title: Reduction of ammonia and lactate through the coupling of glutamine synthetase selection and downregulation of lactate dehydrogenase-A in CHO cells.
abstract: Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell cultivation for production of therapeutic proteins is accompanied by production of metabolic wastes, mostly ammonia and lactate. To reduce ammonia production, the glutamine synthetase (GS) system was used to develop therapeutic monoclonal antibody (mAb)-producing CHO cells (SM-0.025). Additionally, the lactate dehydrogenase-A (LDH-A) was downregulated with shRNA to reduce lactate production in SM-0.025. The resulting mAb-producing cell lines (#2, #46, and #52) produced less ammonia than the host cell line during the exponential phase due to GS protein overexpression. LDH-A downregulation in SM-0.025 not only reduced lactate production but also further reduced ammonia production. Among the three LDH-A-downregulated clones, clone #2 had the highest mAb production along with significantly reduced specific lactate and ammonia production rates compared to those in SM-0.025. Waste reduction increased the galactosylation level of N-glycosylation, which improved mAb quality. LDH-A downregulation was also successfully applied to the host cell lines (CHO K1 and GS knockout CHO-K1). However, LDH-A downregulated host cells could not survive the pool-selection process wherein glutamine was excluded and methionine sulfoximine was added to the media. Taken together, LDH-A downregulation in the mAb-producing cell line generated with the GS system successfully reduced both ammonia and lactate levels, improving mAb galactosylation. However, LDH-A downregulation could not be applied to host cell lines because it hampered the selection process of the GS system.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, KAIST, 291 Daehak-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, 34141, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Soo Min
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Noh
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, KAIST, 291 Daehak-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, 34141, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Jin Hyoung
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: New Drug Development Center, 123 Osongsaengmyeong-ro, Osong-eup, Heungdeok-gu, Cheongju-si, Chungcheongbuk-do, 28160, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Myung Sin
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Lim
authors.affiliation: New Drug Development Center, 123 Osongsaengmyeong-ro, Osong-eup, Heungdeok-gu, Cheongju-si, Chungcheongbuk-do, 28160, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Jong Won
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, KAIST, 291 Daehak-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, 34141, Republic of Korea. gyunminlee@kaist.ac.kr.
authors.forename: Gyun Min
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D000641:Ammonia / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000627:therapeutic use; D016466:CHO Cells; D002470:Cell Survival; D003412:Cricetulus; D003470:Culture Media / Q000737:chemistry; D015536:Down-Regulation; D005974:Glutamate-Ammonia Ligase / Q000378:metabolism*; D007527:Isoenzymes / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D007770:L-Lactate Dehydrogenase / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D000080864:Lactate Dehydrogenase 5; D019344:Lactic Acid / Q000378:metabolism*; D034741:RNA, Small Interfering; D014162:Transfection
chemical_list: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D003470:Culture Media; D007527:Isoenzymes; D034741:RNA, Small Interfering; D019344:Lactic Acid; D000641:Ammonia; D007770:L-Lactate Dehydrogenase; D000080864:Lactate Dehydrogenase 5; D005974:Glutamate-Ammonia Ligase
keywords: Ammonia; CHO cells; Glutamine synthetase; LDH-A; Lactate; Monoclonal antibody