Intracellular Responses of Antibody-Producing H69K-NGD Transfectoma Subjected to Hyperosmotic Pressure

When subjected to hyperosmotic pressure by NaCl addition, H69K-NGD transfectoma, like KR12H-2 transfectoma, displayed decreased specific growth rate (${\mu}$) and increased specific antibody productivity ($q_{Ab}$): Elevation of medium osmolality from 280 mOsm/kg to 415 mOsm/kg decreased ${\mu}$ by $79\%$ in batch cultures of H69K-NGD transfectoma, while it increased $q_{Ab}$ by $103\%$. However, unlike KR12H-2 tranfectoma, enhanced $q_{Ab}$ of H69K-NGD transfectoma at hyperosmolalities was not due to elevated levels of Ig mRNAs. In hyperosmotic cultures of H69K-NGD transfectoma, heavy-chain mRNA per cell was not enhanced with increasing osmolality. Hyperosmotic pressure was found to preferentially enhance immunoglobulin (Ig) translation rates of H69K-NGD transfectoma. However, under hyperosmotic pressure, the translation rate of Ig polypeptides was not enhanced as much as $q_{Ab}$. This result suggests that hyperosmotic pressure also influences the post-translational process. Taken together, the results obtained show that intracellular response of transfectomas to hyperosmotic pressure, in regard to the main intracellular steps of the antibody secretory pathway, is cell-line dependent.