Comparison of l‐tyrosine containing dipeptides reveals maximum ATP availability for l‐prolyl‐l‐tyrosine in CHO cells

Increasing markets for biopharmaceuticals, including monoclonal antibodies, have triggered a permanent need for bioprocess optimization. Biochemical engineering approaches often include the optimization of basal and feed media to improve productivities of Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell cultures. Often, l‐tyrosine is added as dipeptide to deal with its poor solubility at neutral pH. Showcasing IgG1 production with CHO cells, we investigated the supplementation of three l‐tyrosine (TYR, Y) containing dipeptides: glycyl‐l‐tyrosine (GY), l‐tyrosyl‐l‐valine (YV), and l‐prolyl‐l‐tyrosine (PY). While GY and YV led to almost no phenotypic and metabolic differences compared to reference samples, PY significantly amplified TYR uptake thus maximizing related catabolic activity. Consequently, ATP formation was roughly four times higher upon PY application than in reference samples.