Using microarray technology to select housekeeping genes in Chinese hamster ovary cells

Abstract

In the present study, we have identified species-specific housekeeping genes (HKGs) for Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cells using data from microarray gene expression profiling. HKGs suitable for quantitative RT-PCR normalization should display relatively stable expression levels across experimental conditions. We analyzed transcription profiles of several IgG-producing recombinant CHO cell lines under numerous culture conditions using a custom CHO DNA microarray platform and calculated relative expression variability from 124 microarrays. We selected a novel panel of candidate HKGs based on their low variability in expression from the microarray data. Compared to three traditional HKGs (Gapdh, Actb, and B2m), the majority of genes on this panel demonstrated lower or equal variability. Each candidate HKG was then validated using qRT-PCR. Final selection of CHO-specific HKGs include Actr5, Eif3i, Hirip3, Pabpn1, Vezt, Cog1, and Yaf2. The results reported here provide a useful tool for gene expression analyses in CHO cells, a critical expression platform used in biotherapeutics.