METHOD FOR IMPROVING PRODUCT TITER IN A CELL AND A CELL MEDIA FOR IMPROVING THE SAME

Abstract

A cell culture media comprising an effective amount of 3-Thiopheneacetic acid (3TAA).

Claims

1. A producer cell culture media comprising an effective amount of 3-Thiopheneacetic acid (3TAA).

2. The producer cell culture media according to claim 1, in which the effective amount of 3TAA is between about 0.1 mM and about 6.0 mM.

3. The producer cell culture media according to claim 1, in which the effective amount of 3TAA is between about 1.5 mM and about 3.5 mM when the producer cell culture media is added to cells at Day 0.

4. The producer cell culture media according to claim 1, in which the effective amount of 3TAA is between about 1.5 mM and about 3.5 mM when the producer cell culture media is added to cells at Day 0 and in which the effective amount of 3TAA is about 2.5 mM when the producer cell culture media added to the cells at Day 0.

5. The producer cell culture media according to claim 1, in which the effective amount of 3TAA is between about 4.0 mM and about 6.0 mM when the producer cell culture media is added to the cells at mid to late exponential phase or early stationary phase of the cell growth.

6. The producer cell culture media according to claim 1, in which the effective amount of 3TAA is between about 4.0 mM and about 6.0 mM when the producer cell culture media is added to the cells at mid to late exponential phase or early stationary phase of the cell growth and in which the effective amount of 3TAA is about 5.6 mM.

7. The producer cell culture media according to claim 1, in which the producer cell culture media is in the form of a powder, a liquid, a pellet, a granule.

8. A method for increasing product titer in a cell culture system, the method comprising the steps of: (a) incubating a cell in the producer cell culture media comprising an effective amount of 3-Thiopheneacetic acid (3TAA) for a period of time in the cell culture system; (b) collecting the cell or cell culture media or both from the cell culture system; and (c) harvesting the product produced by the cell in the cell culture system.

9. The method of any one claim 8, in which prior to step (a), the cells are first incubated with a basal cell culture media without 3TAA for a period of time until the cells are at mid to late exponential phase or early stationary phase of the cell growth and then step (a) is performed.

10. A method for increasing protein production of a protein-producing cell in a cell culture system, the method comprising the steps of: (a) incubating the protein-producing cell in the producer cell culture media comprising an effective amount of 3-Thiopheneacetic acid (3TAA) for a period of time; (b) collecting the producer cell or producer cell culture media, or both, from the system; and (c) harvesting the protein from the producer cell or producer cell culture media, or both.

11. The method of claim 10, in which the harvested protein is a monoclonal antibody, a polyclonal antibody or a recombinant protein.

12. The method of claim 10, in which prior to step (a), the cells are first incubated with a basal cell culture media without 3TAA for a period of time until the cells are at mid to late exponential phase or early stationary phase of the cell growth and then step (a) is performed.

13. A method of determining whether the producer cell culture media comprising an effective amount of 3-Thiopheneacetic acid (3TAA) increases product titer in a cell culture system when compared to product titer when using the producer cell culture media without 3TAA, the method comprising the steps of: incubating a cell with the producer cell culture media with and without 3TAA; determining the product titer of the cell in each media; and comparing the product titer of the cell in each media.

14. The method according to claim 8, in which the effective amount of 3TAA in the producer cell culture media is between about 0.1 mM and about 6.0 mM.

15. A use of an effective amount of 3-Thiopheneacetic acid (3TAA) in a producer cell culture media to increase production titer in a batch production process or in a fed batch process.

16. A kit for increasing production titer of a protein-producing cell in a cell culture system, the kit comprising the producer cell culture media comprising an effective amount of 3-Thiopheneacetic acid (3TAA).

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0058] The invention will be more clearly understood from the following description of an embodiment thereof, given by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0059] FIG. 1 illustrates the effects of different concentrations of 3TAA on culture performance in deep well shaking plate culture. Chemical enhancer was added on Day 0. Meanstandard error of two experimental replicates each with three technical replicates.

[0060] FIG. 2 illustrates delayed addition of chemical enhancer molecules. Effect on culture attributes in the presence of 3TAA when added day 3 post seeding. Meanstandard error of three experimental replicates each performed in triplicate.

[0061] FIGS. 3A to 3D illustrate culture performance of 3TAA supplemented cultures in batch production process. FIG. 3(A) illustrates a viable cell density over culture progression; FIG. 3(B) illustrates a cell viability for the culture duration; FIG. 3(C) illustrates an integral of viable cell density (IVCD)a measure of accumulation of viable cell biomass as the culture progresses; FIG. 3(D) illustrates a volumetric IgG titer.

