scholarly journals Hyperexpression of biologically active human chorionic gonadotropin using the methylotropic yeast, Pichia pastoris

1999 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 273-283 ◽  
Author(s):  
C Sen Gupta ◽  
RR Dighe
Keyword(s):  
Pichia Pastoris ◽  
Structure Function ◽  
Chorionic Gonadotropin ◽  
Human Chorionic Gonadotropin ◽  
Recombinant Expression ◽  
Expression System ◽  
Biologically Active ◽  
Maximal Response ◽  
Glycoprotein Hormone

Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), a heterodimeric glycoprotein hormone, is composed of an alpha subunit noncovalently associated with the hormone-specific beta subunit. The objective of the present study was recombinant expression of properly folded, biologically active hCG and its subunits using an expression system that could be used for structure-function studies while providing adequate quantities of the hormone for immunocontraceptive studies. We report here expression of biologically active hCG and its subunits using a yeast expression system, Pichia pastoris. The recombinant hCGalpha and hCGbeta subunits were secreted into the medium and the levels of expression achieved at shake culture level were 24 and 2.7-3 mg/l secretory medium respectively. Co-expression of both subunits in the same cell resulted in secretion of heterodimeric hCG into the medium. The pichia-expressed hCG was immunologically similar to the native hormone, capable of binding to the LH receptors and stimulating a biological response in vitro. Surprisingly, the maximal response obtained was twice that obtained with the native hCG. The level of expression of hCG achieved was 12-16 mg/l secretory medium and is expected to increase several-fold in a fermentor. Thus the Pichia expression system is capable of hyperexpressing properly folded, biologically active hCG and is suitable for structure-function studies of the hormone.

scholarly journals Translational Fusion of Two β-Subunits of Human Chorionic Gonadotropin Results in Production of a Novel Antagonist of the Hormone

Endocrinology ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 148 (8) ◽  
pp. 3977-3986 ◽  
Author(s):  
Satarupa Roy ◽  
Sunita Setlur ◽  
Rupali A. Gadkari ◽  
H. N. Krishnamurthy ◽  
Rajan R. Dighe
Keyword(s):  
Chorionic Gonadotropin ◽  
Human Chorionic Gonadotropin ◽  
Expression System ◽  
Biologically Active ◽  
Chain Molecule ◽  
Dependent Manner ◽  
Β Subunit ◽  
Single Chain ◽  
Α Subunit ◽  
Lh Receptor

The strategy of translationally fusing the α- and β-subunits of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) into a single-chain molecule has been used to produce novel analogs of hCG. Previously we reported expression of a biologically active single-chain analog hCGαβ expressed using Pichia expression system. Using the same expression system, another analog, in which the α-subunit was replaced with the second β-subunit, was expressed (hCGββ) and purified. hCGββ could bind to LH receptor with an affinity three times lower than that of hCG but failed to elicit any response. However, it could inhibit response to the hormone in vitro in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, it inhibited response to hCG in vivo indicating the antagonistic nature of the analog. However, it was unable to inhibit human FSH binding or response to human FSH, indicating the specificity of the effect. Characterization of hCGαβ and hCGββ using immunological tools showed alterations in the conformation of some of the epitopes, whereas others were unaltered. Unlike hCG, hCGββ interacts with two LH receptor molecules. These studies demonstrate that the presence of the second β-subunit in the single-chain molecule generated a structure that can be recognized by the receptor. However, due to the absence of α-subunit, the molecule is unable to elicit response. The strategy of fusing two β-subunits of glycoprotein hormones can be used to produce antagonists of these hormones.

scholarly journals Production of biologically active tethered ovine FSHbetaalpha by the methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris

2003 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 213-225 ◽  
Author(s):  
AE Fidler ◽  
JS Lin ◽  
S Lun ◽  
W Ng Chie ◽  
A Western ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pichia Pastoris ◽  
Fusion Protein ◽  
Fusion Gene ◽  
Methylotrophic Yeast ◽  
Biologically Active ◽  
Single Chain ◽  
Glycoprotein Hormone ◽  
Yeast Pichia Pastoris ◽  
Methylotrophic Yeast Pichia Pastoris

The pituitary-derived glycoprotein hormone FSH plays a central role in controlling vertebrate gonadal function. In female mammals the maturation of ovarian follicles is critically dependent upon stimulation by FSH. Moreover, injection of exogenous FSH is used extensively to stimulate increased numbers of follicles to ovulate. Structurally FSH is a heterodimeric glycoprotein composed of two non-covalently associated polypeptide subunits. The tertiary structures of both the alpha- and beta-subunits are constrained by intramolecular disulphide bonds and are post-translationally modified with two N-linked carbohydrate moieties, the structure of which appears to modulate in vivo biological activity. Here we report the expression of ovine FSH (oFSH) as a biologically active single-chain polypeptide using the methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris. Sequences encoding the mature oFSH alpha- and beta-proteins were fused to form a gene encoding a fusion protein with the C-terminus of the beta-chain joined to the N-terminus of the alpha-chain, with the chains separated by a two amino acid linker sequence. This fusion gene was itself fused to two alternative Pichia leader sequences (mating factor alpha and acid phosphatase) and transformed into the Pichia strains GS115 and SMD1168. The recombinant fusion protein (oFSHbetaalpha) was expressed at approximately 0.1 microg/ml in 'shake-flask' cultures. The Pichia-expressed tethered protein was biologically active in an in vitro bioassay, had a molecular mass of 28 kDa, as determined by SDS-PAGE, and bound the bovine FSH receptor with a binding profile similar to that of native oFSH.

