Comparison of cell lines for stable production of fucose-negative antibodies with enhanced ADCC

Several methods have been described to enhance antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) using different host cells that produce antibody with reduced levels of fucose on their carbohydrates. We compared the suitability of these methods for the serum-free fed-batch production of antibody for clinical trials and commercial uses. Recombinant anti-human CD20 chimeric IgG1-producing clones were established from host-cells that have been shown to produce more than 90% fucose-negative antibody. The cell lines were a FUT8 (alpha-1,6-fucosyltransferase) knockout Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell line, Ms704, and two Lens culinaris agglutinin (LCA)-resistant cell lines, one derived from a variant CHO line, Lec13 and the other from a rat hybridoma cell line, YB2/0. The amount of fucose-negative antibody produced by Lec13 and YB2/0 significantly decreased with the culture. The increase in fucosylation was due to remaining synthesis of GDP-fucose via de novo pathway for the CHO line and the elevation of FUT8 expression by the YB2/0 cells. In contrast, Ms704 cells stably produced fucose-negative antibody with a consistent carbohydrate structure until the end of the culture. The productivity of the Ms704 cells reached 1.76 g/L with a specific production rate (SPR) of 29 pg/cell/day for 17 days in serum-free fed-batch culture using a 1 L spinner bioreactor. Our results demonstrate that FUT8 knockout has the essential characteristics of host cells for robust manufacture of fucose-negative therapeutic antibodies with enhanced ADCC.     

Crystal structure of an archaeal peroxiredoxin from the aerobic hyperthermophilic crenarchaeon Aeropyrum pernix K1

Peroxiredoxins (Prxs) are thiol-dependent peroxidases that catalyze the detoxification of various peroxide substrates such as H2O2, peroxinitrite, and hydroperoxides, and control some signal transduction in eukaryotic cells. Prxs are found in all cellular organisms and represent an enormous superfamily. Recent genome sequencing projects and biochemical studies have identified a novel subfamily, the archaeal Prxs. Their primary sequences are similar to those of the 1-Cys Prxs, which use only one cysteine residue in catalysis, while their catalytic properties resemble those of the typical 2-Cys Prxs, which utilize two cysteine residues from adjacent monomers within a dimer in catalysis. We present here the X-ray crystal structure of an archaeal Prx from the aerobic hyperthermophilic crenarchaeon, Aeropyrum pernix K1, determined at 2.3 A resolution (Rwork of 17.8% and Rfree of 23.0%). The overall subunit arrangement of the A.pernix archaeal Prx is a toroid-shaped pentamer of homodimers, or an (alpha2)5 decamer, as observed in the previously reported crystal structures of decameric Prxs. The basic folding topology and the peroxidatic active site structure are essentially the same as those of the 1-Cys Prx, hORF6, except that the C-terminal extension of the A.pernix archaeal Prx forms a unique helix with its flanking loops. The thiol group of the peroxidatic cysteine C50 is overoxidized to sulfonic acid. Notably, the resolving cysteine C213 forms the intra-monomer disulfide bond with the third cysteine, C207, which should be a unique structural characteristic in the many archaeal Prxs that retain two conserved cysteine residues in the C-terminal region. The conformational flexibility near the intra-monomer disulfide linkage might be necessary for the dramatic structural rearrangements that occur in the catalytic cycle.     

Update of mouse microsatellite database of Japan (MMDBJ).

We updated a database of microsatellite marker polymorphisms found in inbred strains of the mouse, most of which were derived from the wild stocks of four Mus musculus subspecies, M. m. domesticus, M. m. musculus, M. m.castaneus and M. m. molossinus. The major aim of constructing this database was to establish the genetic status of these inbred strains as resources for linkage analysis and positional cloning. The inbred strains incorporated in our database are A/J, C57BL/6J, CBA/J, DBA/2J, SM/J, SWR/J, 129Sv/J, MSM/Ms, JF1/Ms, CAST/Ei, NC/Nga, BLG2/Ms, NJL/Ms, PGN2/Ms, SK/CamEi and SWN/Ms, which have not or have only been poorly incorporated in the Whitehead Institute/MIT (WI/MIT) microsatellite database. The number of polymorphic microsatellite loci incorporated in our database is over 1,000 in all strains, and the URL site for our database is located at http:// www.shigen.nig.ac.jp /mouse/mmdbj/mouse.html.     

Localization of ghrelin-producing cells in the stomach of the rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)

Ghrelin, an endogenous ligand for the growth hormone secretagogue receptor (GHS-R), was isolated from the rat stomach and determined to be n-octanoylated 28-amino-acid peptide. In this study, we studied the distribution of ghrelin-producing cells (ghrelin cells) in the gastrointestinal tract of male and female rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) by immunohistochemistry using N-terminal region-recognizing antibody and also by in situ hybridization using a trout ghrelin-specific cRNA probe. Ghrelin cells were found in the mucosal layer of the stomach but not in the myenteric plexus, and no ghrelin cells were observed in other regions of the gastrointestinal tract. Ghrelin cells could be classified into two types: closed- and opened-type cells. The density of ghrelin cells increased gradually in the direction from the cardiac to pyloric portions of the stomach in both sexes. The number of ghrelin cells per unit area seemed to be higher in females than in males. In conclusion, trout ghrelin cells exist in the stomach and are classified into two types of cells, closed- and opened-type cells.     