[0062] FIGS. 4A to 4C illustrate the efficacy of 3TAA in 3TAA-supplemented cultures in a batch production process in comparison to similar molecules. Parallel studies were performed with 2TAA (a structural analogue of 3TAA) to compare against culture performance of 3TAA. FIG. 2(A) illustrates a viable cell density over culture progression; FIG. 3(B) illustrates a cell viability for the culture duration; and FIG. 3(C) illustrates an integral of viable cell densitya measure of accumulation of viable cell biomass as the culture progresses.

[0063] FIG. 5 illustrates cell cycle phase profile of cells in the presence of enhancer chemical. Flow cytometric analysis revealed which phase of cell cycle was predominant in each cell. Meanstandard error of three experimental replicates each performed in duplicate.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0064] Materials and Methods

[0065] Determining of Optimum Concentration in Culture

[0066] The Applicant uses a platform consisting of screening Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cell clone leads grown in a deep well plate coated with media containing 3TAA. The cells are measured for increased growth and productivity (titer) to determine whether 3TAA, and other enhancer chemicals, have offered the optimum cell culture environment, and can improve the growth and/or productivity of promising lead clones, which otherwise, grown in sub-optimal conditions, would not have been selected. To establish optimum concentration for the best titer boost, high throughput experimentation was performed in 96 deep well plates (Greiner Bio-One, Gloucestershire, United Kingdom). The cell line used was a CHO-S stable clone producing an anti-Her2 like IgG1 antibody. Cells were cultured in CD CHO medium (Thermo Fisher Scientific, Paisley, UK), supplemented with 8 mM L-glutamine, 1% HT supplement and 12.5 ug/ml puromycin selection marker (Thermo Fisher Scientific, Paisley, UK). Cells grown in these plates were incubated at 320 rpm (25 mm throw), 37 C., 5% CO.sub.2 and 85% humidity. The plates were covered with vented lids and secured using clamps (System Duetz; Enzyscreen B.V., Heemstede, Netherlands). Cells were seeded at 0.210.sup.6 cells ml.sup.1 with a seeding volume of 450 L (unless specified otherwise). Chemical enhancer molecules, including 3TAA, were trialled at 4 to 10 different concentrations at Day 0 in culture. Subsequently, a subset of concentrations was carried forward for delayed addition at Day 3 of culture. Day 3 was chosen based on the cell growth profile in deep well plates. Cells were cultured for 5 days before culture attributes (cell growth and titer) were recorded, unless otherwise stated. Cell growth was measured using the PrestoBlue Assay (ThermoFisher Scientific), viability was verified using the Vi-cell cell viability analyser (Beckmann Coulter, High Wycombe, UK), and titer was measured using the ValitaTITER assay (Valitacell, Dublin, Ireland).

[0067] Analysis of3TAA Supplemented Cultures in Shake Flasks

[0068] Shake flask cultures were performed in vented Erlenmeyer flasks with a 30 ml working culture volume. Cells were seeded at 0.210.sup.6 cells ml.sup.1. 3TAA was added at 2.5 mM (optimum concentrations from deep well plate culture) on Day 0. Growth and titer were monitored daily. Total RNA and histone extracts were collected from Day 5 of culture. Cell cycle and apoptosis analysis were performed on Day 4 and Day 5 post seeding respectively.

[0069] RNA Extraction, cDNA Synthesis and qPCR

[0070] Cellular total RNA was extracted from 110.sup.6 cells using the RNeasy Mini Kit (Qiagen, Crawley, UK) according to the manufacturer's instructions. Reverse transcription reactions were carried out using the QuantiTect Reverse Transcription kit (Qiagen) according to the manufacturer's instructions. Real time quantitative PCR (qPCR) reactions were carried out using the QuantiFast SYBR Green PCR Master Mix according to the manufacturer's instructions. Primers for cDNA corresponding to the recombinant antibody heavy (Fwd: ACCAAGAACCAGGTCAGCCT (SEQ ID NO. 1), Rev: TGAGAAGACGTTCCCCTGCT (SEQ ID NO. 2)) and light chain (Fwd: CAGCAAGGACAGCACCTACA (SEQ ID NO. 3); Rev: GACTTCGCAGGCGTAGACTT (SEQ ID NO. 4)) mRNA were employed. Internal reference controls used were: Mmadhc (Fwd: TGTCACCTCAATGGGACTGC (SEQ ID NO. 5); Rev: CAGGTGCATCACTACTCTGAAAC (SEQ ID NO. 6)) and Fkbp1a (Fwd: CTCTCGGGACAGAAACAAGC (SEQ ID NO. 7); Rev: GACCTACACTCATCTGGGCTAC (SEQ ID NO. 8)). For the internal reference primer information, see reference Biotechnol J. 2018 January; 13(1). doi: 10.1002/biot.201700259. Transcriptome-Based Identification of the Optimal Reference CHO Genes for Normalisation of qPCR Data.

