Glycosylation in Drosophila S2 cells

In recent years, there has been a remarkable surge in the approval of therapeutic protein drugs, particularly recombinant glycoproteins. Drosophila melanogaster S2 cells have become an appealing platform for the production of recombinant proteins due to their simplicity and low cost in cell culture. However, a significant limitation associated with using the S2 cell expression system is its propensity to introduce simple paucimannosidic glycosylation structures, which differs from that in the mammalian expression system. It is well established that the glycosylation patterns of glycoproteins have a profound impact on the physicochemical properties, bioactivity, and immunogenicity. Therefore, understanding the mechanisms behind these glycosylation modifications and implementing measures to address it has become a subject of considerable interest. This review aims to comprehensively summarize recent advancements in glycosylation modification in S2 cells, with a particular focus on comparing the glycosylation patterns among S2, other insect cells, and mammalian cells, as well as developing strategies for altering the glycosylation patterns of recombinant glycoproteins.