Plant Cell Bioprocessing of Human Growth Factors and Other Bioactive Proteins

A Joint Project Symposium hosted by Osaka University, UC Davis and Kirin Holdings Co., Ltd. on November 9/10, 2021

Signing Ceremony - June 2019

2021 Plant Biotechnology for Global Health and Wellness Research Symposium

The leaders of the Plant Biotechnology for Global Health and Wellness partnership teams will publicly share collaborative research results for the first time. Interested academic researchers and biotech industry professionals should contact one of the project organizers listed below for more information on symposium registration. (Disclaimer: The symposium will be offered in-person and on Zoom. Any in-person sessions will be contingent on COVID-19 restrictions and require compliance with host organization public health measures.)

Dates and Times 

November 9th 16:00 to 19:00 (PST) / November 10th 9:00 to 12:00 (JST)

Hosts

This joint symposium will be hosted by University of California, Davis, Osaka University, and Kirin Holdings Co., Ltd. 

Registration

To register for this symposium, please fill out the Registration Form.

Zoom information will be sent to registered participants before the start of the symposium. Osaka University partners will be managing Zoom access on the day of the event. If there are any questions related to symposium participation, please contact one of the following organizers:

  • Osaka University Organizers (ICB_symposium_01@icb.osaka-u.ac.jp) at the Osaka University International Center for Biotechnology
  • Kirin Organizer - Hiroyuki Naganuma, Senior Manager, KIRIN Central Research Institute, R&D Division (Hiroyuki_Naganuma@kirin.co.jp)
  • UC Davis Organizer - Prof. Emeritus Raymond L. Rodriguez (rlrodriguez@ucdavis.edu)
Bunny Suits
Mr. Hiroyuki Naganuma (Senior manager, KIRIN Central Research Institute) and colleagues hosted Prof. Ray Rodriguez (UC Davis) for a site tour of the Kirin manufacturing facilities in Yokohama (August 20, 2018).

Symposium Focus

The regenerative cure (i.e., stem cell) ­­industry has made remarkable progress in developing therapies against diseases, such as Chimeric Antigen Receptor T cells (CAR-T). For this reason, stem cell cures are beginning to be used to treat diseases previously thought to be too difficult to treat and have produced excellent results. However, human growth factors, one of the most essential raw materials used in culturing cells for these therapies, are expensive. This is due to the difficulty in manufacturing human growth factors that are safe and free of toxic compounds and pathogens. As a result, stem cell treatments for target diseases are limited and not available to everyone. To remove these limitations, researchers are producing human growth factors in plant cells. These plant-made human growth factors are being studied with promising results. In this symposium, the physicochemical properties of human growth factors produced by plant cell bioprocessing will be described and their effectiveness in cell cultures discussed. Technoeconomic considerations for this approach will also be discussed.

Draft Agenda

The following partnership team members will summarize current research results.

