In recent years, analogs of human insulin have been engineered with the aim of improving therapy for people with diabetes. To ensure that the safety profile of the human hormone is not compromised by the molecular modifications, the toxico-pharmacological properties of insulin analogs should be carefully monitored. In this study, we compared the insulin and IGF-I receptor binding properties and metabolic and mitogenic potencies of insulin aspart (B28Asp human insulin), insulin lispro (B28Lys,B29Pro human insulin), insulin glargine (A21Gly,B31Arg,B32Arg human insulin), insulin detemir (NN304) [B29Lys(-tetradecanoyl),desB30 human insulin], and reference insulin analogs. Receptor affinities were measured using purified human receptors, insulin receptor dissociation rates were determined using Chinese hamster ovary cells overexpressing the human insulin receptor, metabolic potencies were evaluated using primary mouse adipocytes, and mitogenic potencies were determined in human osteosarcoma cells. Metabolic potencies correlated well with insulin receptor affinities. Mitogenic potencies in general correlated better with IGF-I receptor affinities than with insulin receptor off-rates. The 2 rapid-acting insulin analogs aspart and lispro resembled human insulin on all parameters, except for a slightly elevated IGF-I receptor affinity of lispro. In contrast, the 2 long-acting insulin analogs, glargine and detemir, differed significantly from human insulin. The combination of the B31B32diArg and A21Gly substitutions provided insulin glargine with a 6-to 8-fold increased IGF-I receptor affinity and mitogenic potency compared with human insulin. The attachment of a fatty acid chain to LysB29 provided insulin detemir with reduced receptor affinities and metabolic and mitogenic potencies but did not change the balance between mitogenic and metabolic potencies. The safety implications of the increased growth-stimulating potential of insulin glargine are unclear. The reduced in vitro potency of insulin detemir might explain why this analog is not as effective on a molar basis as human insulin in humans.

Alanine scanning mutagenesis has been used to identify specific side chains of insulin which strongly influence binding to the insulin receptor. A total of 21 new insulin analog constructs were made, and in addition 7 high pressure liquid chromatography-purified analogs were tested, covering alanine substitutions in positions B1, B2, B3, B4, B8, B9, B10, B11, B12, B13, B16, B17, B18, B20, B21, B22, B26, A4, A8, A9, A12, A13, A14, A15, A16, A17, A19, and A21. Binding data on the analogs revealed that the alanine mutations that were most disruptive for binding were at positions TyrA19, GlyB8, LeuB11, and GluB13, resulting in decreases in affinity of 1,000-, 33-, 14-, and 8-fold, respectively, relative to wild-type insulin. In contrast, alanine substitutions at positions GlyB20, ArgB22, and SerA9 resulted in an increase in affinity for the insulin receptor. The most striking finding is that B20Ala insulin retains high affinity binding to the receptor. GlyB20 is conserved in insulins from different species, and in the structure of the B-chain it appears to be essential for the shift from the ␣-helix B8 -B19 to the ␤-turn B20 -B22. Thus, replacing GlyB20 with alanine most likely modifies the structure of the B-chain in this region, but this structural change appears to enhance binding to the insulin receptor.Insulin mediates its effects by binding to the insulin receptor in the plasma membrane of target cells. The molecular mechanisms for insulin interaction with the receptor are not fully understood. The crystal structure of the insulin molecule has been known for more than 25 years (1), but it remains an open question whether the structure of insulin that binds to the receptor is similar to the crystal structure. Until the structure of bound insulin and the side chains that are actually involved in binding is identified by co-crystallization of the receptor and ligand, more information about the binding domain on insulin can be obtained using mutational approaches.The binding domain of the insulin molecule has been studied by investigating receptor binding of a number of insulins from different animal species as well as chemically modified and more recently genetically engineered insulins (2-4). These studies have provided experimental support for a model in which invariant residues from both A and B chains form a surface that binds to the insulin receptor. The putative binding domain comprises a number of residues overlapping the dimerforming surface (ValB12, TyrB16, GlyB23, PheB24, PheB25, TyrB26, GlyA1, GlnA5, TyrA19, and AsnA21) and some of the residues buried beneath the COOH terminus of the B-chain (IleA2, ValA3, GluA4) (2). Cross-linking studies with an azidophenylalanine-substituted analog have shown that one of these residues, PheB25, comes into close proximity to the insulin receptor upon binding (5).Recently, a second binding site has been proposed, involving residues LeuA13 and LeuB17 (6, 7). A biphasic binding reaction involving this second binding site could explain the negative cooperativity phenomen...

Production of glycoprotein therapeutics in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells is limited by the cells' generic capacity for N-glycosylation, and production of glycoproteins with desirable homogeneous glycoforms remains a challenge. We conducted a comprehensive knockout screen of glycosyltransferase genes controlling N-glycosylation in CHO cells and constructed a design matrix that facilitates the generation of desired glycosylation, such as human-like α2,6-linked sialic acid capping. This engineering approach will aid the production of glycoproteins with improved properties and therapeutic potential.

