• Korean Journal of Plant Tissue Culture
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.63-69
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• 1997

Erythropoietin (EPO) is a glycoprotein that mediates the growth and differentiation of erythroid progenitors. In order to produce recombinant human erythropoietin in tobacco plant, the EPO genomic DNA (5.4 kb) was cloned into plant expression vectors, pBI$\Delta$GUS121, pBD$\Delta$GUS121 and pPEV-1, and introduced in Nicotiana tabacum (var. Xanthi) via Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation. After selection on MS media containing kanamycin (Km), 10 Km-resistant plants were obtained per each construct. The correct integration of EPO genomic DNA in the genome of transgenic plant was confirmed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Northern blot showed that transcripts of 1.8 kb length were produced in leaves of the plants, but there was no difference of mRNA amount according to promoter number and 5'-untranslated sequence (UTS). The proteins obtained from leaves of transgenic plants were immunologically detected by Western blot using rabbit anti-human EPO polyclonal antibody. The expressed protein appeared as smaller band of apparent mass of 30 kDa as compared to the EPO protein from human urine (37 kDa), suggesting that the modification (glycosylation) system in tobacco plant might be different from that of mammalian cells.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.142-148
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• 2004

Erythropoietin is a main regulator of human erythropoiesis. Recombinant human erythropoietin (rhEPO) is one of the glycoproteins produced in animal cells, and it has oligo saccharides chains which comprise about 40％ of its molecular mass. Because the content of sialic acid can extend circulatory lifetime, the high degree of sialylation is often a desirable feature of therapeutic glycoproteins. In this study, the sialylation of rhEPO produced by chinese hamster ovary cell culture was maximized by supplementing the culture medium with N-acetylm-annosamine (ManNAc), a direct intracellular precursor for sialic acid synthesis and 2-deoxy-2,3-dehydro-N-acetylneuraminic acid (NeuAc2en), a sialidase inhibitor. Feeding of 20 mM ManNAc/0.5 mM NeuAc2en into culture medium increased the sialic acid content by nearly tenfold compared with unsupplemented medium. This effect was achieved without affecting the cell growth or product yield. Six erythropoietin fractions differing in sialic acid content, ranging from 11∼15％ of EPO, were identified from chinese hamster ovary cell-derived rhEPO by mono Q column chromatography. It was found that, at 20 mM ManNAc/0.5 mM NeuAc2en feeding, productivity of hyper-glycosylated EPO increased up to 50％, compared with the unsupplemented medium.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.198-204
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• 2005

Both erythropoietin (EPO) and the short-form thrombopoietin (TPO) were expressed at low levels whereas the long-form TPO was expressed at high levels in transgenic animals. To elucidate the role of carboxy-terminal half of the long-form TPO which is absent in the short-form, we generated recombinant TPO or EPO expression vectors which contain or lack the carboxy-terminal half of TPO and examined their expression in the HC11 and 293 cells. The long-form TPO was expressed higher than the short-form regardless of the cell types, transfection modes, and promoters. When 3'-half of the long-form TPO cDNA was placed downstream of the EPO cDNA to act as a 3'-untranslated region, expression of EPO was moderately increased at the RNA level, however, no remarkable increase was observed at the protein level. These results suggest that the low expression of EPO, as like as the short-form TPO, is due to absence of the 3'-half in the full-length TPO that confers stability both at the RNA and protein levels.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.844-851
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• 2004

Efficient mammalian erythropoietin (EPO)-expression systems are required for therapeutic applications. The accumulation of ammonia is a major problem in the production of recombinant proteins in cultured animal cells. To counter this problem we introduced the first two genes of the urea cycle, carbamoyl phosphate synthetase (CPSI) and ornithine transcarbamylase (OTC), into IBE Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cells by stable transfection. The resulting cell line, CO5, had a higher growth rate and accumulated less ammonia per cell than the parental cell line, IBE. In addition, it produced 2 times more EPO than the parent, and the purified EPO contained a higher proportion of acidic isoforms with approximately 15% more sialic acid.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.86-91
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• 2013

To date, various strategies have been studied to increase specific productivity in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell cultures. Also, albumin-fusion platform is being applied to other important bioactive peptides with short half-lives. Here, we investigated the effects of silkworm gland hydrolysate (SGH) on the production of albumin-erythropoietin (Alb-EPO) in transgenic CHO cells. The viable cell density of CHO cells was increased by 13% in the medium containing 1 mg/mL SGH higher than in the control medium without SGH. In addition, the production of Alb-EPO was also 1.26- fold enhanced by reducing the early apoptosis of CHO cells. In conclusion, SGH could be used as a useful supplement for the enhancement of recombinant protein production.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.47 no.6
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• pp.422-431
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• 2003

The use of recombinant human erythropoietin (rhEPO), a stimulator of erythropoiesis, banned in sports because of the medical risk associated with thrombosis. Due to analytical difficulties to differentiate between natural human EPO (hEPO) and rhEPO, blood parameters of erythropoiesis such as contents of hemoglobin (cut-off value <17.5 g/d l for man, and < 16.0 g/dl for women), hematocrit and reticulocytes (cut-off value <2.0%) were measured to focus the misuse of rhEPO. We conducted anti-doping test for 122 blood samples of the World Cup athletes. The mean values of key parameters are as follows; 14.5$\pm$1.0 g/dl for hemoglobin, 41.7$\pm$2.8% for hematocrit, and 1.3$\pm$0.4% for reticulocyte. Blood sample was found to be stable up to 8 hours for the reticulocyte measurement. In addition, the soluble transferrin receptor and ferritin levels were measured by immunoassay methods using plasma samples (n=28) in which the mean value was 0.8$\pm$0.5 $\mu\textrm{g}$/$m\ell$ and 54.6$\pm$33.7 ng/$m\ell$, respectively. The results indicate that all samples tested were negative for the blood parameters of indirect anti-doping test for hEPO misuse. The statistical evaluation suggest that several other parameters such as red blood cell, mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration, mean corpuscular volume, mean corpuscular hemoglobin and white blood cell could be considered as factors influencing hEPO function in addition to five parameters mentioned.

