses. Results showed that a glycosylated mature rFip-fve was produced and secreted into the infected cell supernatant. The immunomodulatory activity of rFip-fve was evaluated by measuring the amount of interleukin-2 released from murine splenocytes. Conclusions: A reliable scheme to express and purify active rFip-fve in a baculovirus/insect cell system for medicinal applications and genetic study is a feasible means of solving potential problems related to the production and activity of rFip-fve protein. Significance and Impact of the Study: The rFip-fve expressed in insect cells was processed and modified in a manner more similar to that of its native counterpart than that in bacterial cells. Therefore, the potential applications of rFip-fve that is generated in Sf21 cells can be more effectively evaluated that produced in Escherichia coli.     

Expression of recombinant anti‐colorectal cancer large single‐chain monoclonal antibody in insect cells

Colorectal cancer is the third most commonly diagnosed cancer in the world. Monoclonal antibody (mAb) CO17‐1A recognizes the tumor‐associated antigen GA733‐2, a cell surface glycoprotein highly expressed in colorectal carcinoma cells which is applicable for preventing and curing colorectal cancer. In this study, we tried to produce a new recombinant anti‐colorectal cancer large single chain (lsc) mAb based on mAb CO17‐1A in the baculovirus‐insect cell protein expression system. Two kinds of recombinant lsc mAbs were generated where variable light chain (VL) and heavy chain (HC) of mAb CO17‐1A were fused together by an interchain linker. The only difference between the two mAbs is based on fusion of an ER retention signal (KDEL) at its C‐terminus of HC. Polymerase chain reaction analysis verified the presence of both recombinant genes in the bacmid for generating viral expression vectors in insect cells. Western blot confirmed the expression of lsc mAbs in baculovirus‐infected insect cells. Cell enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) showed that the mAbs from cell lysates bound to SW480 and SW620 human colorectal cancer cells. These results indicate that the baculovirus insect expression system can produce anti‐colorectal lsc mAb recognizing human colorectal cancer cells.     

重组人可溶性PDGFRβ/Fc在昆虫细胞Sf9中的表达

【目的】利用昆虫细胞Bac-to-Bac杆状病毒表达系统表达血小板源性生长因子受体β (PDGFRβ)链膜外区与人IgG Fc片段的可溶性受体融合蛋白sPDGFRβ/Fc,并检测重组蛋白的特异性和生物活性。【方法】采用Bac-to-Bac系统,构建重组转移质粒pFastbac-sPDGFRβ/Fc,转化到含穿梭载体Bacmid的感受态细胞DH10Bac中,使目的基因与杆状病毒基因组DNA发生位点特异性重组,获得重组病毒DNA,将其通过脂质体转染昆虫细胞Sf9获得重组病毒。将该重组病毒感染Sf9无血清细胞系,在Sf9细胞中表达sPDGFRβ/Fc,对表达产物进行Western blotting检测和Protein A亲合层析纯化,并进一步通过MTT法检测获得的重组蛋白生物学活性。【结果】重组病毒感染Sf9细胞后,经Western blotting分析,能检测到一条分子量约为97 kDa的特异性条带,与目的蛋白大小相符。通过Protein A亲和层析,获得了纯度达75％以上,表达量为1 μg/mL细胞培养上清的重组融合蛋白,MTT结果显示该重组融合蛋白sPDGFRβ/Fc具有抑制PDGF刺激的Balb/c 3T3细胞增殖的能力。【结论】具有生物活性的重组可溶性受体融合蛋白sPDGFRβ/Fc可在昆虫细胞中成功地得到表达。     

Role of glycosylation in the transport of recombinant glycoproteins through the secretory pathway of lepidopteran insect cells

Cell lines established from the Lepidopteran insect Spodoptera frugiperda (e.g., Sf9) are used routinely as hosts for the expression of foreign proteins by baculovirus vectors. Previously, we showed that human tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA) was expressed, N-glycosylated, and secreted by Sf9 cells infected with a recombinant baculovirus (Jarvis DL, Summers MD: Mol Cell Biol 9:214-223, 1989). We also showed that t-PA secretion was blocked by tunicamycin (TM), an inhibitor of N-glycosylation, but not by castanospermine (CS) or N-methyldeoxynojirimycin, inhibitors of the initial steps in N-linked oligosaccharide processing. This suggested that the addition, but not the processing, of N-linked oligosaccharides is required for the secretion of recombinant t-PA from baculovirus-infected Sf9 cells. In this study, we present a more generalized evaluation of the role of N-glycosylation in the transport of recombinant glycoproteins through the Sf9 cell secretory pathway. Several different secretory or membrane-bound glycoproteins were expressed in control, TM-treated, or CS-treated Sf9 cells, and their appearance in the medium or on the cell surface was measured. The results showed that TM blocked the transport of some, but not all, of these proteins, whereas CS did not block the transport of any. This suggests that N-glycosylation is sometimes required for the transport of recombinant glycoproteins through the Sf9 secretory pathway, while processing of the oligosaccharides is not. At least two other proteins, p80 and p31, consistently coimmunoprecipitated with the nonglycosylated precursors of recombinant glycoproteins expressed in TM-treated Sf9 cells. Neither was antigenically related to any of the recombinant proteins. Relatively larger amounts of p80 and p31 were coprecipitated when transport was completely blocked by TM compared to when transport was only reduced or was unaffected. These results suggest that p80 and p31 block the transport of some nonglycosylated glycoprotein precursors in TM-treated Sf9 cells by binding to them and producing transport-incompetent heterooligomeric complexes. If this speculation is correct, then p80 and p31 are functionally analogous to the mammalian immunoglobulin heavy chain binding/glucose-regulated 78 kilodalton protein (BiP/GRP78).     

