Abstract
DNA fragments encoding the light chain and heavy chain genes of an anti-human HER II antibody, trastuzumab, fused with an egg-lysozyme signal peptide were synthesized based on the codon bias of the methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris. These fragments were inserted into a site between the AOX 1-promoter and -terminator in pPICZ A to be expressed by P. pastoris. The expression vector was linearized, and introduced into P. pastoris GS115 by electroporation. After the checking of several transformants with PCR to ensure a precise insertion, one was selected and cultured to examine antibody production. The level of production reached 10 mg/L in a flask with medium containing 1% methanol. The heavy chain and light chain of the product were assembled to form a hetero tetramer, as detected by dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). N-terminal amino acid sequencing revealed that the signal peptides of both chains were well processed. The mobility of the product in SDS-PAGE after treatment with Peptide N-Glycosidase F indicated the heavy chain to be N-glycosylated. Further analysis of the N-glycans with a mass spectrometer revealed a mixture of Man9-GlcNAc2, Man10-GlcNAc2, Man11-GlcNAc2 and Man12-GlcNAc2, but no hyper-mannosylated glycans. ELISA, surface plasmon resonance, and flow cytometric studies showed the affinity curve and Kd value for the antigen, HER II, and reactivity to a HER2-overexpressing breast cancer cell-line, SK-BR-3, to be almost the same as for the clinically used trastuzumab produced by CHO.
Highlights
Recombinant monoclonal antibodies are useful for biological research, diagnostics and therapeutic purposes
DNA fragments encoding the light chain and heavy chain genes of an anti-human HER II antibody, trastuzumab, fused with an egg-lysozyme signal peptide were synthesized based on the codon bias of the methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris
ELISA, surface plasmon resonance, and flow cytometric studies showed the affinity curve and Kd value for the antigen, HER II, and reactivity to a HER2-overexpressing breast cancer cell-line, SK-BR-3, to be almost the same as for the clinically used trastuzumab produced by CHO
Summary
Recombinant monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) are useful for biological research, diagnostics and therapeutic purposes. Since mammalian cell cultures are far more complex and expensive than microbial cell cultures, expression systems with microorganisms have gained importance. Bacterial systems, such as Esherichia coli, are often not able to modify the product as mammalian cells do. With their capacity for post-translational modifications and potential to produce large quantities of rather complicated heterologous proteins, yeast production systems are seen as promising substitutes for mammalian cell systems [4,5]. One using Pichia pastoris is increasingly being applied to both research and the production of proteins for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. The purification process is expected to be simpler than that inside cells, OPEN ACCESS
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