Journal: medRxiv
Article Title: International Multi-site Implementation of Local Cell-Free Protein Biomanufacturing to Advance Health and Research Equity
doi: 10.1101/2025.07.25.25332228
Figure Lengend Snippet: (a) Schematic representation of the pipeline for growth factor candidate selection and cell-based testing. (b) Western blot analysis of 11 high-value CFPS-derived growth factors. FGF-1, FGF-2, FGF-10, TNF-α, IL-1β, IFN-γ, and IL-15 were expressed in E. coli BL21 (DE3) in-house cell-free lysates. IL-6, EGF, IGF-1, and IL-3 were expressed in SHuffle-based in-house cell-free lysates. Detection was performed using an anti-His- HRP antibody. Data shown are from one representative biological replicate out of three independent experiments. (c) In vitro proliferation assay comparing on-demand, locally produced in Canada (blue) and commercial (green) FGF-1 growth factors in NIH-3T3 cells. Cells were individually treated with varying concentrations (1, 5, 10, 50, 500, and 1000 ng/mL) of growth factor. Luminescence was measured using a conventional plate reader. Data are shown as mean ± SD, n = 3. (d) In vitro proliferation assay comparing on-demand, locally produced (blue) and commercial (green) IL-3 growth factors in TF-1 cells. Cells were individually treated with varying concentrations (0.025, 0.05, 0.1, 0.5, 1, and 5 ng/mL). This representative data was obtained using reagents produced on-site in Canada. Data are shown as mean ± SD, n = 3. (e) Growth factor expression and cell-based validation in a low-resource setting. In vitro proliferation assay using FGF-1 and NIH-3T3 cells. Cells were individually treated with varying concentrations (1, 5, 10, 50, 500, and 1000 ng/mL) of both in-house-produced (blue) and commercial (green) growth factors. This representative data was obtained using reagents produced on-site in Brazil. Relative fold proliferation was plotted as the fold-change compared to untreated, serum-starved cells under the same experimental conditions. Data are shown as mean ± SD, n = 3. Statistical differences were determined by two-way ANOVA with Šídák’s post hoc multiple comparisons test: ns p > 0.05, * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01, *** p < 0.001. Abbreviations are: ns, not significantly different; kDa, kilodaltons.
Article Snippet: E. coli BL21(DE3) (NEB, C2527I), ClearColi BL21(DE3) (Biosearch Technologies, 60810-1), E. coli SHuffle (NEB, C3028J), E. coli BL21 (DE3)-Gold-ΔLac (Addgene, 99247), and E. coli BL21(DE3) Star/CRISPRi+( ) strains were used for preparing cell-free lysates .
Techniques: Selection, Western Blot, Derivative Assay, In Vitro, Proliferation Assay, Produced, Expressing, Biomarker Discovery