Transient gene expression in suspension HEK-293 cells: application to large-scale protein production

Recent advances in genomics, proteomics, and structural biology raised the general need for significant amounts of pure recombinant protein (r-protein). Because of the difficulty in obtaining in some cases proper protein folding in bacteria, several methods have been established to obtain large amounts of r-proteins by transgene expression in mammalian cells. We have developed three nonviral DNA transfer protocols for suspension-adapted HEK-293 and CHO cells: (1) a calcium phosphate based method (Ca-Pi), (2) a calcium-mediated method called Calfection, and (3) a polyethylenimine-based method (PEI). The first two methods have already been scaled up to 14 L and 100 L for HEK-293 cells in bioreactors. The third method, entirely serum-free, has been successfully applied to both suspension-adapted CHO and HEK-293 cells. We describe here the application of this technology to the transient expression in suspension cultivated HEK-293 EBNA cells of some out of more than 20 secreted r-proteins, including antibodies, dimeric proteins, and tagged proteins of various complexity. Most of the proteins were expressed from different plasmid vectors within 5-10 days after the availability of the DNA. Transfections were successfully performed from the small scale (1 mL in 12-well microtiter plates) to the 2 L scale. The results reported made it possible to establish an optimized cell culture and transfection protocol that minimizes batch-to-batch variations in protein expression. The work presented here proves the applicability and robustness of transient transfection technology for the expression of a variety of recombinant proteins.     

Molecular evolution of hepatitis A virus: a new classification based on the complete VP1 protein

Hepatitis A virus (HAV) is a positive-stranded RNA virus in the genus Hepatovirus in the family Picornaviridae So far, analysis of the genetic variability of HAV has been based on two discrete regions, the VP1/2A junction and the VP1 N terminus. In this report, we determined the nucleotide and deduced amino acid sequences of the complete VP1 gene of 81 strains from France, Kosovo, Mexico, Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay and compared them with the sequences of seven strains of HAV isolated elsewhere. Overall strain variation in the complete VP1 gene was found to be as high as 23.7% at the nucleotide level and 10.5% at the amino acid level. Different phylogenetic methods revealed that HAV sequences form five distinct and well-supported genetic lineages. Within these lineages, HAV sequences clustered by geographical origin only for European strains. The analysis of the complete VP1 gene allowed insight into the mode of evolution of HAV and revealed the emergence of a novel variant with a 15-amino-acid deletion located on the VP1 region where neutralization escape mutations were found. This could be the first antigenic variant of HAV so far identified.     

Autoantigen microarrays for multiplex characterization of autoantibody responses

We constructed miniaturized autoantigen arrays to perform large-scale multiplex characterization of autoantibody responses directed against structurally diverse autoantigens, using submicroliter quantities of clinical samples. Autoantigen microarrays were produced by attaching hundreds of proteins, peptides and other biomolecules to the surface of derivatized glass slides using a robotic arrayer. Arrays were incubated with patient serum, and spectrally resolvable fluorescent labels were used to detect autoantibody binding to specific autoantigens on the array. We describe and characterize arrays containing the major autoantigens in eight distinct human autoimmune diseases, including systemic lupus erythematosus and rheumatoid arthritis. This represents the first report of application of such technology to multiple human disease sera, and will enable validated detection of antibodies recognizing autoantigens including proteins, peptides, enzyme complexes, ribonucleoprotein complexes, DNA and post-translationally modified antigens. Autoantigen microarrays represent a powerful tool to study the specificity and pathogenesis of autoantibody responses, and to identify and define relevant autoantigens in human autoimmune diseases.     

Randomized trial of adoptive transfer of melanoma tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes as adjuvant therapy for stage III melanoma

The aim of this study was to demonstrate the interest of using tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) as adjuvant therapy for stage III (regional lymph nodes) melanoma. After lymph node excision, patients without any detectable metastases were randomly assigned to receive either TIL plus interleukin-2 (IL-2) for 2 months, or IL-2 only. The primary endpoint was determination of the duration of the relapse-free interval. Eighty-eight patients determined as eligible for treatment were enrolled in the study. After a median follow-up of 46.9 months, for the study population the analysis did not show a significant extension of the relapse-free interval or overall survival. However, a significant interaction ( P<0.001) was found between the treatment and the number of invaded lymph nodes. In the group with only one invaded lymph node, the estimated relapse rate was significantly lower ( P(adjusted)=0.0285) and the overall survival was increased ( P(adjusted)=0.039) in the TIL+IL-2 arm compared with the IL-2 only arm. No differences between the two arms, either as regards the duration of disease-free survival or overall survival, were noted in the group with more than one invaded lymph node whatever the number of invaded lymph nodes. Treatment was compatible with normal daily activity. This study demonstrates for the first time that the efficiency of TIL in stage III melanoma (AJCC) is directly related to the number of invaded lymph nodes, indicating that tumor burden might be a crucial factor in the efficacy and/or in vitro expansion of T cells specific for autologous tumor antigen, a finding which could be of value in future vaccine development for the treatment of melanoma.     

