In this protocol, baculovirus is produced by transient transfection of baculovirus plasmid into Sf9 cells and amplified in a serum-free suspension culture. The supernatant is purified by heparin affinity chromatography and further concentrated by ultracentrifugation. This protocol is useful for the production and purification of baculovirus for gene therapy application.
Baculovirus has traditionally been used for the production of recombinant protein and vaccine. However, more recently, baculovirus is emerging as a promising vector for gene therapy application. Here, baculovirus is produced by transient transfection of the baculovirus plasmid DNA (bacmid) in an adherent culture of Sf9 cells. Baculovirus is subsequently expanded in Sf9 cells in a serum-free suspension culture until the desired volume is obtained. It is then purified from the culture supernatant using heparin affinity chromatography. Virus supernatant is loaded onto the heparin column which binds baculovirus particles in the supernatant due to the affinity of heparin for baculovirus envelop glycoprotein. The column is washed with a buffer to remove contaminants and baculovirus is eluted from the column with a high-salt buffer. The eluate is diluted to an isotonic salt concentration and baculovirus particles are further concentrated using ultracentrifugation. Using this method, baculovirus can be concentrated up to 500-fold with a 25% recovery of infectious particles. Although the protocol described here demonstrates the production and purification of the baculovirus from cultures up to 1 L, the method can be scaled-up in a closed-system suspension culture to produce a clinical-grade vector for gene therapy application.
Baculovirus is primarily used for the production of recombinant proteins and vaccines in lepidopteran Spodoptera fugiperda (Sf)9 insect cells by using recombinant Autographa californica multicapsid nuclear polyhedrosis virus (AcMNPV)1,2,3,4. More recently, it is emerging as a promising vector for gene therapy application5. It is known to have a broad host and tissue tropism, infects both quiescent and proliferating cells, is non-pathogenic, and does not integrate into the host chromosome4,5,6. Moreover, baculovirus can be produced in serum-free suspension culture which is scalable and allows for closed system processing for future clinical production1.
The purity of baculovirus particles is important for achieving effective transduction while minimizing cytotoxicity7,8,9. Baculovirus can be concentrated by ultracentrifugation or tangential flow filtration (TFF) with limited impact on its infectivity. However, these procedures not only concentrate virus particles but also cellular debris and proteins from Sf9 culture, which can be toxic in vitro (personal observation) and may induce inflammation or an immune response when used in vivo. To avoid this, especially when using highly concentrated virus stocks, infectious baculovirus needs to be purified and separated from contaminating particles.
Several methods have been reported for the purification and concentration of baculovirus vectors10,11,12. Of the available approaches, heparin affinity chromatography allows for a single-step high level of purification with the low concentration of contaminating proteins12. The method is based on the identification of heparan sulfate as the receptor for baculovirus13,14. After loading Sf9 cell supernatant onto the column and binding of baculovirus, the column can be washed with physiologic (isotonic) buffer to remove unbound or loosely bound contaminating particles. Since the binding to heparin is reversible, baculovirus particles can be eluted with a high salt buffer, which is diluted immediately to physiologic (isotonic) salt concentration to prevent inactivation by osmotic shock12. Moreover, the production of baculovirus, as well as capture on and elution from the chromatography column, can be performed using a closed-system process which is compatible with current good manufacturing practices (cGMP).
Here, we provide a detailed protocol for the manufacture, purification, and concentration of infectious baculovirus using affinity chromatography and centrifugation. Briefly, we produce baculovirus by transfection of Sf9 cells with a baculovirus plasmid DNA in adherent culture and further expand the infectious baculovirus in serum-free suspension culture. We purify baculovirus using heparin affinity chromatography and use ultracentrifugation as the final step to highly concentrate the vector for gene therapy application.
See Figure 1 for an illustration summarizing the protocol.