scholarly journals Revisiting and Questioning Functional Rescue between Dimerized LH Receptor Mutants

2012 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 655-668 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meilin Zhang ◽  
Rongbin Guan ◽  
Deborah L. Segaloff
Keyword(s):  
Chorionic Gonadotropin ◽  
Human Chorionic Gonadotropin ◽  
Hormone Receptors ◽  
Resonance Energy ◽  
Extracellular Domain ◽  
Glycoprotein Hormone ◽  
Lh Receptor ◽  
Defective Mutant

Abstract The glycoprotein hormone receptors are G protein-coupled receptors containing a large extracellular domain fused to a prototypical serpentine domain. cis-activation occurs when binding of hormone to the extracellular domain stabilizes the serpentine domain in an active conformation. Studies by others suggested that these receptors can also signal by trans-activation, where hormone binding to one receptor protomer activates the serpentine domain of an associated protomer, as documented by the partial rescue of hormone-dependent signaling when a binding defective mutant is coexpressed with a signaling defective mutant. However, our characterizations of several LH receptor (LHR) mutants used in previous studies differ markedly from those originally reported. Also, when examining a pair of LHR mutants previously shown to functionally rescue in vitro as well as in vivo, in addition to finding that the properties of the individual mutants differ significantly from those originally described, we determined that when this pair of mutants was coexpressed in vitro, quantitative analyses did not indicate functional rescue. Additional data are presented that provide a plausible alternate explanation for the apparent in vivo trans-activation that was reported. Finally, using LHR mutants that we have documented to be expressed at the cell surface but to lack human chorionic gonadotropin binding activity or to be severely impaired in their ability to activate Gs, we did not observe functional rescue of human chorionic gonadotropin-stimulated cAMP when the mutants were coexpressed, even though bioluminescence resonance energy transfer analyses confirmed that the coexpressed mutants formed dimers. Taken altogether, our data substantively question the concept of functional rescue between LHR mutants.

Spermatogenesis-preventing substance in Japanese eel

Development ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 129 (11) ◽  
pp. 2689-2697 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takeshi Miura ◽  
Chiemi Miura ◽  
Yasuko Konda ◽  
Kohei Yamauchi
Keyword(s):  
Chorionic Gonadotropin ◽  
Human Chorionic Gonadotropin ◽  
Culture System ◽  
Sequence Similarity ◽  
Expression System ◽  
Japanese Eel ◽  
Homology Search ◽  
Amino Acid Sequence Similarity ◽  
Spermatogonial Proliferation

Under fresh-water cultivation conditions, spermatogenesis in the Japanese eel is arrested at an immature stage before initiation of spermatogonial proliferation. A single injection of human chorionic gonadotropin can, however, induce complete spermatogenesis, which suggests that spermatogenesis-preventing substances may be present in eel testis. To determine whether such substances exist, we have applied a subtractive hybridisation method to identify genes whose expression is suppressed after human chorionic gonadotropin treatment in vivo. We found one previously unidentified cDNA clone that was downregulated by human chorionic gonadotropin, and named it ‘eel spermatogenesis related substances 21’ (eSRS21). A homology search showed that eSRS21 shares amino acid sequence similarity with mammalian and chicken Müllerian-inhibiting substance. eSRS21 was expressed in Sertoli cells of immature testes, but disappeared after human chorionic gonadotropin injection. Expression of eSRS21 mRNA was also suppressed in vitro by 11-ketotestosterone, a spermatogenesis-inducing steroid in eel. To examine the function of eSRS21 in spermatogenesis, recombinant eSRS21 produced by a CHO cell expression system was added to a testicular organ culture system. Spermtogonial proliferation induced by 11-ketotestosterone in vitro was suppressed by recombinant eSRS21. Furthermore, addition of a specific anti-eSRS21 antibody induced spermatogonial proliferation in a germ cell/somatic cell co-culture system. We conclude that eSRS21 prevents the initiation of spermatogenesis and, therefore, suppression of eSRS21 expression is necessary to initiate spermatogenesis. In other words, eSRS21 is a spermatogenesis-preventing substance.

