Abstract
Equine chorionic gonadotropin (eCG) is a heavily glycosylated glycoprotein composed of non-covalently linked α- and β-subunits. eCG possesses the particularity to bind to both LH and FSH receptors in species other than horses and to have a prolonged plasma half-life. All these properties make it of utmost interest for livestock fertilization program. Up to now, the only source of eCG is the serum of pregnant mare. Rabbit mammary gland is considered as a system able to produce recombinant glycoproteins in sufficient quantity for pharmaceutical use. Here we described the production of a recombinant single βα chain of eLH/CG in the milk of transgenic rabbit. The construction of a single-chain permits to by-pass the problem of association–dissociation of the subunits. This recombinant hormone is greatly expressed (21.7 mg/l) and presents similar in vitro LH and FSH bioactivities. However, βαeLH/CG shows an extremely rapid clearance (≈10 min), which could explain the absence of in vivo biological activity. So the rabbit mammary gland is not appropriate for the production of a recombinant active eLH/CG.
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