Mannose metabolism in recombinant CHO cells and its effect on IgG glycosylation.

Understanding the causes of high-mannose (HM) glycosylation of recombinant IgG in CHO cells would facilitate the production of therapeutics. CHO cells grown with mannose as the major carbon source demonstrated a dramatic increase in total HM glycosylation in recombinant IgG, with no effect on cell growth, viability, or titer. Quantitative metabolomics and (13) C flux analysis were used to explore the mechanism for increased HM glycosylation and understand the metabolism of mannose in CHO cells. It was demonstrated that mannose was a good carbon source for CHO cell growth and IgG production, readily entering both glycolysis and the TCA Cycle. Previous mechanisms for increased HM glycosylation during antibody production have been attributed to changes in pH, osmolality, increased specific productivity, and nutrient limitation. The results from this study propose a novel mechanism where an increased carbon flux in the GDP-mannose synthetic pathway increased the intracellular concentration of mannose-containing metabolites. The abnormally high concentration of mannose and mannose-metabolites were shown to inhibit α-mannosidase activity and it was proposed that this inhibition in the ER and Golgi caused the production of IgG with increased high-mannose glycosylation. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2016;113: 1468-1480. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Real-time product attribute control to manufacture antibodies with defined N-linked glycan levels.

Pressures for cost-effective new therapies and an increased emphasis on emerging markets require technological advancements and a flexible future manufacturing network for the production of biologic medicines. The safety and efficacy of a product is crucial, and consistent product quality is an essential feature of any therapeutic manufacturing process. The active control of product quality in a typical biologic process is challenging because of measurement lags and nonlinearities present in the system. The current study uses nonlinear model predictive control to maintain a critical product quality attribute at a predetermined value during pilot scale manufacturing operations. This approach to product quality control ensures a more consistent product for patients, enables greater manufacturing efficiency, and eliminates the need for extensive process characterization by providing direct measures of critical product quality attributes for real time release of drug product.

The vitronectin receptor and its associated CD47 molecule mediates proinflammatory cytokine synthesis in human monocytes by interaction with soluble CD23.

The vitronectin receptor, alphavbeta3 integrin, plays an important role in tumor cell invasion, angiogenesis, and phagocytosis of apoptotic cells. CD47, a member of the multispan transmembrane receptor family, physically and functionally associates with vitronectin receptor (VnR). Although vitronectin (Vn) is not a ligand of CD47, anti-CD47 and beta3 mAbs suppress Vn, but not fibronectin (Fn) binding and function. Here, we show that anti-CD47, anti-beta3 mAb and Vn, but not Fn, inhibit sCD23-mediated proinflammatory function (TNF-alpha, IL-12, and IFN-gamma release). Surprisingly, anti-CD47 and beta3 mAbs do not block sCD23 binding to alphav+beta3+ T cell lines, whereas Vn and an alphav mAb (clone AMF7) do inhibit sCD23 binding, suggesting the VnR complex may be a functional receptor for sCD23. sCD23 directly binds alphav+beta3+/CD47(-) cell lines, but coexpression of CD47 increases binding. Moreover, sCD23 binds purified alphav protein and a single human alphav chain CHO transfectant. We conclude that the VnR and its associated CD47 molecule may function as a novel receptor for sCD23 to mediate its proinflammatory activity and, as such, may be involved in the inflammatory process of the immune response.

Inhibition of platelet function by recombinant soluble ecto-ADPase/CD39.

Excessive platelet accumulation and recruitment, leading to vessel occlusion at sites of vascular injury, present major therapeutic challenges in cardiovascular medicine. Endothelial cell CD39, an ecto-enzyme with ADPase and ATPase activities, rapidly metabolizes ATP and ADP released from activated platelets, thereby abolishing recruitment. Therefore, a soluble form of CD39, retaining nucleotidase activities, would constitute a novel antithrombotic agent. We designed a recombinant, soluble form of human CD39, and isolated it from conditioned media from transiently transfected COS-1 cells and from stably transfected Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells. Conditioned medium from CHO cells grown under serum-free conditions was subjected to anti-CD39 immunoaffinity column chromatography, yielding a single approximately 66-kD protein with ATPase and ADPase activities. Purified soluble CD39 blocked ADP-induced platelet aggregation in vitro, and inhibited collagen-induced platelet reactivity. Kinetic analyses indicated that, while soluble CD39 had a Km for ADP of 5.9 microM and for ATP of 2.1 microM, the specificity constant kcat/Km was the same for both substrates. Intravenously administered soluble CD39 remained active in mice for an extended period of time, with an elimination phase half-life of almost 2 d. The data indicate that soluble CD39 is a potential therapeutic agent for inhibition of platelet-mediated thrombotic diatheses.