Production of complex human glycoproteins in yeast

Science. 2003 Aug 29;301(5637):1244-6. doi: 10.1126/science.1088166.

Abstract

We report the humanization of the glycosylation pathway in the yeast Pichia pastoris to secrete a human glycoprotein with uniform complex N-glycosylation. The process involved eliminating endogenous yeast glycosylation pathways, while properly localizing five active eukaryotic proteins, including mannosidases I and II, N-acetylglucosaminyl transferases I and II, and uridine 5'-diphosphate (UDP)-N-acetylglucosamine transporter. Targeted localization of the enzymes enabled the generation of a synthetic in vivo glycosylation pathway, which produced the complex human N-glycan N-acetylglucosamine2-mannose3-N-acetylglucosamine2 (GlcNAc2Man3GlcNAc2). The ability to generate human glycoproteins with homogeneous N-glycan structures in a fungal host is a step toward producing therapeutic glycoproteins and could become a tool for elucidating the structure-function relation of glycoproteins.

Publication types

  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Catalytic Domain
  • Endoplasmic Reticulum / metabolism
  • Genetic Engineering*
  • Glycoproteins / biosynthesis*
  • Glycoproteins / chemistry
  • Glycoproteins / genetics
  • Glycosylation
  • Golgi Apparatus / metabolism
  • Humans
  • Mannosidases / genetics*
  • Mannosidases / metabolism
  • Membrane Transport Proteins / metabolism
  • N-Acetylglucosaminyltransferases / metabolism
  • Peptide Library
  • Pichia / enzymology
  • Pichia / genetics*
  • Pichia / metabolism
  • Polysaccharides / chemistry
  • Polysaccharides / metabolism*
  • Protein Processing, Post-Translational
  • Protein Transport
  • Recombinant Fusion Proteins / metabolism
  • Recombinant Proteins / biosynthesis*
  • Transformation, Genetic

Substances

  • Glycoproteins
  • Membrane Transport Proteins
  • Peptide Library
  • Polysaccharides
  • Recombinant Fusion Proteins
  • Recombinant Proteins
  • UDP-N-acetylglucosamine transporter
  • N-Acetylglucosaminyltransferases
  • Mannosidases