The potential risks of unintentional releases of genetically modified organisms, and the lack of predictable behavior of these in the environment, are the subject of considerable concern. This concern is accentuated in connection with the next phase of gene technology comprising deliberate releases. The possibilities of reducing such potential risks and increasing the predictability of the organisms are discussed for genetically engineered bacteria. Different approaches towards designing disabled strains without seriously reducing their beneficial effects are presented. Principally two types of strain design are discussed: actively contained bacteria based on the introduction of controlled suicide systems, and passively contained strains based on genetic interference with their survival under environmental-stress conditions.

The multimer resolution system (mrs) of the broad-host-range plasmid RP4 has been exploited to develop a general method that permits the precise excision of chromosomal segments in a variety of gram-negative bacteria. The procedure is based on the site-specific recombination between two directly repeated 140-bp resolution (res) sequences of RP4 effected by the plasmid-borne resolvase encoded by the parA gene. The efficiency and accuracy of the mrs system to delete portions of chromosomal DNA flanked by res sites was monitored with hybrid mini-Tn5 transposons in which various colored (␤-galactosidase and catechol 2,3 dioxygenase) or luminescent (Vibrio harveyi luciferase) phenotypic markers associated to res sequences were inserted in the chromosome of the target bacteria and exposed in vivo to the product of the parA gene. The high frequencies of marker excision obtained with different configurations of the parA expression system suggested that just a few molecules of the resolvase are required to achieve the site-specific recombination event. Transient expression of parA from a plasmid unable to replicate in the target bacterium was instrumental to effect differential deletions within complex hybrid transposons inserted in the chromosome of Pseudomonas putida. This strategy permits the stable inheritance of heterologous DNA segments virtually devoid of the sequences used initially to select their insertion.

Fluorescent oligonucleotide probes targeting rRNA were used to develop an in situ hybridization technique by which the spatial distribution of Escherichia coli in the large intestines of streptomycin-treated mice was determined. Single E. coli cells were identified in thin frozen sections from the large intestines by the use of a probe specific for E. coli 23S rRNA. Furthermore, the total bacterial population was visualized with an rRNA probe targeting the domain Bacteria. By this technique, all E. coli cells were seen embedded in the mucosal material overlying the epithelial cells of the large intestine, and no direct attachment to the epithelium was observed.

Lysosomal replacement enzymes are essential therapeutic options for rare congenital lysosomal enzyme deficiencies, but enzymes in clinical use are only partially effective due to short circulatory half-life and inefficient biodistribution. Replacement enzymes are primarily taken up by cell surface glycan receptors, and glycan structures influence uptake, biodistribution, and circulation time. It has not been possible to design and systematically study effects of different glycan features. Here we present a comprehensive gene engineering screen in Chinese hamster ovary cells that enables production of lysosomal enzymes with N-glycans custom designed to affect key glycan features guiding cellular uptake and circulation. We demonstrate distinct circulation time and organ distribution of selected glycoforms of α-galactosidase A in a Fabry disease mouse model, and find that an α2-3 sialylated glycoform designed to eliminate uptake by the mannose 6-phosphate and mannose receptors exhibits improved circulation time and targeting to hard-to-reach organs such as heart. The developed design matrix and engineered CHO cell lines enables systematic studies towards improving enzyme replacement therapeutics.

The broad-host-range plasmid RP4 encodes a highly efficient partitioning function, termed par, that is capable of stabilizing plasmids in a variety of Gram-negative bacteria independently of the nature of the replicon. The mechanism responsible for plasmid stabilization by this locus appears to be a complex system which includes a site-specific recombination system mediating resolution of plasmid multimers. In this report we present a detailed study on this multimer resolution system (mrs). The parA gene encodes two forms of a resolvase capable of catalysing site-specific recombination between specific sites situated in the promoter region of the parCBA operon. The two ParA proteins that are produced as a result of independent translation initiation at two different start codons within the same open reading frame were overexpressed in Escherichia coli and partially purified. Both forms of the enzyme are able to recombine a supercoiled cointegrate substrate containing two cis-acting elements with the same orientation in an in vitro resolution assay. ParA-mediated, site-specific recombination was found to be independent of any other gene product encoded by the RP4 par locus in vitro and in vivo. The DNA-binding sites for the ParA resolvase were determined using DNase I protection experiments. The results identified three binding sites within the mrs cis-acting region. Both the biochemical properties of the ParA protein and the organization of the cis-acting recombination site revealed a high degree of similarity to the site-specific recombination systems of Tn3-like transposable elements suggesting an evolutionary relationship.