S-adenosylmethionine and methylthioadenosine boost cellular productivities of antibody forming Chinese hamster ovary cells.

The improvement of cell specific productivities for the formation of therapeutic proteins is an important step towards intensified production processes. Among others, the induction of the desired production phenotype via proper media additives is a feasible solution provided that said compounds adequately trigger metabolic and regulatory programs inside the cells. In this study, S-(5'-adenosyl)- l-methionine (SAM) and 5'-deoxy-5'-(methylthio)adenosine (MTA) were found to stimulate cell specific productivities up to approx. 50% while keeping viable cell densities transiently high and partially arresting the cell cycle in an anti-IL-8-producing CHO-DP12 cell line. Noteworthy, MTA turned out to be the chemical degradation product of the methyl group donor SAM and is consumed by the cells.