Scientific Reports (Jul 2017)

Granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (GCSF) fused with Fc Domain produced from E. coli is less effective than Polyethylene Glycol-conjugated GCSF

  • Bich Hang Do,
  • Hyo Jeong Kang,
  • Jung-A Song,
  • Minh Tan Nguyen,
  • Sangsu Park,
  • Jiwon Yoo,
  • Anh Ngoc Nguyen,
  • Grace G. Kwon,
  • Jaepyeong Jang,
  • Mihee Jang,
  • Sunju Lee,
  • Seoungjun So,
  • Seongrak Sim,
  • Kyung Jin Lee,
  • Mark J. Osborn,
  • Han Choe

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-06726-7
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 7, no. 1
pp. 1 – 9

Abstract

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Abstract Human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (GCSF) is a well-known cytokine for neutropenia treatment. However, daily injections are required due to the short circulating half-life of the protein. To overcome this bottleneck, we fused GCSF with the Fc domain of IgG1 at the C terminus (GCSF-Fc) and with the maltose binding protein (MBP) tag at the N-terminus and expressed it as a soluble protein in the cytoplasm of E. coli. We also conjugated PEG aldehyde to GCSF to make PEG-GCSF. The bioactivities of GCSF-Fc and PEG-GCSF were similar to native GCSF using the mouse M-NFS-60 myelogenous leukemia cell line. The EC50 dose-response curves for GCSF, GCSF-Fc and PEG-GCSF were 37 ± 12 pM, 75 ± 13.5 pM and 46 ± 5.5 pM, respectively. When the proteins were injected into neutropenic rats, the group injected with PEG-GCSF showed the highest and fastest recovery of neutrophils, followed by GCSF-Fc and GCSF. ELISA assay revealed the PEG-GCSF had the longest plasma circulation (>72 h), followed by GCSF-Fc (>48 h) and GCSF (~24 h), which is consistent with the in vivo activities of the proteins. In summary, the GCSF-Fc purified from E. coli was not as efficient as PEG-GCSF in treating neutropenic rats.