Profiling and engineering of microRNAs for enhancing recombinant protein productivity in Chinese hamster ovary cells

Background Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells have become dominant host cells in the biopharmaceutical industry due to their capacity for proper protein folding, assembly and posttranslational modifications. However, low specific productivity (qp) places limitations on yields obtained from mammalian host cells. MicroRNAs (miRNAs), a novel class of short, non-coding RNAs which negatively regulate target gene expression at post-transcriptional levels, have emerged as promising targets for engineering of CHO cell factories to enhance recombinant protein production. While engineering of miRNAs for enhanced cell growth and delayed cell death have been reported, miRNA targets which can enhance qp have not been identified to date.