Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells, that are widely used for production of therapeutic proteins, are subjected to apoptosis and autophagy under the stresses induced by conditions such as nutrient deprivation, hyperosmolality and addition of sodium butyrate. To achieve a cost-effective level of production, it is important to extend the culture longevity. Until now, there have been numerous studies in which apoptosis of recombinant CHO (rCHO) cells was inhibited, resulting in enhanced production of therapeutic proteins. Recently, autophagy in rCHO cells has drawn attention because it can be genetically and chemically controlled to increase cell survival and productivity. Autophagy is a global catabolic process which involves multiple pathways and genes that regulate the lysosomal degradation of intracellular components. A simultaneous targeting of anti-apoptosis and pro-autophagy could lead to more efficient protection of cells from stressful culture conditions. In this regard, it is worthwhile to have a detailed understanding of the autophagic pathway, in order to select appropriate genes and chemical targets to manage autophagy in rCHO cells, and thus to enhance the production of therapeutic proteins.

Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells activate and undergo apoptosis and autophagy for various environmental stresses. Unlike apoptosis, studies on increasing the production of therapeutic proteins in CHO cells by targeting the autophagy pathway are limited. In order to identify the effects of chemical autophagy inhibitors on the specific productivity (qp ), nine chemical inhibitors that had been reported to target three different phases of autophagy (metformin, dorsomorphin, resveratrol, and SP600125 against initiation and nucleation; 3-MA, wortmannin, and LY294002 against elongation, and chloroquine and bafilomycin A1 against autophagosome fusion) were used to treat three recombinant CHO (rCHO) cell lines: the Fc-fusion protein-producing DG44 (DG44-Fc) and DUKX-B11 (DUKX-Fc) and antibody-producing DG44 (DG44-Ab) cell lines. Among the nine chemical inhibitors tested, 3-MA, dorsomorphin, and SP600125 significantly increased the qp of DG44-Fc and DUKX-Fc. In contrast, for DG44-Ab, only 3-MA significantly increased the qp . The autophagy-inhibiting activity of the nine chemical inhibitors on the rCHO cell lines was evaluated through Western blot analysis and flow cytometry. Unexpectedly, some chemical inhibitors did not exhibit any apparent inhibition activity on autophagy. The chemical inhibitors that enhanced the qp , 3-MA, dorsomorphin, and SP600125, exhibited instead an increased autophagic flux. Taken all together, the chemical inhibition of autophagy was not effective in increasing the qp in rCHO cell lines and the positive effect of 3-MA, dorsomorphin, and SP600125 on the qp was not due to the inhibition of autophagy. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2016;113: 1953-1961. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The human cell line rF2N78 produces an antibody with a high galactosylation ratio which resembles human IgG. However, it has been observed that the aglycosylated antibody starts to appear when glucose is depleted. To determine whether glucose depletion is a main cause for aglycosylation of the antibody, fed-batch cultures of rF2N78 cells were performed using different feeding cocktails (glucose only, nutrient feeding cocktail without glucose, and nutrient feeding cocktail with glucose). In the fed-batch culture with nutrient feeding cocktail without glucose, aglycosylated antibody was produced in a later phase of culture, when glucose was depleted. Approximately 44 % of antibodies produced were aglycosylated at the end of culture. In contrast, aglycosylated antibody was not produced in cultures with glucose feeding. The expression levels of oligosaccharyl transferases determined by Western blot analysis were similar among the cultures, suggesting that aglycosylation of the antibody was not due to altered expression of oligosaccharyl transferases under glucose-deficient conditions. Thus, it is likely that glucose deficiency led to insufficiency of the precursor for glycosylation and induced aglycosylation of the antibody. Taken together, glucose feeding in fed-batch cultures successfully prevented occurrence of aglycosylated antibody during the cultures, confirming that glucose depletion is a main cause for aglycosylation of antibody.

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Improving the time integral of viable cell concentration by overcoming cell death, namely apoptosis, is one of the widely used strategies for efficient production of therapeutic proteins. By establishing stable cell lines that overexpress anti-apoptotic genes or down-regulate pro-apoptotic genes, the final product yields can be enhanced as cells become more resistance to environmental stresses. From the selection of high-expressing clones to verification of anti-apoptotic activity, the method to construct a stable anti-apoptotic cell line is discussed in this chapter.