  • 16:00-16:15 (PST)/9:00-9:15 (JST) - Opening Remarks (5 min each) will be given by Prof. Genta Kawahara (Executive VP of Global Engagement, Osaka University), Prof. Emeritus Raymond Rodriguez (Molecular and Cellular Biology, UC Davis and Honorary Doctor of Osaka University), and Dr. Hiroaki Yajima (Deputy General Manager, Kirin Central Research Institute, Kirin Holdings Co., Ltd.)
  • 16:15-16:35 (PST)/9:15-9:35 (JST) - Sustainable Production of Glycyrrhizin and Related Chemicals by Yeast will be presented by Prof. Toshiya Muranaka (Department of Biotechnology, Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University)
  • 16:35-16:50 (PST)/9:35-9:50 (JST) - Production of β1,4-Galactosylated Antibody in Nicotiana benthamiana will be presented by graduate trainee, Kim Dua Nguyen (Osaka University)
  • 16:50-17:15 (PST)/9:50-10:15 (JST) - Critical Considerations for Recombinant Protein Production & Process Development in Rice Cell Culture will be presented by Adjunct Prof. Somen Nandi (Chemical Engineering, UC Davis)
  • 17:15-17:40 (PST)/10:15-10:40 (JST) - Live-Cell Imaging of Kinase Activity to Decode Growth Factor Signaling will be presented by Prof. John Albeck (Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, UC Davis)
  • 17:40-18:00 (PST)/10:40-11:00 (JST) - Essential Role of Growth Factors in Stem Cell Research will be presented by Adjunct Prof. Ping Zhou (Department of Internal Medicine, Stem Cell Program and Institute for Regenerative Cures, UC Davis)
  • 18:00-18:20 (PST)/11:00-11:20 (JST) - Technoeconomic Modeling of Recombinant Protein Production from Rice Cell Culture will be presented by Prof. Karen A. McDonald (Chemical Engineering, UC Davis)
  • 18:20-18:40 (PST)/11:20-11:40 (JST) - Development of Recombinant Transferrin Production Process in Rice Cell Suspension Culture at Pilot Scale will be presented by Mr. Hiroshi Okawa (Kirin Holdings Co., Ltd.)
  • 18:40-18:55 (PST)/11:40-11:55 (JST) - Discussion (All)
  • 18:55-19:00 (PST)/11:55-12:00 (JST) - Closing Remarks will be given by Prof. Kazuhito Fujiyama (International Center for Biotechnology, Osaka University)
Kirin Yokohama Facility Tour - Aug 2018
UC Davis partnership leader, Prof. Ray Rodriguez, had the opportunity to visit the Kirin manufacturing facilities in Yokohama with Mr. Hiroyuki Naganuma (Senior manager, KIRIN Central Research Institute) and colleagues (August 20, 2018).
 

 

Joint Signing Ceremony - June 21, 2019
Partnership leaders gathered for a signing ceremony at the UC Davis Alumni Center. From L->R: Prof. Eiichiro Fukusaki (Director, Industrial Biotechnology Initiative Division, Istitute for Open and Transdisciplinary Research and Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University), Mr. Takahiro Nagafuchi (Senior Manager, KIRIN Legal Department), Prof. Emeritus Ray Rodriguez (Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, UC Davis), Mr. Hiroshi Okawa (Leader, KIRIN Central Research Institute), Prof. Kazuhito Fujiyama (Director, International Center for Biotechnology, Osaka University), Dean Mark Winey (College of Biological Sciences, UC Davis), Vice Provost Joanna Regulska (Global Affairs, UC Davis), Prof. Genta Kawahara (Executive Vice President of Global Engagement, Osaka University) and Mr. Hiroyuki Naganuma (Senior manager, KIRIN Central Research Institute) (June 21, 2019).
 

 

Kirin Collaborators Visit UC Davis Aug 2019
Kirin partners, Mr. Hiroyuki Naganuma (Senior manager, KIRIN Central Research Institute), Dr. Keiji Kondo (Executive Officer, Vice President of Research and Development Division, KIRIN Central Research Institute - retired March 2021) and Mr. Hiroshi Okawa (Leader, KIRIN Central Research Institute) visit the Institute for Regenerative Cures at UC Davis (August 30, 2019).
 

 

UC Davis and Osaka U at Kirin Brewery
UC Davis and Osaka University partnership leaders and participants visited the Kirin brewery during the Kick-Off Conference hosted by Osaka University. From L->R: Prof. Ken Kaplan, Prof. Ray Rodriguez, Prof. Philipp Zerbe, Prof. Somen Nandi, Whitney Cary (Director, UC Davis Institute for Regenerative Cures Stem Cell Core) and Prof. Kazuhito Fujiyama (Director, International Center for Biotechnology, Osaka University) (November 2019).
 

 

UC Davis Team Meeting - Feb 2020
The UC Davis research teams from chemical engineering, stem cell biology and molecular biology discussing progress on their portion of the interdisciplinary project. From L->R: Adjunct Prof. Somen Nandi, Prof. Karen McDonald, Min Du, Korn Macharoen, Prof. Emeritus Ray Rodriguez, Missy Pham, Whitney Cary, Prof. Jan Nolta and Prof. John Albeck (February 21, 2020).
 

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