Pyrazolo pyrimidine-type inhibitors of SRC family tyrosine kinases promote ovarian steroid-induced differentiation of human endometrial stromal cells in vitro

Reversible protein tyrosine phosphorylation, coordinately controlled by protein tyrosine kinases and phosphatases, is a critical element in signal transduction pathways regulating a wide variety of biological processes, including cell growth, differentiation, and tumorigenesis. We have previously reported that c-Src belonging to the Src family tyrosine kinase (SFK) becomes dephosphorylated at tyrosine 530 (Y530) and thereby activated during progestin-induced differentiation of human endometrial stromal cells (i.e., decidualization). In this study, to elucidate the role of decidual c-Src activation, we examined whether 4-amino-5-(4-methylphenyl)-7-(t-butyl)pyrazolo[3,4-d]pyrimidine (PP1) and 4-amino-5-(4-chlorophenyl)-7-(t-butyl)pyrazolo[3,4-d]pyrimidine (PP2), both potent and selective SFK inhibitors, affected the ovarian steroid-induced decidualization in vitro. Unexpectedly, PP1 paradoxically increased the kinase activity of decidual c-Src together with dephosphorylation of Y530 in the presence of ovarian steroids. Concomitantly, PP1 enhanced morphological and functional decidualization, as determined by induction of decidualization markers, such as insulin-like growth factor binding protein-1 and prolactin. PP2 also advanced decidualization along with up-regulation of the active form of c-Src whose Y-530 was dephosphorylated. In contrast to PP1 and PP2, herbimycin A, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor with less specificity for SFKs, showed little enhancing effect on the expression of both IGFBP-1 and active c-Src. These results suggest that SFKs, including c-Src, may play a significant role in stromal cell differentiation, providing a clue for a possible therapeutic strategy to modulate endometrial function by targeting signaling pathway(s) involving SFKs.     

Developmental expression profiles of axon guidance signaling and the immune system in the marmoset cortex: Potential molecular mechanisms of pruning of dendritic spines during primate synapse formation in late infancy and prepuberty (I)

The synapse number and the related dendritic spine number in the cerebral cortex of primates shows a rapid increase after birth. Depending on the brain region and species, the number of synapses reaches a peak before adulthood, and pruning takes place after this peak (overshoot-type synaptic formation). Human mental disorders, such as autism and schizophrenia, are hypothesized to be a result of either too weak or excessive pruning after the peak is reached. Thus, it is important to study the molecular mechanisms underlying overshoot-type synaptic formation, particularly the pruning phase.     

Androgen-independent proliferation of LNCaP prostate cancer cells infected by xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus

Xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus (XMRV) is a novel gammaretrovirus that was originally isolated from human prostate cancer. It is now believed that XMRV is not the etiologic agent of prostate cancer. An analysis of murine leukemia virus (MLV) infection in various human cell lines revealed that prostate cancer cell lines are preferentially infected by XMRV, and this suggested that XMRV infection may confer some sort of growth advantage to prostate cancer cell lines. To examine this hypothesis, androgen-dependent LNCaP cells were infected with XMRV and tested for changes in certain cell growth properties. We found that XMRV-infected LNCaP cells can proliferate in the absence of the androgen dihydrotestosterone. Moreover, androgen receptor expression is significantly reduced in XMRV-infected LNCaP cells. Such alterations were not observed in uninfected and amphotropic MLV-infected LNCaP cells. This finding explains why prostate cancer cell lines are preferentially infected with XMRV.     

Uptake of L-cystine via an ABC transporter contributes defense of oxidative stress in the L-cystine export-dependent manner in Escherichia coli

Intracellular thiols like L-cystine and L-cystine play a critical role in the regulation of cellular processes. Here we show that Escherichia coli has two L-cystine transporters, the symporter YdjN and the ATP-binding cassette importer FliY-YecSC. These proteins import L-cystine, an oxidized product of L-cystine from the periplasm to the cytoplasm. The symporter YdjN, which is expected to be a new member of the L-cystine regulon, is a low affinity L-cystine transporter (K _m = 1.1 μM) that is mainly involved in L-cystine uptake from outside as a nutrient. E. coli has only two L-cystine importers because ΔydjNΔyecS mutant cells are not capable of growing in the minimal medium containing L-cystine as a sole sulfur source. Another protein YecSC is the FliY-dependent L-cystine transporter that functions cooperatively with the L-cystine transporter YdeD, which exports L-cystine as reducing equivalents from the cytoplasm to the periplasm, to prevent E. coli cells from oxidative stress. The exported L-cystine can reduce the periplasmic hydrogen peroxide to water, and then generated L-cystine is imported back into the cytoplasm via the ATP-binding cassette transporter YecSC with a high affinity to L-cystine (K _m = 110 nM) in a manner dependent on FliY, the periplasmic L-cystine-binding protein. The double disruption of ydeD and fliY increased cellular levels of lipid peroxides. From these findings, we propose that the hydrogen peroxide-inducible L-cystine/L-cystine shuttle system plays a role of detoxification of hydrogen peroxide before lipid peroxidation occurs, and then might specific prevent damage to membrane lipids.