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Ultra-deep next generation mitochondrial genome sequencing reveals widespread heteroplasmy in Chinese hamster ovary cells

2017-05-01, Kelly, Paul S., Clarke, Colin, Costello, Alan, Barron, Niall, et al.

Recent sequencing of the Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell and Chinese hamster genomes has dramatically advanced our ability to understand the biology of these mammalian cell factories. In this study, we focus on the powerhouse of the CHO cell, the mitochondrion. Utilizing a high-resolution next generation sequencing approach we sequenced the Chinese hamster mitochondrial genome for the first time and surveyed the mutational landscape of CHO cell mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). Depths of coverage ranging from ~3,319X to 8,056X enabled accurate identification of low frequency mutations (>1%), revealing that mtDNA heteroplasmy is widespread in CHO cells. A total of 197 variants at 130 individual nucleotide positions were identified across a panel of 22 cell lines with 81% of variants occurring at an allele frequency of between 1% and 99%. 89% of the heteroplasmic mutations identified were cell line specific with the majority of shared heteroplasmic SNPs and INDELs detected in clones from 2 cell line development projects originating from the same host cell line. The frequency of common predicted loss of function mutations varied significantly amongst the clones indicating that heteroplasmic mtDNA variation could lead to a continuous range of phenotypes and play a role in cell to cell, production run to production run and indeed clone to clone variation in CHO cell metabolism. Experiments that integrate mtDNA sequencing with metabolic flux analysis and metabolomics have the potential to improve cell line selection and enhance CHO cell metabolic phenotypes for biopharmaceutical manufacturing through rational mitochondrial genome engineering.

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Improvements in single‐use bioreactor film material composition leads to robust and reliable Chinese hamster ovary cell performance

2019-05-06, Kelly, Paul S., Dorival‐García, Noemi, Paré, Samantha, Barron, Niall, et al.

Single‐use technologies, in particular disposable bioreactor bags, have become integral within the biopharmaceutical community. However, safety concerns arose upon the identification of toxic leachable compounds derived from the plastic materials. Although the leachable bis(2,4‐di‐tert‐butylphenyl)‐phosphate (bDtBPP) has been previously shown to inhibit CHO cell growth, it is critical to determine if other compounds like this are still present in subsequent generations of films for industrial application. This study compares the performance of CHO cells, CHO‐K1, and CHO‐DP12, cultured in media conditioned in an older single‐use bioreactor (SUB) film (F‐1) and a newer generation film (F‐2) from the same vendor. CHO cells cultured in media conditioned for 7 days in the F‐1 film demonstrated significantly reduced growth and antibody productivity profiles when compared to controls and media conditioned for the same time period in the newer F‐2 film. Proteomic profiling of CHO cells cultured in the F‐1 conditioned media identified differentially expressed proteins involved in oxidative stress response as well as compromised ATP synthesis. These potentially metabolically compromised cells exhibited reduced oxidative phosphorylation activity as well as lower glycolytic metabolism, characteristic of slower growing cells. Nonvolatile and metal leachables analysis of film extracts by LC–MS revealed a reduction in the abundance of the analyzed leachates from F‐2 films when compared to F‐1 films including bDtBPP, potentially explaining improved CHO cell growth in F‐2 conditioned media. Furthermore, in vitro endocrine disruptor testing of the known leachable revealed this molecule to possess the potential to act as an androgen antagonist. This study demonstrates an improvement in the materials composition used in modern generations of SUBs for safe application in the bioprocess.