1. Purification of Baculovirus Plasmid DNA
2. Production of Baculovirus
3. Preparation of the Chromatography System
4. Purification of Baculovirus Vector
5. Concentration of Baculovirus
6. Titration of Baculovirus
The protocol presented is in a flow diagram (Figure 1). Steps include the transient transfection of Sf9 cells with bacmid DNA to produce baculovirus in adherent culture in a plate, the subsequent amplification in serum-free suspension culture, nuclease treatment and clarification by centrifugation and filtration, and the purification using the heparin affinity chromatography followed by concentration with ultracentrifugation.
After thawing, Sf9 cells need at least two weeks to recover and entering into the exponential phase of growth. Actively growing Sf9 cells are transfected with bacmid DNA in adherent culture. Two days after transfection, expression of baculovirus envelope glycoproteins, gp64 is detected and subsequently, baculovirus production is initiated11. Since baculovirus is replication competent, the number of infected cells gradually increases due to a progressive infection of cells with the newly produced baculovirus that is secreted into the growth medium. Baculovirus containing cell supernatants are harvested 5 days after transfection when the entire cell population has become infected. This initial virus supernatant is designated as passage 1 (P1) stock. The P1 stock is used for the subsequent infection of a newly seeded adherent culture of Sf9 cells in a larger plate. The entire cell population shows sign of infection in 5 days which is called cytopathic effect (Figure 2). The supernatant from the second adherent cell culture is harvested and is designated as P2 stock. Baculovirus supernatant is further amplified in Sf9 suspension culture through ongoing infection of freshly added Sf9 cells in a shaker flask with serum-free insect cell culture medium. At the end of each infection cycle, most of the cells show cytopathic effect with an increased cellular diameter and dead or lysed cells, which are signs for completion of baculovirus infection. Baculovirus stock is sequentially amplified until the desired volume is obtained (P3, P4, ….). The supernatant is separated from the Sf9 cells by low-speed centrifugation, treated with a nuclease to reduce viscosity, filtered through a 0.45 μm membrane, before being used in the subsequent purification and concentration steps.
To purify baculovirus, supernatant from infected Sf9 cells is loaded onto a heparin column. The heparin column gradually becomes saturated with strongly bound baculovirus and loosely bound protein contaminants. The heparin column is rinsed with wash buffer to remove contaminants until the ultraviolet (UV) absorbance curve (280 nm) returns to baseline and becomes stable, indicating the removal of unbound and loosely bound materials from the column. Baculovirus particles on the other hand strongly bind to the heparin column. Therefore, no significant amount of virus is detected in the column wash buffer. Heparin-bound baculovirus particles are eluted with 1.5 M of sodium chloride at pH 8.0 and diluted 10-fold with buffer to attain isotonicity and prevent virus inactivation. A sharp peak of protein is observed during elution which corresponds to the baculovirus fraction (Figure 3). The optimized conditions for sample loading, washing, and elution used in this chromatography protocol yield more than 50% recovery of purified infectious baculovirus particles. Diluted supernatants are further concentrated up to 500-fold with ultracentrifugation and formulated in PBS containing 0.5 % BSA, which yields a net 25% recovery11.
Figure 1. Schematic diagram for the production and purification of baculovirus. Sf9 cells are seeded in cell culture-treated plate transfected with bacmid DNA. Baculovirus supernatant is harvested and used to infect new Sf9 cells in adherent culture. Infected cells are subsequently propagated in serum-free suspension culture. Baculovirus supernatant is treated with a nuclease, centrifuged, and filtered. Baculovirus is purified by heparin affinity column chromatography, diluted in buffer, and concentrated aseptically by ultracentrifugation. Finally, baculovirus supernatant is stored at -80 °C. (The figure has been adapted from Nasimuzzaman et al., 2016, Mol Ther Methods Clin Dev. 2016; 3: 16071 with permission.) Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.
Figure 2. Cytopathic effects of baculovirus infected Sf9 cells. Baculovirus supernatant was used for infecting the Sf9 cells in a tissue-culture treated plate. Five days after infection, cells were visualized with an inverted phase microscope. A) Uninfected Sf9 cells as a control. B) Baculovirus infected Sf9 cells showing cytopathic effect. Cells are shown at 200X magnification. Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.
