Expression of a Siglec-Fc Protein and Its Characterization

SIMPLE SUMMARY: The Siglec-Fc protein, a fusion protein combining Siglec with the Fc part of a human antibody, is a promising sialic acid-Siglec axis-targeted agent for cancer treatment and is widely used for Siglec ligands discovery. The recombinant Siglec-Fc fusion protein has been expressed in different cell systems. However, its characteristics have not been investigated in detail. In this study, HEK293 and CHO cell lines were used to express the Siglec9-Fc protein, and their adaptability for production was compared. We optimized culture conditions and compared the glycosylation, yield, dimerization and sialic acid binding activity of the Siglec9-Fc protein produced in HEK293 and CHO. Using purified recombinant protein, we further analyzed the distribution of Siglec9 ligands on cancer cell lines, as well as bladder cancer tissue, and revealed the potential ligands. Our findings provide support for the selection of Siglec9-Fc protein expression systems and detection of related Siglec9 ligands. ABSTRACT: The emerging importance of the Siglec-sialic acid axis in human disease, especially cancer, has necessitated the identification of ligands for Siglecs. Recombinant Siglec-Fc fusion proteins have been widely used as ligand detectors, and also as sialic acid-targeted antibody-like proteins for cancer treatment. However, the heterogenetic properties of the Siglec-Fc fusion proteins prepared from various expression systems have not been fully elucidated. In this study, we selected HEK293 and CHO cells for producing Siglec9-Fc and further evaluated the properties of the products. The protein yield in CHO (8.23 mg/L) was slightly higher than that in HEK293 (7.46 mg/L). The Siglec9-Fc possesses five N-glycosylation sites and one of them is located in its Fc domain, which is important for the quality control of protein production and also the immunogenicity of Siglec-Fc. Our glycol-analysis confirmed that the recombinant protein from HEK293 received more fucosylation, while CHO showed more sialylation. Both products revealed a high dimerization ratio and sialic acid binding activity, which was confirmed by the staining of cancer cell lines and bladder cancer tissue. Finally, our Siglec9-Fc product was used to analyze the potential ligands on cancer cell lines.