Inactivation of N-Acetylglucosaminyltransferase I and α1,3-Fucosyltransferase Genes in Nicotiana tabacum BY-2 Cells Results in Glycoproteins With Highly Homogeneous, High-Mannose N-Glycans. 2021

Xavier Herman, and Johann Far, and Adeline Courtoy, and Laurent Bouhon, and Loïc Quinton, and Edwin De Pauw, and François Chaumont, and Catherine Navarre
Louvain Institute of Biomolecular Science and Technology, UCLouvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium.

Nicotiana tabacum Bright Yellow-2 (BY-2) suspension cells are among the most commonly used plant cell lines for producing biopharmaceutical glycoproteins. Recombinant glycoproteins are usually produced with a mix of high-mannose and complex N-glycans. However, N-glycan heterogeneity is a concern for the production of therapeutic or vaccine glycoproteins because it can alter protein activity and might lead to batch-to-batch variability. In this report, a BY-2 cell line producing glycoproteins devoid of complex N-glycans was obtained using CRISPR/Cas9 edition of two N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase I (GnTI) genes, whose activity is a prerequisite for the formation of all complex N-glycans. The suppression of complex N-glycans in the GnTI-knocked out (KO) cell lines was assessed by Western blotting. Lack of β1,2-xylose residues confirmed the abolition of GnTI activity. Unexpectedly, α1,3-fucose residues were still detected albeit dramatically reduced as compared with wild-type cells. To suppress the remaining α1,3-fucose residues, a second genome editing targeted both GnTI and α1,3-fucosyltransferase (FucT) genes. No β1,2-xylose nor α1,3-fucose residues were detected on the glycoproteins produced by the GnTI/FucT-KO cell lines. Absence of complex N-glycans on secreted glycoproteins of GnTI-KO and GnTI/FucT-KO cell lines was confirmed by mass spectrometry. Both cell lines produced high-mannose N-glycans, mainly Man5 (80 and 86%, respectively) and Man4 (16 and 11%, respectively). The high degree of N-glycan homogeneity and the high-mannose N-glycosylation profile of these BY-2 cell lines is an asset for their use as expression platforms.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries

Related Publications

Xavier Herman, and Johann Far, and Adeline Courtoy, and Laurent Bouhon, and Loïc Quinton, and Edwin De Pauw, and François Chaumont, and Catherine Navarre
January 2017, Frontiers in plant science,
Xavier Herman, and Johann Far, and Adeline Courtoy, and Laurent Bouhon, and Loïc Quinton, and Edwin De Pauw, and François Chaumont, and Catherine Navarre
May 2016, The Journal of biological chemistry,
Xavier Herman, and Johann Far, and Adeline Courtoy, and Laurent Bouhon, and Loïc Quinton, and Edwin De Pauw, and François Chaumont, and Catherine Navarre
April 2010, Journal of bioscience and bioengineering,
Xavier Herman, and Johann Far, and Adeline Courtoy, and Laurent Bouhon, and Loïc Quinton, and Edwin De Pauw, and François Chaumont, and Catherine Navarre
January 2022, Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.),
Xavier Herman, and Johann Far, and Adeline Courtoy, and Laurent Bouhon, and Loïc Quinton, and Edwin De Pauw, and François Chaumont, and Catherine Navarre
January 2022, Advances in carbohydrate chemistry and biochemistry,
Xavier Herman, and Johann Far, and Adeline Courtoy, and Laurent Bouhon, and Loïc Quinton, and Edwin De Pauw, and François Chaumont, and Catherine Navarre
August 2023, Journal of bioscience and bioengineering,
Xavier Herman, and Johann Far, and Adeline Courtoy, and Laurent Bouhon, and Loïc Quinton, and Edwin De Pauw, and François Chaumont, and Catherine Navarre
January 2016, Frontiers in plant science,
Xavier Herman, and Johann Far, and Adeline Courtoy, and Laurent Bouhon, and Loïc Quinton, and Edwin De Pauw, and François Chaumont, and Catherine Navarre
January 2012, Bioscience, biotechnology, and biochemistry,
Xavier Herman, and Johann Far, and Adeline Courtoy, and Laurent Bouhon, and Loïc Quinton, and Edwin De Pauw, and François Chaumont, and Catherine Navarre
July 2021, Cellular and molecular life sciences : CMLS,
Xavier Herman, and Johann Far, and Adeline Courtoy, and Laurent Bouhon, and Loïc Quinton, and Edwin De Pauw, and François Chaumont, and Catherine Navarre
September 2015, Vaccine,
Copied contents to your clipboard!