Stabilization of cellular mitochondrial enzyme complex and sialyltransferase activity through supplementation of 30Kc19 protein

In previous studies, 30Kc19, a lipoprotein in silkworm hemolymph, enhanced productivity and glycosylation by expression of a 30Kc19 gene or supplementation with a recombinant 30Kc19 protein. Additionally, 30Kc19 exhibited enzyme-stabilizing and cell-penetrating abilities in vitro. In this study, we hypothesized that supplemented 30Kc19 penetrated into the cell and enhanced the stability of the cellular enzyme. We investigated this using in vitro and cellular assessments. The activity of sialyltransferase (ST) and isolated mitochondrial complex I/III was enhanced with 30Kc19 in dose-dependent manner while initial reaction rate was unchanged, suggesting that 30Kc19 enhanced enzyme stability rather than specific activity. For intracellular enzyme activity assessment, ST activity inside erythropoietin (EPO)-producing Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells increased more than 25 % and mitochondrial complex II activity in HeLa cells increased more than 50 % with 30Kc19. The increase in intracellular ST activity resulted in an increase in sialic acid content of glycoproteins produced in CHO cells supplemented with 30Kc19. Similarly, enhanced mitochondrial complex activity increased mitochondrial membrane potential and ATP production in HeLa cells with 30Kc19 by over 50 %. Because 30Kc19 stabilized intracellular enzymes for glycosylation and enhanced protein productivity with supplementation in the culture medium, we expect that 30Kc19 can be a valuable tool for effective industrial recombinant protein production.