• 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.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.2 no.4
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• pp.343-346
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• 1994

In vivo activity of recombinant human erythropoietin (rh-EPO) has been examined using polycythemic model in mice and acute hemorrhage model in rats. The number of reticulocytes in blood stream was increased after a single injection of rh-EPO depending on the dosage of rh-EPO in polycythemy model. It seemed that optimal dose of rh-EPO for polycythemic mice was around 1-10 U/kg. Rh-EPO also showed the effectiveness for increase of reticulocyte numbers both in male and female rats after bleeding. The number of reticulocytes and the change of hemoglobin concentration in the blood stream of normal rats has been examined after injection of rh-EPO. The maximum value of reticulocyte was observed on the 6th day of the injection in these normal rats. In addition, the increase of reticulocyte and the concentration of hemoglobin were dependent on the dosage of rh-EPO. The increase of hemoglobin concentration was continued to the 9th day after injection. In this study, the efficacy of rh-EPO was confirmed in both mice and rats.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.50-55
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• 1998

Antigenic potential of a recombinant human erythropoietin (rhEPO) produced by Dong-A charm. Co. Ltd. was examined by active systemic anaphylaxis (ASA) test in guinea pigs, mouse-rat passive cutaneous anaphylaxis (PCA) reaction and passive hemagglutination (PHA) test. In ASA test, rhEPO induced the signs of restlessness, rubbing or licking nose, sneezing and coughing in the animals immunized with rhEPO 1000 lU/kg alone or rhEPO 1000 lU/kg incorporated into Freund\\\\`s complete adjuvant. In the mouse-rat PCA test, only one of six sera from the animals immunized with rhEPO 1000 lUng incorporated into Alum showed positive result. In the PHA test, rhEPO revealed negative results in all of the rhEPO-immunized groups. From these results, rhEPO was considered to produce IgE in guinea pigs and mice, but not IgG and/or IsM in mice. The results of this study were similar to those of the other recombinant human erythropoietin and these positive results were thought to be caused due to the fact that rhEPO were heterogeneous proteins to guinea pigs and mice. Considering the fact that rhErO has an identical structure with indigenous human erythropoietin, rhEPO is not thought to cause immunological problems in clinical use.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.171-178
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• 2000

To evaluate the pharmacokinetic properties and tissue distribution of a newly developed recombinant human erythropoietin (GC-rhEPO), we analyzed the plasma and tissue levels of erythropoietin by an ELISA after intravenous (IV) and subcutaneous (SC) adminstration to the male rats at the doses of 20, 100, 500 or 2,500 unit/kg. After single IV bolus injection of GC-rhEPO, the plasma concentration was rapidly increased and decreased with two phases with half-lives of 13.4 min and 2.94 hours. AUC was increased dose- dependently but plasma half-lives remained constant regardless of GC-rhEPO doses. Following SC administration, the plasma concentration increased slowly with half-life of 9.2 hours and reached peak at 8 hours. Mean residence time and bioavailability were 18.2 hours and 44%, respectively. After single IV dose of 100 unit/kg, tissue GC-rhEPO level was higher in bone marrow and spleen, while the depletion rate was slower in liver and bone marrow, indicating the higher affinity of GC-rhEPO to bone marrow. Taken together, the experimental results indicate that GC-rhEPO contained the typical pharmacokinetic properties and the tissue distribution patterns inherent to human erythropoietin.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.184-193
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• 2000

To evaluate GC-rhEPO, human erythropoietin produced by recombinant DNA technique, its general pharmacological properties were investigated in experimental animals administering intravenously and in vitro test system. GC-rhEPO at doses of 70,700 and 7,000 IU/kg body weight had no influence on general behavior, spontaneous motor activity, thiopental-inducted sleeping time, writhing syndrome induced by acetic acid, strychnine-induced convulsions, charchoal meal propulsion in mice, and body temperature, gastric juice secretion, urine and electrolyte excretion in rats. In anesthetized rabbits, GC-rhEPO (70, 700 and 7,000 lU/kg, i.v.) did not alter respiratory rate, blood pressure, heat rate. In in vitro experiments, GC-rhEPO did not affect the contractions of the isolated ileum of guinea pigs and the muscle twitchs of isolated neuromuscular junction of the rats. In addition, GC-rhEPO did not affect the blood coagulation time and ADP-induced platelet aggregation in plasma of rabbits. Taken together, these results indicate that GC-rhEPO does not induce any adverse effects in the experimental animals.

