To improve the production of recombinant human antithrombin III (AT-III) in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells, the genes encoding transcription factors, ATF4 (activating transcription factor 4) and XBP-1s (the spliced form of X-box binding protein 1), which were involved in the mammalian unfolded protein response (UPR), were cloned from CHO-K1 cells. Overexpression of ATF4 significantly enhanced the production of recombinant AT-III in CHO 13D-35D cells. The specific rate of AT-III production in the ATF4-overexpressed CHO 13D-35D cells reached approximately 23 pg/cell/day. After 144 h of incubation, the AT-III concentration in the culture supernatant was twofold greater compared to that observed with parental CHO 13D-35D cells. In contrast, ectopic expression of XBP-1s failed to enhance the production of recombinant AT-III in CHO 13D-35D cells. RT-PCR analysis revealed that high levels of XBP-1s mRNA were present in the CHO cells, regardless of ectopic expression of XBP-1s. Our results indicate that overexpression of the UPR transcription factor ATF4 is a promising means for improving the production of secreted protein pharmaceuticals in CHO cells.

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