Search Results

You are looking at 1 - 3 of 3 items for

  • Author: F. Z. Upton x
  • Refine by Access: All content x
Clear All Modify Search
Restricted access

F. Z. Upton, G. L. Francis, M. Ross, J. C. Wallace, and F. J. Ballard

ABSTRACT

Recombinant chicken insulin-like growth factor-I (cIGF-I) has been produced in Escherichia coli after first modifying a plasmid that coded for a human IGF-I (hIGF-I) fusion protein, in order to introduce codons for the eight amino acid substitutions. The cIGF-I fusion protein, deposited in bacterial inclusion bodies, was dissolved under reducing conditions, desalted, subjected to anion-exchange chromatography to remove proteinases, refolded and partially purified by reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography. The fusion protein was cleaved with hydroxylamine after which cIGF-I was purified to homogeneity by three additional chromatographic steps. Recombinant cIGF-I was equipotent with hIGF-I in cell culture bioassays of protein synthesis and breakdown using rat L6 myoblasts and chick embryo fibroblasts. Binding of radiolabelled cIGF-I and hIGF-I was also equivalent in the two cell lines, as was their binding in ligand blots of chicken, sheep and human plasma. The cross-reactivity of cIGF-I in a polyclonal hIGF-I radioimmunoassay was 60% of that observed with hIGF-I. The availability of recombinant cIGF-I will facilitate investigations into the role of IGF-I in chicken growth and development.

Restricted access

F. Z. Upton, L. Szabo, J. C. Wallace, and F. J. Ballard

ABSTRACT

The primary structure of the insulin-like growth factor-binding protein (IGFBP) produced by the bovine kidney cell line, MDBK, has been deduced from the cDNA clone. The MDBK binding protein precursor consists of a hydrophobic pre-peptide of at least 26 amino acids and a mature protein of 284 amino acids. The predicted protein sequence shares extensive sequence similarity with both the rat (82%) and human (89%) IGFBP-2s, so that the MDBK binding protein is clearly the bovine counterpart of IGFBP-2. The protein has limited similarity with classes 1 (31%) and 3 (31%) human IGFBPs, except that all 18 cysteine residues are conserved. Other features deduced from the bovine IGFBP-2 cDNA include: an abundance of leucine in the pre-peptide, an Arg-Gly-Asp sequence, absence of N-linked glycosylation sites, and an imperfect polyadenylation signal as well as an ATTTA motif in the 3′ non-coding DNA. Western blotting indicated that this binding protein is widely distributed in bovine fluids as well as in media conditioned by bovine cell lines. Proteins immunologically related to bovine IGFBP-2 were detected not only in sheep, but also in chickens, indicating that this IGFBP is not exclusively mammalian.

Restricted access

Z Upton, G L Francis, K Kita, J C Wallace, and F J Ballard

ABSTRACT

Recombinant chicken (c)IGF-II has been produced in Escherichia coli after first modifying a plasmid that coded for a human (h)IGF-II fusion protein. The cIGF-II fusion protein, deposited in bacterial inclusion bodies, was dissolved under reducing conditions, desalted, subjected to anion-exchange chromatography and refolded. Recombinant cIGF-II was then released from the fusion protein using a genetically engineered serine protease and purified to homogeneity by reverse-phase HPLC. In vitro analysis of recombinant cIGF-II revealed differences between cIGF-II and its human counterpart. Recombinant cIGF-II was less potent than hIGF-II in stimulating protein synthesis in rat myoblasts. This appeared to be due to a decreased affinity for the type-1 IGF receptor. The human and chicken peptides were similar, however, in studies assessing binding to the type-2 IGF receptor and to IGF-binding proteins. Moreover, recombinant cIGF-II and hIGF-II were equipotent in both biological and receptor binding studies in chick embryo fibroblasts, suggesting that there may be a difference between mammalian and avian type-1 IGF receptors.