• Korean Journal of Animal Reproduction
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.299-307
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• 2003

The effects of additions/deletions in glycosylated residues of recombinant human EPO (rhEPO) produced in CHO-K1 on their secretion were examined. hEPO cDNA was amplified from human liver mRNA and cloned into the pCR2.1 TOPO. Using overlapping-extension site-directed mutagenesis method, glycosylation sites at 24th, 38th, 83rd, and 126th were respectively or accumulatively removed by substituting its asparagine (or serine) with glutamine. To add novel glycosylation sites, 69 and 105th leucine was mutated to asparagine. Mutant and wild type rhEPO constructs were cloned into the pcDNA3 expression vector with CMV promoter and transfected into CHO cell line, CHO-K1, to produce mutant rhEPO mutant rhEPO proteins. Enzyme-linked immunosorbant assay (ELISA) and Western analysis with monoclonal anti-EPO antibody were performed using supernatants of the cultures showing transient and stable expressions respectively. Addition of novel glycosylation reduced rhEPO secretion dramatically while deletion mutants had little effect except some double deletion mutants ($\Delta$24/83 and $\Delta$38/83) and triple mutant ($\Delta$24/38/83). This fact suggests that not single but combination of changes in glycosyl groups affect secretion of rhEPO in cell culture, possibly via changes in their conformations.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.56-62
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• 1998

Mutagenicity of recombinant human erythropoietin (rhEPO) was examined in the reverse mutation test on bacteria, in the chromosomal aberration test on cultured mammalian cells and in the micronucleus test on mice. The reverse mutation test was performed by a plate incorporation method with or wothout a metabolic activation system (59 Mix) using Salmonella typhimurium strain TA100, TA1535, TA98 and TA 1537. The rhEPO did not significantly increase revertant colonies in any of the test strains under any conditions at dose levels ranging from 1000 H/ml to 62.5 lu/plate, compared with the vehicle control. In the chromosomal aberration test using cultured Chinese Hamster Lung (CHL) cells, the number of aberrant cells was not increased in the presence or absence of 59 Mix at concentrations of 1000 lU/ml to 250 lU/ml, compared with the vehicle control. In the micronucleus test, male ICR mice were given rhEPO intraperitoneally at a dose level of 25000, 12500 and 6250 lU/kg. The incidence of bone marrow micronucleated polychromatic erythrocytes was not different from that of the vehicle control. From these results, rhEPO is considered to be non-mutagenic under the present test conditions.

• Korean Journal of Animal Reproduction
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.317-324
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• 2003

The present study were performed to analysis the hematocrit and the red blood cells content into the blood plasma of the transgenic pigs harboring recombinent human erythropoietin gene (rhEPO). Mouse whey acidic protein (mWAP) linked to rhEPO gene was microinjected into pronuclei of porcine one-cell zygotes. After delivered of offspring, PCR analyses identified one mWAP-rhEPO transgenic founder offspring(F$_{0}$). The first generation of transgenic pig (F$_{0}$) harboring mWAP-hEPO appeared to be a male, and the second generation (F$_1$) pigs were made by natural mating of F$_{0}$ with domestic swine, and male and female transgenic pigs (F$_1$) were identified by PCR. The blood samples from transgenic and normal pigs were collected for 50 days during lactation and were counted the red blood cell (RBC) numbers and Hematocrit (HCT) content into the blood. The transgenic pigs expressing rhEPO in their blood gave rise to higher RBC numbers and HCT contents than control animals. rhEPO was secreted both in the blood and milk of genetically engineered pigs harboring rhEPO gene. Therefore, this study provides a model regarding the production of transgenic pig carrying hEPO transgene for biomedical research.earch.

• Reproductive and Developmental Biology
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.81-85
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• 2006

This study was conducted to examine the effect of IRES controlled reporter gene on screening and production of recombinant human erythropoietin (EPO) proteins from cultured CHO cells. The cDNA was cloned for EPO from human liver cDNA Using site-directed mutagenesis, we generated recombinant human EPO (rhEPO) with two additional N-glycosylations (Novel erythropoiesis-stimulating protein: NESP). Wild type hEPO and NESP were cloned into expression vectors with GFP reporter gene under regulatory control of CMV promoter and IRES so that the vectors could express both rhEPO and GFP. The expression vectors were transfected to cultured CHO-K1 cells. Under microscopy, expression of GFP was visible. Using supernatant of the culture, ELISA assay, immunocytochemistry and in vitro assay using EPO dependant cell line were performed to estimate biological activity to compare the production characteristics (secretion levels, etc.) between rhEPO and NESP. The activity of NESP protein, obtained by mutagenesis, was described and compared with its rhEPO counterpart produced under same conditions. Although NESP had less secretion level in CHO cell line, the biological activity of NESP was greater than that of rhEPO. These results are consistent with previous researches. We also demonstrated that rhEPO and GFP proteins expressed simultaneously from transfected CHO cell line. Therefore we conclude that use of GFP reporter gene under IRES control could be used to screen and produce rhEPO in cultured CHO 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.