Locations of disulfide bonds and free cysteines in the heavy and light chains of recombinant human factor VIII (antihemophilic factor A).

The locations of disulfide bonds and free cysteines in the heavy and light chains of recombinant human factor VIII were determined by sequence analysis of fragments produced by chemical and enzymatic digestions. The A1 and A2 domains of the heavy chain and the A3 domain of the light chain contain one free cysteine and two disulfide bonds, whereas the C1 and C2 domains of the light chain have one disulfide bond and no free cysteine. The positions of these disulfide bonds are conserved in factor V and ceruloplasmin except that the second disulfide bond in the A3 domain is missing in both factor V and ceruloplasmin. The positions of the three free cysteines of factor VIII are the same as three of the four cysteines present in ceruloplasmin. However, the positions of the free cysteines in factor VIII and ceruloplasmin are not conserved in factor V.     

抗癌胚抗原单链抗体基因在家蚕细胞和幼虫中的表达

将抗癌胚抗原（ＣＥＡ）单链抗体基因插入家蚕杆状病毒转移载体ｐＢａｃＰＡＫＨｉｓ, 与修饰的家蚕核型多角体病毒ＢｍＢａｃＰＡＫＤＮＡ共转染家蚕细胞, 经同源重组得到含有在多角体蛋白基因启动子控制下的抗ＣＥＡＳｃＦｖ 基因的重组病毒ＢｍＢａｃＳｃＦｖ。用重组病毒分别感染家蚕细胞和幼虫, 在两者中均得到了高效表达, 产物分子量为２８ｋＤ, 前者占细胞总蛋白的６ ％ , 后者为０ ．３ ｍｇ／ 蚕。目的基因在家蚕细胞和幼虫中表达产物经Ｎｉ２＋ＩＤＡＳｅｐｈａｒｏｓｅ６Ｂ亲和柱纯化, 前者纯度可达９０％ 以上, 后者纯度较低; 纯化后的融合蛋白具有ＣＥＡ 结合活力, 其亲和常数分别为５ ．４×１０８／ｍｏｌ·Ｌ－ １ 和２．３ ×１０８／ｍｏｌ·Ｌ－１ , 略低于其亲本单抗Ｅ７Ｂ１０ ２．７ ×１０９／ｍｏｌ·Ｌ－ １ 。     

Improving AAV vector yield in insect cells by modulating the temperature after infection

Vectors based on adeno-associated viruses (AAV) are sought for therapeutic gene delivery because of their ability to transduce a variety of tissues with no significant immunological response. Production using the baculovirus expression vector (BEV)/insect cell system has the potential to meet the needs for pre-clinical and clinical trials. In this co-infection system, three baculoviruses are used to produce the AAV vector. A strategy aimed at increasing encapsidation/maturation of the viral vector involved varying the temperature over the course of the process. Cultures were subjected to temperature changes at various times pre- and post-infection (up to 24 h post-infection). It was found that raising the culture temperature to 30 degrees C at the time of infection nearly tripled the infectious titer. In fact, increasing the temperature to 30 degrees C at any time in the process investigated resulted in an increase in titer. Also, raising the culture to 33 degrees C or lowering the temperature to 24 degrees or 21 degrees C resulted in lower titers. The rise in infectious titer was also confirmed by an increase in DNase resistant particles (DRPs). Varying the temperature, however, did not affect the total amount of capsids significantly. Therefore increasing the culture temperature resulted in better encapsidation as determined by the ratio of capsids to DRPs to infectious particles. It is believed that an increase in early proteins and possibly a quicker cascade of baculovirus infection events resulted in this increased packaging efficiency.     

Structural analysis and localization of the carbohydrate moieties of a soluble human interferon gamma receptor produced in baculovirus-infected insect cells.

