High-level expression and purification of a designed angiopoietin-1 chimeric protein, COMP-Ang1, produced in Chinese hamster ovary cells.

A designed angiopoietin-1 (Ang1) chimeric protein with nonleaky angiogenic activity, COMP-Ang1, is an effective alternative to native Ang1 for therapeutic angiogenesis in vivo. Recombinant Chinese hamster ovary (rCHO) cell lines expressing a high level (>20 microg/mL) of COMP-Ang1 and an amino-terminal FLAG-tag were constructed by transfecting the expression vector into dihydrofolate reductase-deficient CHO cells and the subsequent gene amplification in medium containing stepwise increments in methotrexate level such as 0.02, 0.08, 0.32, and 1 microM. The COMP-Ang1 secreted from rCHO cells was purified at a purification yield of 40.3% from the culture medium using an anti-FLAG M2 agarose affinity gel. SDS-PAGE and Western blot analyses showed that rCHO cells secrete COMP-Ang1 in homopentameric and homotetrameric glycoprotein forms. Furthermore, COMP-Ang1 binds to the Tie2 receptor and phosphorylates Tie2, indicating its potential for therapeutic angiogenesis.