A novel plant cell bioproduction platform for high-yield secretion of recombinant proteins

Plant cell suspension culture integrates the merits of whole-plant systems with those of microbial fermentation and mammalian cell culture, and has been recognized as a promising alternative biosynthetic platform for valuable proteins. However, the low protein productivity dilemma has been the bottleneck toward commercializing this technology. Here, we describe a new technology, termed hydroxyproline (Hyp)-Glyco technology, that dramatically increases the yield of secreted recombinant proteins from cultured plant cells by expressing them as fusions with a novel glycomodule tag comprising an Hyp-rich repetitive peptide (HypRP) backbone that is subsequently glycosylated through the Hyp residues. The extensive glycosylation of the HypRP tags greatly extends the serum half-life of small therapeutic proteins, such as interferon α2b or human growth hormone, without significantly impairing their bioactivities and the tag greatly enhances solubility.