On the role of luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone in the in vitro synthesis of hioactive human chorionic gonadotropin in human pregnancies

1986 ◽  
Vol 64 (9) ◽  
pp. 1229-1235 ◽  
Author(s):  
Serge Belisle ◽  
Diego Bellabarba ◽  
Nicole Gallo-Payet ◽  
Jean-Guy Lehoux ◽  
Jean-François Guévin
Keyword(s):  
Luteinizing Hormone ◽  
Chorionic Gonadotropin ◽  
Human Chorionic Gonadotropin ◽  
Maximal Response ◽  
In Vitro Synthesis ◽  
Luteinizing Hormone Releasing Hormone ◽  
Releasing Hormone ◽  
Normal Term ◽  
Placental Cells

The dynamics of luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LHRH) induced human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) production were studied in isolated placental cells from normal and anencephalic midterm and term gestations. A spontaneous release of immunoreactive hCG was first detected after 24–36 h of preparation in term control cells. The addition of LHRH at a concentration ranging from 10−9 to 10−6 M induced a threefold increase in this output of hCG. Placental cell responsiveness to LHRH varied according to the number of days of cell cultures, with maximal response on days 1 and 6. Placental cells from normal pregnancies incubated with 1 × 10−6 M LHRH showed a release of both immuno- and bio-assayable hCG, which was four- to six-fold higher at midgestation than at term (p < 0.001). In contrast, placental cells from pregnancies with anencephalic fetuses showed, at both stages of gestation, an hCG production that was comparable to that observed with normal term placental cells. We conclude that LHRH at a concentration appropriate for its placental receptor binding affinity induces a production of bioactive hCG in humans. Furthermore, our data suggest that anencephaly changes the placental response of hCG to LHRH stimulation.

scholarly journals Expression and secretion of a biologically active glycoprotein hormone, ovine follicle stimulating hormone, by Pichia pastoris

1998 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 327-336 ◽  
Author(s):  
AE Fidler ◽  
S Lun ◽  
W Young ◽  
KP McNatty
Keyword(s):  
Pichia Pastoris ◽  
Follicle Stimulating Hormone ◽  
Methylotrophic Yeast ◽  
Biologically Active ◽  
Beta Subunit ◽  
Fusion Genes ◽  
Glycoprotein Hormone ◽  
Methylotrophic Yeast Pichia Pastoris ◽  
Stimulating Hormone

The methylotrophic yeast, Pichia pastoris, has been used to co-express recombinant genes formed by fusion of the mating factor-alpha (MFalpha) leader and ovine follicle stimulating hormone (oFSH) alpha and beta subunit coding sequences. Pichia strains carrying single copies of the two fusion genes secreted recombinant oFSH (roFSH) to concentrations of approximately 51.0 ng/ml and 17.5 ng/ml, measured by RIA or in vitro bioassay respectively, whereas a strain with two copies of the alpha and one copy of the beta subunit fusion genes secreted roFSH to concentrations of 61 ng/ml (RIA) and 22 ng/ml (bioassay). It appears that the Pichia-derived roFSH had about one-third the in vitro bioactivity of native oFSH or, alternatively, only one-third of the roFSH is bioactive. Measurements of secreted roFSH alpha and beta subunit concentrations indicated less than 10% of alpha and 25-33% of beta subunits were stably dimerized. The receptor binding properties of the roFSH resemble those of native oFSH. In summary this paper reports the production, by P. pastoris, of a heterodimeric glycoprotein hormone (roFSH) that has in vitro biological activity.

scholarly journals Biological Properties of a Novel Follicle-Stimulating Hormone/Human Chorionic Gonadotropin Chimeric Gonadotropin

Endocrinology ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 147 (9) ◽  
pp. 4205-4212 ◽  
Author(s):  
Louise M. Garone ◽  
Elena Ammannati ◽  
Theresa S. Brush ◽  
David J. Fischer ◽  
Enrico Gillio Tos ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acids ◽  
Amino Acid ◽  
Chorionic Gonadotropin ◽  
Human Chorionic Gonadotropin ◽  
Biological Properties ◽  
Glycoprotein Hormone ◽  
Α Subunit ◽  
Recombinant Human Fsh

A chimeric recombinant human gonadotropin, termed C3, demonstrates both follitropic and lutropic bioactivities. The α-subunit construct for C3 is comprised of the recombinant wild-type human glycoprotein hormone α-subunit. The β-subunit DNA construct for C3 encodes residues 1–145 from human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG)-β with the exceptions that FSHβ amino acid 88 (D) is substituted for hCGβ amino acid 94 (R) and FSHβ amino acids 95–108 (TVRGLGPSYCSFGE) are substituted for hCGβ amino acids 101–114 (GGPKDHPLTCDDPR). C3 is a potent FSH and LH agonist able to bind and to signal through FSH and LH receptors in vitro. In in vivo bioassays optimized to quantify each type of activity, C3 was found to have lutropin and follitropin potencies at levels similar to those of recombinant human LH and recombinant human FSH, respectively. In immature rats, C3 was sufficient to support the maturation of normal ovarian follicles. Moreover, a significant portion of follicles matured by C3 ruptured in response to an ovulatory hCG stimulus and gave rise to morphologically normal oocytes. Furthermore, a low dose of C3 promoted weight gain in the rodent uterus, suggesting it also supported preparation for implantation without histological evidence of excessive luteinization of the ovary. In summary, the biological properties of C3 indicate that its chimeric nature has resulted in a fully functional, dual-acting human gonadotropin.

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