Baculovirus expression provides direct evidence for heteromeric assembly of P2X2 and P2X3 receptors.

P2X2 and P2X3 are subunits of P2X receptors, cation channels opened by binding extracellular ATP. cDNAs encoding P2X2 and P2X3 receptor subunits, each with one of two C-terminal epitope tags, were cloned into baculovirus. Virally infected insect cells (Spodoptera frugiperda) expressed moderate to high levels of the corresponding proteins, as detected by Western blotting, by the specific binding of [35S]ATP and by whole-cell recordings of membrane current evoked by ATP or alphabetamethylene-ATP. In cells infected at the same time with two viruses encoding P2X2 and P2X3 receptors, the two proteins could be cross-immunoprecipitated with antibodies specific for either of the epitope tags. Whole-cell recordings from these cells showed that ATP and alphabetamethylene-ATP evoked currents with agonist sensitivity and desensitization quite distinct from those observed when P2X2 or P2X3 receptors were expressed alone. The results offer a method to express large amounts of P2X receptor protein, and they provide direct evidence that P2X2 and P2X3 subunits assemble to form heteromeric channels having distinct properties from those formed as homomers.

Substrate limitation in the baculovirus expression vector system.

The inability to infect insect cell cultures at the highest achievable cell densities has imposed major limitations to both the fundamental understanding of the Baculovirus Expression Vector System (BEVS) as well as full exploitation of its potential productive capacity for recombinant (beta-galAcNPV) products. The current literature does not characterize and identify the exact nature of the observed limitations, which therefore has become the major objective and contribution of the following study. Critical densities for infection of Spodoptera frugiperda (Sf9) cells with nuclear polyhedrosis virus expressing beta-galactosidase (Autographa californica) grown in media both containing fetal calf serum (FCS) and free of serum were found to be at 2 x 10(6) and 5 x 10(6) cells/ml respectively. Medium exchange was found to completely reverse the effect if renewed up to 24 hours post-infection (HPI). The inevitable arrest of uninfected cell growth and decreased production of recombinant products at high cell densities of infection were both correlated to nutrient depletion. Cystine was found to be depleted in uninfected insect cell cultures at the onset of the stationary phase and in serum-free insect cell cultures infected with baculovirus above a cell density of 5 x 10(6) cells/ml. Neither glucose depletion nor accumulation of possible inhibitory metabolites such as alanine, ammonia, or lactate could be correlated to growth arrest or decreased recombinant product yields.

The indirect effects of multiplicity of infection on baculovirus expressed proteins in insect cells: secreted and non-secreted products.

The baculovirus expression vector system was employed to produce human apolipoprotein E and ß-galactosidase in order to study the effect of multiplicity of infection on secreted and non-secreted recombinant protein production. Prior knowledge of the influence of other cell culture and infection parameters, such as the cell density at time of infection and the time of harvest, allowed determination of the direct and indirect influences of multiplicity of infection on recombinant protein synthesis and degradation in insect cells. Under non-limited, controlled conditions, the direct effect of multiplicity of infection (10(-1)-10 pfu/cell) on specific recombinant product yields of non-secreted ß-galactosidase was found to be insignificant. Instead, the observed increased in accumulated product was directly correlated to the total number of infected cells during the production period and therefore ultimately dependent on an adequate supply of nutrients. Only the timing of recombinant virus and protein production was influenced by, and dependent on the multiplicity of infection. Evidence is presented in this study that indicates the extremely limited predictability of post-infection cell growth at very low multiplicities of infection of less than 0.1 pfu/cell. Due to the inaccuracy of the current virus quantification techniques, combined with the sensitivity of post-infection cell growth at low MOI, the possibility of excessive post-infection cell growth and subsequent nutrient limitation was found to be significantly increased. Finally, as an example, the degree of product stability and cellular and viral protein contamination at low multiplicity of infection is investigated for a secreted recombinant form of human apolipoprotein E. Comparison of human apolipoprotein E production and secretion at multiplicities of infection of 10(-4)-10 pfu/cell revealed increased product degradation and contamination with intracellular proteins at low multiplicities of infection.

Modeling and optimization of the baculovirus expression vector system in batch suspension culture.

A mathematical model has been developed that predicts the cell population dynamics and production of recombinant protein and infective extracellular virus progeny by insect cells after infection with baculovirus in batch suspension culture. Infection in the model is based on the rate of virus attachment to suspended insect cells under culture conditions. The model links the events following infection with the sequence of gene expression in the baculovirus replicative cycle. Substrate depletion is used to account for the decrease in product yield observed when infecting at high cell densities. Model parameters were determined in shaker flasks for two media: serum-supplemented IPL-41 medium and serum free Sf900II medium. There was good agreement between model predictions and the results from an independent series of experiments performed to validate the mode. The model predicted: (1) the optimal time of infection at high multiplicity of infection: (2) the timing and magnitude of recombinant protein production in a 2-L bioreactor; and (3) the timing and magnitude of recombinant protein production at multiplicities of infection from 0.01 to 100 plaque-forming units per cell. Through its ability to predict optimal infection strategies in batch suspension culture, the model has use in the design and optimization of large-scale systems for the production of recombinant products using the baculovirus expression vector system.