A soluble form of the human interferon gamma receptor that is required for the identification of interferon gamma antagonists was expressed in baculovirus-infected insect cells. The protein carried N-linked carbohydrate and showed a heterogeneity on denaturing polyacrylamide gels. We investigated the utilization of the potential sites for N-linked glycosylation and the structure of the carbohydrate moieties of this soluble receptor. Amino acid sequence analysis and ion spray mass spectrometry revealed that of the five potential sites for N-linked glycosylation, Asn17 and Asn69 were always utilized, whereas Asn62 and Asn162 were utilized in approximately one-third of the protein population. Asn223 was never found to be glycosylated. The soluble receptor was treated with N-glycosidase F and the oligosaccharides released were analyzed by matrix-assisted laser desorption mass spectrometry, which showed that the protein carried six types of short carbohydrate chains. The predominant species was a hexasaccharide of molecular mass 1,039, containing a fucose subunit linked to the proximal N-acetylglucosamine residue: [formula: see text]     

Expression and purification of the matrix protein of Nipah virus in baculovirus insect cell system

Nipah virus (NiV) causes fatal respiratory illness and encephalitis in humans and animals. The matrix (M) protein of NiV plays an important role in the viral assembly and budding process. Thus, an access to the NiV M protein is vital to the design of viral antigens as diagnostic reagents. In this study, recombinant DNA technology was successfully adopted in the cloning and expression of NiV M protein. A recombinant expression cassette (baculovirus expression vector) was used to encode an N‐terminally His‐tagged NiV M protein in insect cells. A time‐course study demonstrated that the highest yield of recombinant M protein (400–500 μg) was expressed from infected cells 3 days after infection. A single‐step purification method based on metal ion affinity chromatography was established to purify the NiV M protein, which successfully yielded a purity level of 95.67% and a purification factor of 3.39. The Western blotting and enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) showed that the purified recombinant M protein (48 kDa) was antigenic and reacted strongly with the serum of a NiV infected pig. © 2015 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 32:171–177, 2016     

Expression of epoxide hydrolase in insect cells: a focus on the infected cell

Insect cell culture and the baculovirus vector expression system have emerged to be a promising production technique for heterologous proteins. In this article, expression characteristics for membrane-bound epoxide hydrolase are examined. A generic process is presented whereby cells are grown in serum-free media supplemented with serum and then resuspended in serum-free media to simplify purification after infection. The infected cells retain significant metabolic activity during the postinfection stage. Thus, maintaining nutrient supply during the postinfection period is critical, and a low stirring rate will result in oxygen depletion and shift the metabolism of the infected cells toward lactate production which then lowers product yield. This is the first report indicating that glucose is supplied from sucrose decomposition and then metabolized for viral DNA and recombinant protein production in recombinant baculovirus insect expression system. (c) 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Expression of the human genes for steroid 21-hydroxylase and its C169R mutant in insect cells and functional analysis of the expression products

Steroid 21-hydroxylase (CYP21A2) is a key enzyme of glucocorticoid and mineralocorticoid biosynthesis in the adrenal cortex and belongs to the family of microsomal cytochrome P450. CYP21A2 deficiency is the most common cause of human congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH). Human CYP21A2 and its C169R mutant, observed in a patient with classic CAH, were expressed in Sf9 and Hi5 insect cells infected with recombinant baculoviruses. Functional CYP21A2 was produced to 28% of the total microsomal protein under optimal conditions. The C169R mutation did not affect the efficiency of CYP21A2 synthesis in insect cells, nor did it prevent CYP21A2 incorporation in membranes of the endoplasmic reticulum. Functional analysis in vitro showed that the mutant enzyme almost completely lacked the catalytic activity towards two substrates, progesterone and 17-hydroxyprogesterone.     

The effect of dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration on the glycosylation of recombinant protein produced by the insect cell-baculovirus expression system.

The effect of dissolved oxygen concentration on human secreted alkaline phosphatase (SEAP) glycosylation by the insect cell-baculovirus expression system was investigated in a well-controlled bioreactor. Oligomannose-type N-linked glycans (i.e., Man2 to Man6 and Man3F) were present in SEAP produced by Spodoptera frusiperda Sf-9 (Sf-9) and Trichoplusia ni BTI-Tn-5B1-4 (Tn-5B1-4) insect cell lines. The relative amounts of the most highly processed glycans (i.e., Man3F and Man2 in the SEAP from Sf-9 and Tn-5B1-4 cells, respectively) were significantly higher at 50% of air saturation than at either 10% or 190% of air saturation. That is, glycan processing was inhibited at both low and high dissolved oxygen concentrations.     

Expression of a novel recombinant dual human stem cell factor in insect cells

Stem cell factor (SCF) is a hematopoietic cytokine that promotes the survival, proliferation, and differentiation of hematopoietic cells. A dual human stem cell factor (dhSCF) cDNA was constructed, which consisted of a full-length human stem cell factor cDNA plus a truncated hSCF cDNA (1-145aa), linked by a peptide (GGGGSGGGGSGG) coding region. The dhSCF gene was cloned into baculovirus transfer vector pAcSecG2T under the control of polyhedrin promoter. The Sf9 cells infected with the recombinant virus expressed rdhSCF up to 6000 U/10(6) cell in flask and 8300 U/10(6) cell in spinner flask. The rdhSCF was purified by two-step chromatography. The molecular mass of rdhSCF was examined by western blotting and HPLC analysis. The specific activity of rdhSCF was up to 3.1x10(6) U/mg, about 8.7 times as high as that of monomer rhSCF from Escherichia coli.