Grapevine Fanleaf Virus Monoclonal Antibodies: their Use to Distinguish Different Isolates

Monoclonal antibodies (MCAs) specific for Grapevine Fanleaf Virus (GFV) were obtained by fusion of a non-secreting myeloma cell line with the spleen cells from Balb/c mice immunized with GFV isolate F 13. The MCAs were tested with apanel of GFV isolates, using both crude extracts and purified virus particles. Some of the MCAs recognize all 41 isolates tested and are suitable as a diagnostic reagent for GFV detection. Certain MCAs do not bind to some of the isolates, while others show a lower reactivity for certain isolates than for the immunogen F 13. MCAs make it possible to distinguish GFV isolates which until now could not be distinguished by using polyclonal antiserum.     

Patulin is a cultivar‐dependent aggressiveness factor favouring the colonization of apples by Penicillium expansum

The blue mould decay of apples is caused by Penicillium expansum and is associated with contamination by patulin, a worldwide regulated mycotoxin. Recently, a cluster of 15 genes (patA–patO) involved in patulin biosynthesis was identified in P. expansum. blast analysis revealed that patL encodes a Cys₆ zinc finger regulatory factor. The deletion of patL caused a drastic decrease in the expression of all pat genes, leading to an absence of patulin production. Pathogenicity studies performed on 13 apple varieties indicated that the PeΔpatL strain could still infect apples, but the intensity of symptoms was weaker compared with the wild‐type strain. A lower growth rate was observed in the PeΔpatL strain when this strain was grown on nine of the 13 apple varieties tested. In the complemented PeΔpatL:patL strain, the ability to grow normally in apple and the production of patulin were restored. Our results clearly demonstrate that patulin is not indispensable in the initiation of the disease, but acts as a cultivar‐dependent aggressiveness factor for P. expansum. This conclusion was strengthened by the fact that the addition of patulin to apple infected by the PeΔpatL mutant restored the normal fungal colonization in apple.     

Influence of the amino acid sequence on the MUC5AC motif peptide O-Glycosylation by Human gastric UDP-GalNAc:polypeptide N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase(s)

The present work was carried out to study the role of the peptide moiety in the addition of O-linked N-acetylgalactosamine to human apomucin using human crude microsomal homogenates from gastric mucosa (as enzyme source) and a series of peptide acceptors representative of tandem repeat domains deduced from the MUC5AC mucin gene (expressed in the gastric mucosa). Being rich in threonine and serine placed in clusters, these peptides provided several potential sites for O-glycosylation. The glycosylated products were analysed by a combination of electrospray mass spectrometry and capillary electrophoresis in order to isolate the glycopeptides and to determine their sequence by Edman degradation. The O-glycosylation of our MUC5AC motif peptides gave information on the specificity and activity of the gastric microsomal UDP-N-acetylgalactosamine:polypeptide N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase(s). The proline residues and the induced-conformations are of great importance for the recognition of MUC5AC peptides but they are not the only factors for the choice of the O-glycosylation sites. Moreover, for the di-glycosylated peptides, the flanking regions of the proline residues strongly influence the site of the second O-glycosylation.     

Mutations in the mitochondrial split gene COXI are preferentially located in exons: a mapping study of 170 mutants

We have analysed the precise location of a large number (170) of mutations affecting the structural gene for subunit 1 of the cytochrome c oxidase complex. This gene, COXI, is 12.9 kb long and the major part of the sequence (i.e. 11.3 kb) is composed of introns. Several conclusions can be drawn from this study: (1) A significant proportion (84/170) of the mutations cannot be assigned to a single position within the gene by deletion mapping, in spite of clearly being located in it. These mutations are probably large deletions or multiple mutations. (2) Four mutants carry distant double mutations, which have been individually localized. (3) Eighty-two mutants have lesions that are restricted to very short regions of the gene and we therefore conclude that they are most probably due to single hits; amongst these single mutations, 41 are unambiguously located in exons and 28 in introns. This result implies that, at least in this particular split gene, the probability of selection of a mutant phenotype in an exon is, on the average, 13.3 times greater than in an intron, in spite of the existence, within most of these introns, of open reading frames specifying intronic proteins. The evolutionary significance and biological implications of these results are discussed.