Figure 3. The number of infectious baculovirus in flow-through during heparin affinity chromatography. Baculovirus titers were estimated by infection of HT1080 cells. Samples tested were including the column run-through, wash, and eluate. Samples were diluted as needed. The line (dark diamonds) shows the total infectious units (IU) of baculovirus in each fraction. The fraction size of column flow-through sample and wash buffer were 40 mL in each tube, and eluate was 10 mL in each tube. (The figure has been adapted from Nasimuzzaman et al., 2016, Mol Ther Methods Clin Dev. 2016; 3: 16071 with permission.) Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.
The protocol presented here describes the production of baculovirus in Sf9 cells in suspension culture and purification of baculovirus using a heparin affinity chromatography. The parameters used in this protocol maximize the yield and minimize the inactivation of infectious baculovirus. The protocol provided here shows a significantly improved recovery of baculovirus particles as compared to recoveries achieved by others9.
Due to broad host range and tissue tropism, several studies were conducted in the central nervous system, liver, eye, ovary, prostate, and testis with baculovirus-mediated gene delivery5,6,7,8. Baculovirus vectors containing therapeutic genes, such as suicide genes, tumor suppressor genes, and genes encoding tumor-specific antigens have successfully been conducted in preclinical animal models18,19. Although baculovirus can transduce human cells, it can only be propagated in insect cells and, as a result, does not pose a risk to human recipients.
Baculovirus is produced in insect cells by transient transfection of bacmid DNA. The quality of bacmid is critical for the production of high-titer baculovirus. Typically, freshly prepared bacmid performs better than those are stored in the refrigerator for long period of time. Actively growing Sf9 cells are transfected efficiently which produce high-titer baculovirus. During the amplification phase, it is important to optimize the cell concentration in the suspension culture and the volume of baculovirus supernatant used for infection. If the ratio of baculovirus particles to cells is not optimal, the yield of baculovirus may be lower than the expected (personal observation, MN).
While loading the baculovirus supernatant onto the heparin column, it is important to check the flow-through for virus particles that may be passing through the column. If that occurs, a lower column run speed may be necessary or smaller volume of supernatant should be loaded onto the column. Most of the contaminants present in the baculovirus supernatants are washed off during the washing step of the chromatography run. We evaluated the purity of baculovirus by silver staining of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) gel and electron microscopic study and found that our purified baculoviruses are good quality12.
We have carefully optimized the binding conditions and found that the POROS heparin medium is superior to other heparin media (e.g. HiTrap or Capto heparin) in its ability to capture baculovirus particles (personal observation). The ability of heparin to bind baculovirus at higher sample speed and capacity is important to minimize downstream processing time for the large-scale manufacturing process. Besides baculovirus, heparin medium also binds other contaminating proteins that have an affinity for heparin. Most of the low molecular weight contamination can be eliminated by including a tangential flow filtration (TFF) step downstream of the heparin chromatography run. TFF is also used as an alternative to centrifugation to concentrate the product20.
This protocol can be used for the purification of other viruses and proteins that have an affinity for heparin. However, modifications to the wash and elution buffer composition and the flow rate may be required.
Recombinant protein production works well using unpurified baculovirus supernatants directly. Therefore, crude baculovirus can be used for recombinant protein production. However, if baculoviruses are used as a vector for in vivo gene transfer, or as a vaccine, additional purification steps such as chromatography, gel filtration and/or ultracentrifugation are necessary to obtain pure and concentrated baculovirus particles and minimize producer cell- and culture media-derived impurities to avoid toxicity, inflammation, and an immune response.
In conclusion, we have described a simple protocol for the production and purification of baculovirus which can be scaled-up for the manufacturing recombinant proteins, vaccines, and gene therapy vectors.
The authors have nothing to disclose.