[0071] Cell Cycle Analysis

[0072] 110.sup.6 cells were extracted from culture and fixed in 4% paraformaldehyde (Alfa Aesar; Thermo Fisher Scientific). The cells were then stained with propidium iodide using the FxCycle PI/RNase Staining Solution (Thermo Fisher Scientific). Cell cycle analysis was performed on the Attune Acoustic Focusing Cytometer (Thermo Fisher Scientific).

[0073] Results

Example 1

[0074] High throughput culture was performed to determine the optimum concentration (Day 0 addition) of 3TAA. 3TAA was trialled in a deep well shaking culture setup to determine the best concentration for titer boost. 3TAA (FIG. 1) when added at the start of culture yielded the best titer boost of 1.59-fold (2.5 mM). No detrimental effect was observed in viability up to 5.2 mM. Cell growth was reduced by 25%.

Example 2

[0075] Delayed addition of 3TAA was performed using an IgG producing stable cell line, adding the chemical molecule at the exponential phase of culture progression (see FIG. 2). This approach revealed a larger improvement in volumetric titer, with 3TAA addition producing a 2.6-fold titer boost. Cell growth was dampened to a lesser extent in comparison to the Day 0 addition cultures. For example, at 2.5 mM concentration, Day 0 addition reduced IVCD by 25% with a titer boost of 160%. Conversely, a Day 3 addition at the same concentration yielded at 20% reduction in IVCD, boosting titer by 177%. Further, at the 4 mM concentration, Day 0 addition reduced IVCD by 50% with a titer boost of 17%. Conversely a Day 3 addition of the same concentration yielded a 25% reduction in IVCD, boosting titer by 125%.

Example 3

[0076] In a batch culture study (see FIG. 3), the selected optimum concentration of the 3TAA molecule was used in a batch shake flask process lasting 10 days. The molecule was added on Day 0. 3TAA decreased peak viable cell density by 30%, increasing total volumetric titer by 1.9-fold. Culture period was prolonged by a day due to the slower growing cells. The culture viability remained unaffected in comparison to the vehicle and no addition controls; demonstrating that prolonged exposure to the chemical did not deteriorate cell viability.

Example 4

[0077] To determine efficacy in comparison to similar molecules, parallel studies were performed with 2TAA (a structural analogue of 3TAA) supplemented cultures (see FIG. 4). For Day 0 addition cultures, 2TAA recorded a titer increase of 1.52-fold (at 0.8 mM), consistent with 3TAA titer increase (1.59-fold, at 2.5 mM). Growth decreased by 49% with 2TAA, in comparison 3TAA recorded a 25% growth decrease. For 2TAA, concentrations of 1.6 mM or higher recorded a significant drop in viability. In comparison, viability of cultures supplemented with 3TAA was unaffected until 5.2 mM.

[0078] In the case of exponential phase addition, 2TAA at 2 mM produced a titer improvement of 3.2-fold over the vehicle control. However, it is important to note that at this optimal concentration, 2TAA hampered cell viability over time in culture making it an unsuitable media supplement for improving titer production.

Example 5

[0079] For cell cycle analysis, cellular samples were fixed, stained and analysed through flow cytometry (see FIG. 5). Cell cycle phase distribution revealed that there was an 11% increase in accumulation in the G1 phase. Accumulation in the G1 phase forms a valid explanation for the decreased cell growth and increase in cell diameter.

[0080] 3TAA can be employed for use in a cell culture production process. The inventors have shown that 3TAA has provides a significant improvement in volumetric titer. Apoptotic pathways were not initiated, making 3TAA extremely valuable as a small molecule enhancer. Host cell lines stably/transiently producing a biotherapeutic of interest, can be cultured in the presence of 3TAA for improvement in protein yields. 3TAA can function as a culture additive. It can also form part of a chemical feed to administer to cells at a later stage in culture, to allow cellular resources to solely focus on protein production after a proliferation phase.

[0081] As far as the inventors are aware, 3TAA has never been trialled as a media supplement in mammalian cell lines. This is the first instance of its reported ability to improve titer in mammalian cell hosts producing a therapeutic antibody.

[0082] In the specification the terms comprise, comprises, comprised and comprising or any variation thereof and the terms include, includes, included and including or any variation thereof are considered to be totally interchangeable and they should all be afforded the widest possible interpretation and vice versa.

[0083] The invention is not limited to the embodiments hereinbefore described but may be varied in both construction and detail.