Characterization of soy protein hydrolysates and influence of its iron content on monoclonal antibody production by a murine hybridoma cell line

Abstract

A challenging aspect with the use of protein hydrolysates in commercial manufacturing processes of recombinant therapeutic proteins is their impacts on the protein production due to a lack of understanding of batch-to-batch variability. Soy hydrolysates variability and its impact on fed-batch production of a recombinant monoclonal antibody (mAb) expressed in Sp2/0 cells were studied using 37 batches from the same vendor. The batch-to-batch variability of soy hydrolysates impacted cell growth, titer and product quality. Physicochemical characterization of batches confirmed that soy hydrolysates are mainly a source of amino acids and peptides containing lower amounts of other components such as carbohydrates and chemical elements in cell culture media. Soy hydrolysates composition of different batches was consistent except for trace elements. Statistical analyses identified iron as a potential marker of a poor process performance. To verify this correlation, two forms of iron, ferric ammonium citrate and ferrous sulfate, were added to a batch of soy hydrolysates associated to a low level of iron during cell culture. Both forms of iron reduced significantly cell growth, mAb titer and increased level of the acidic charge variants of the mAb. Consequently, trace element composition of soy hydrolysates or of all incoming raw materials might lead to significant impacts on process performance and product quality and therefore need to be tightly controlled.

Cottonseed hydrolysate supplementation alters metabolic and proteomics responses in Chinese hamster ovary cell cultures

“…These spectroscopic techniques, including Raman spectroscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy, and near infrared spectroscopy, when combined with statistical methods, have been shown to possess the capability of separating the hydrolysate lots based on their performance early on in the raw material development stage. [ 20,21 ] These characterization techniques can significantly reduce the variability that hydrolysates are believed to impart to the process and make them viable medium additives similar to their proprietary CD counterparts, whose formulations are unknown in most cases.…”