• Proceedings of the KSAR Conference
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• 2003.06a
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• pp.17-17
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• 2003

The milk of transgenic animals may provide an attractive vehicle for large-scale production of hEPO. Since glycosylation is cell type specific, recombinant human EPO (rhEPO) produced in different host cells contain different patterns of oligosaccharides, which could affect the biological functions. However, there have been no reports on the characteristics of rhEPO derived from milk of transgenic animals. To address this objective, several transgenic mice by using pWAPhEPO and/or pBC1hEPO expression vector were produced. However, 2 lines of pWAPhEPO founder female mouse died during late gestational day (day 18) before offspring could be obtained. They showed a severe splenomegaly, Unlike those of pWAPhEPO, mammary gland epithelial cells from biopsies of lactating pBC1hEPO transgenic mice had marked immunoreactivity to EPO and any activity was not detected in other tissues. The expression level of rhEPO is about 0.7% of mammary gland cellular total soluble proteins and an amount of 300~500 mg/L rhEPO is secreted into milk. Furthermore, the pBC1hEPO transgenic mice transmitted this character to their progeny in mendelian manner. In order to determine the extent of glycosylation variation, N-linked oligosaccharide structures present in the milk-derived rhEPO were characterized. Most of milk-derived rhEPO is fully glycosylated. the biological activity of milk-derived rhEPO was comparable to that of purified CHO-derived rhEPO, and milk-derived rhEPO showed relatively stable after freezing and thawing. Taken together, the results illustrate the potential of transgenic animals in the large-scale production of biopharmaceuticals.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.66 no.3
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• pp.258-262
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• 2023

Germinal matrix-intraventricular hemorrhage (GM-IVH) is among the devastating neurological complications with mortality and neurodevelopmental disability rates ranging from 14.7% to 44.7% in preterm infants. The medical techniques have improved throughout the years, as the morbidity-free survival rate of very-low-birth-weight infants has increased; however, the neonatal and long-term morbidity rates have not significantly improved. To this date, there is no strong evidence on pharmacological management on GM-IVH, due to the limitation of well-designed randomized controlled studies. However, recombinant human erythropoietin administration in preterm infants seems to be the only effective pharmacological management in limited situations. Hence, further high-quality collaborative research studies are warranted in the future to ensure better outcomes among preterm infants with GM-IVH.

• BMB Reports
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• v.53 no.3
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• pp.148-153
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• 2020

Erythropoietin and iron have individually shown beneficial effects on early-phase liver regeneration following partial hepatectomy (PHx); however, there are limited data on the combined effect on late-phase liver regeneration after PHx. Here we examined combined effects of recombinant human erythropoietin (rhEPO, 3,000 IU/kg) and iron isomaltoside (IIM, 40 mg/kg) on late-phase liver regeneration following PHx and investigated the possible underlying mechanism. Rats administrated with rhEPO showed significantly higher liver mass restoration, interleukin-6 (IL-6, a hepatocyte mitogen) levels, and Ki-67-positive hepatocytes on day 7 after PHx than saline-treated controls. These beneficial effects were further enhanced on days 7 and 14 by co-treatment with IIM. This combination also significantly improved liver function indices, such as increased albumin production and decreased bilirubin levels, but did not alter serum levels of toxic parameters, such as aspartate transaminase and alanine transaminase. This study demonstrates that the combination of rhEPO and IIM synergistically improves late-phase liver regeneration and function after PHx, probably by promoting IL-6-mediated hepatocyte proliferation without adverse effects. Thus, this combination treatment can be a potential therapeutic strategy for patients undergoing resection for hepatic malignancies.

• Reproductive and Developmental Biology
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.69-73
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• 2005

The hematopoietic growth factor erythropoietin (EPO) is required for the maintenance, proliferation, and differentiation of the stem cells that produce erythrocytes. To analyse the biological activity of the recombinant human EPO (rec-hEPO), we have cloned the EPO cDNA and genomic DNA and produced rec-hEPO in the CHO cell lines. The growth and differentiation of EPO-dependent human leukemic cell line (F36E) were used to measure cytokine dependency and in vitro bioactivity of rec-hEPO. MIT assay values were increased by survival of F36E cells at 24h or 72h. The hematocrit and RBC values were increased by subcutaneous injection of 20 IU (in mice) and 100IU(in rats) rec-hEPO. Hematocrit values remarkably increased at $13.2\%$ (in mice) and $12.2\%$ (in rats). The pharmacokinetic behavior with injection of 6 IU of rec-hEPO remained detectable after 24 h in all mice tested. The highest peat appeared at 2h after injection. The long half-life of rec-hEPO is likely to confer clinical advantages by allowing less frequent dosing in patients treated for anemia. These data demonstratethat ree-hEPO produced in this study has a potent activity in vivo and in vitro. The results also suggest that biological activity of ree-hEPO could be remarkably enhanced by genetic engineering that affects the potential activity, including mutants with added oligosaccharide chain and designed to produce EPO-EPO fusion protein.