We previously developed a biobetter
version of rhIFN-β (R27T)
that possesses an additional glycosylation site compared with rhIFN-β
1a. Herein, we characterized N-glycosylation heterogeneity of R27T,
which includes both N-glycan site occupancy heterogeneity (macro-heterogeneity)
and complexity of carbohydrate moieties (micro-heterogeneity). N-glycan
site occupancy manifested as distinct differences in size and isoelectric
point. The analysis of complex carbohydrate moieties of R27T involved
the common biopharmaceutical glycosylation critical quality attributes
such as core fucosylation, antennary composition, sialylation, N-acetyllactosamine extensions, linkages, and overall glycan
profiles using weak anion-exchange and hydrophilic interaction high-performance
liquid chromatography with 2-aminobenzoic acid-labeled N-glycans.
The double-glycosylated form accounted for approx. 94% R27T, while
the single-glycosylated form accounted for 6% R27T. N-glycans consisted
of a mixture of bi-, tri-, and tetra-antennary glycans, some with N-acetyllactosamine extensions, but neither outer arm fucose
nor α-galactose was detected. Sialic acid major variants, N-acetyl- and N-glycolyl-neuraminic acid,
were more abundant in R27T than in Rebif. The major N-glycan, accounting
for ∼42% of total N-glycans, had a di-sialylated, core-fucosylated
bi-antennary structure.