This work is supported in part by the Start-Up funding from Cincinnati Children’s Research Foundation (CCRF) to M.N. and Innovative Core Grant (ICG) supported by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number UL1 TR001425. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.
Akta Avant 150 | GE Healthcare | 28976337 | Chromatography system |
POROS Heparin 50 µm Column | ThermoFisher Scientific | 4333414 | Heparin column |
Ultracentrifuge | Beckman-Coulter | Non-catalog item | Concentrates virus at high-speed |
Polyallomer Ultracentrifuge tube | Beckman-Coulter | 326823 | Concentrates virus at high-speed |
MaxQ 8000 orbital shaker incubator | ThermoFisher Scientific | Non-catalog item | Shaker for suspension culture |
250 mL Erlenmeyer flasks | ThermoFisher Scientific | 238071 | Flask for suspension culture |
1 L Erlenmeyer flasks | ThermoFisher Scientific | 238072 | Flask for suspension culture |
Microscope (Olympus CKX41) | Olympus | Non-catalog item | Cell monitoring and counting |
Table top centrifuge | ThermoFisher Scientific | 75253839/433607 | For clarification of Baculovirus supernatant |
50 ml Conical tube | ThermoFisher Scientific | 14-959-49A | For collection of Baculovirus supernatant |
6-well plate | ThermoFisher Scientific | 07-200-80 | Tissue culture treated plate |
10-cm plate | ThermoFisher Scientific | 08-772E | Tissue culture treated plate |
Stericup-HV, 0.45 µm, PVDF | EMD-Millipore | SCHVU05RE | Filtration unit |
Kanamycin | ThermoFisher Scientific | 15160-054 | |
Tetracycline | Sigma-Aldrich | T7660 | |
Gentamycin | ThermoFisher Scientific | 15750-060 | |
Bac-to-Bac Vector Kit | ThermoFisher Scientific | 10360-014 | Baculovirus expression system |
DH10B-T1R Competent cell | ThermoFisher Scientific | 12331-013 | Competent cell for bacmid |
TE buffer | In-house | Non-catalog item | 10 mM Tris-HCl, 1 mM EDTA, pH 8.0. |
Plasmid Maxiprep kit | ThermoFisher Scientific | K2100-06 | For bacmid purification |
Sf9 Cells | ThermoFisher Scientific | 11496-015 | Insect cells |
Grace’s Insect Cell Culture Medium | ThermoFisher Scientific | 11605-094 | Transfection medium |
PBS | ThermoFisher Scientific | 20012227 | Washing cells, diluting samples |
HyClone SFX-Insect cell media | GE Healthcare | SH30278.02 | Serum-free insect cell growth medium |
Benzonase Nuclease | Sigma-Aldrich | E1014 | Enzyme to degrade DNA and RNA |
Baculovirus plasmid (bacmid) DNA | In-house | Non-catalog item | Bacmid for Baculovirus Production |
Cellfectin II | ThermoFisher Scientific | 10362 | Transfection reagent for insect cells |
Bovine serum albumin (BSA) | Sigma-Aldrich | A4737 | Stabilizes Baculovirus |
Cryovial | Thomas Scientific | 1222C24 | For storage of Baculovirus |
HT1080 cell line | ATCC | CCL-121 | Fibroblast cell line |
DMEM | Sigma-Aldrich | D6429 | Growth media for cell lines |
Wash buffer | In-house | Non-catalog item | 20 mmol/l phosphate buffer containing 150 mmol/l sodium chloride |
Elution buffer | In-house | Non-catalog item | 20 mmol/l phosphate buffer containing 1.5 mol/l sodium chloride |
Column cleaning buffer | In-house | Non-catalog item | 20 mmol/l phosphate buffer containing 2.0 mol/l sodium chloride |
Sterile water | In-house | Non-catalog item | For Akta Avant cleaning |
Sodium hydroxide | Sigma-Aldrich | 1.09137 | For Akta Avant cleaning |
Ethanol | Sigma-Aldrich | E7073 | For Akta Avant cleaning |