The present invention relates to oligopeptide-free cell culture media comprising at least 0.5 mg / L of a polyamine and to methods for cultivating cells in said oligopeptide-free cell culture media comprising at least 0.5 mg / L of a polyamine. The invention also relates to methods for expressing at least one protein in a medium comprising at least 0.5 mg / L of a polyamine and to methods for producing at least one virus in a medium comprising at least 0.5 mg / L of a polyamine.
Recombinant protein complexes having human Factor VIII:C activity are expressed in a eukaryotic host cell by transforming the host cell with first and second expression cassettes encoding a first polypeptide substantially homologous to human Factor VIII:C A domain and a second polypeptide substantially homologous to human Factor VIII:C C domain, respectively. In the present invention, the first polypeptide may be extended having at its C-terminal a human Factor VIII:C B domain N-terminal peptide, a polypeptide spacer of 3-40 amino acids, and a human Factor VIII:C B domain C-terminal peptide. Expression of the second polypeptide is improved by employing an .alpha..sub.1 -antitrypsin signal sequence.
Recombinant Factor VIII can be produced in relatively large quantities on a continuous basis from mammalian cells in the absence of any animal-derived proteins such as albumin by culturing the cells in a proteinfree medium supplemented with polyol copolymers, preferably in the presence of trace metals such as copper. In very preferred embodiments, the medium includes a polyglycol known as Pluronic F-68, coppersulfate, ferroussulfate / EDTA complex, and salts of trace metals such as manganese, molybdenum, silicon, lithium and chromium. With an alternative medium which included trace copper ions alone (without polyol copolymers) we were also able to enhance the productivity of Factor VIII in recombinant cells such as BHK cells that are genetically engineered to express Factor VIII.
The present invention provides methods of increasing the half-life and / or specific activity of factor VIII. More specifically, the invention provides methods of increasing the half-life and / or specific activity of factor VIII by substituting one or more amino acids in the A2 domain. It further provides methods for producing such factor VIII mutants. The invention also provides polynucleotides encoding the mutant factor VIII, and methods of treating hemophilia using the polypeptides and polynucleotides of the invention.
The invention is directed to a stable formulation of a biologically active protein useful for aerosol delivery to the respiratory tract of a patient in need of treatment comprising: (a) a carrier liquid comprising from about 10% to from about 100% V / V water and from about 0% to from about 90% V / V of an organic liquid; (b) a biologically effective amount of a protein suspended or dissolved in a carrier liquid; and (c) a stabilizing effective amount of a derivatized carbohydrate stabilizing agent suspended or dissolved in said carrier liquid. The stable formulations of the invention may optionally contain about 0.1% to about 5.0% W / V of a pharmaceutically acceptable excipient.
Methods for preparing cross-linked polysaccharide matrices by cross-linking one or more amino group containing polysaccharides or amino-functionalized polysaccharides with reducing sugars and / or reducing sugar derivatives. The resulting matrices may include polysaccharide matrices and composite cross-linked matrices including polysaccharides cross-linked with proteins and / or polypeptides. Additives and / or cells may also be included in or embedded within the matrices. Various different solvent systems and reducing sugar cross-linkers for performing the cross-linking are described. The resulting matrices exhibit various different physical, chemical and biological properties.
A high-purity von Willebrand factor preparation, a process for making it, and use of the preparation and compositions containing it for the treatment of disorders are disclosed.
Von Willebrand's Factor (VWF) is produced using an expression vector that includes: 1) a DNA sequence encoding a functional VWF protein; and 2) regulatory DNA capable of effecting expression of that DNA sequence in a host cell transformed with the vector. Restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLP's) associated with the VWF gene are identified and used in a probe for determining the source of a VWF gene in a DNA sample. The gene for VWF is localized to the short arm of human chromosome 12 (12p).
An aqueous composition having increased protein stability is obtained by: a. determining a pH at which the protein has stability at the desired temperature; b. adding to the composition at least one displacement buffer wherein the displacement buffer has a pKa that is at least 1 unit greater or less than the pH of step (a); and c. adjusting the pH of the composition to the pH of step (a); wherein the aqueous composition does not comprise a conventional buffer at a concentration greater than about 2 mM and wherein the conventional buffer has a pKa that is within 1 unit of the pH of step (a).