Tnao38, high five and Sf9—evaluation of host–virus interactions in three different insect cell lines: baculovirus production and recombinant protein expression

Purpose of work: A comparative analysis of new and established insect cell lines, in regard to process relevant parameters, provide data that can be exploited for designing more robust and effective protein production processes. The baculovirus-insect cell expression system has been efficiently used for the production of heterologous proteins. Three different insect cell lines Tnao38, High Five and Sf9 were compared in terms of virus susceptibility, baculovirus production and product yield of an intra-cellularly (YFP) and extra-cellularly (influenza A virus hemagglutinin)-expressed recombinant protein. The Tnao38 and High Five cell lines exhibited higher (tenfold) susceptibility to baculovirus infection than Sf9 cells, whereas Sf9 cells showed a higher (100-fold) capacity for production of infectious virus particles. Analysis of recombinant protein expression revealed considerably higher product yields in Tnao38 and High Five cells as compared to Sf9 cells, for both model proteins. Overall, the two Trichoplusia ni-derived cell lines, High Five and Tnao38, were significantly more efficient in terms of secreting proteins such as the glycoprotein hemagglutinin of influenza A virus.