| Summary: | Abstract Background To directly assess the biological role of oligosaccharides in recombinant equine chorionic gonadotropin (rec-eCG) functioning, cDNA encoding the full-length eCGβ-subunit was fused with the mature protein part of the α-subunit, and we examined the expression levels of deglycosylated eCG mutants, the ovulation rate for deglycosylated mutants in C57BL/6 mice. Results The characterizations of heterodimeric and tethered mutants were studied following their respective secretions in culture medium, molecular weight and ovulation in vivo. Rec-eCG variants containing mutations at glycosylation sites at Asn82 of the α-subunit (eCGβ/αΔ82) and Asn13 of the β-subunit (eCGβΔ13/α) were not efficiently secreted into the culture medium from transfected cells. Western blot analysis revealed that the rec-eCGβ/α proteins have an approximate broad range of molecular weights of 40–46 kDa. Three rec-eCG mutants—a deglycosylated site at Asn56 of the α-subunit (eCGβ/αΔ56), a deletion of the C-terminal region of the β-subunit (eCGβ-D/α), and the double mutant (eCGβ-D/αΔ56)—turned out to have clearly lower (approximately 4–23 kDa) molecular weights. Protein N-glycosydase F (PNGase F) treatment markedly decreased the molecular weight to approximately 2–10 kDa. Normal oocytes were significantly more abundant in the natural eCG–treated group than in mutant rec-eCG–treated groups. In particular, numbers of nonfuntional oocytes were remarkably lower in all rec-eCG groups. Conclusions Our results indicate that the ovulation rates of oocytes are not affected by the deglycosylated rec-eCGβ/α mutant proteins. There are around 20% non-functional oocytes with natural eCG and only 2% with the rec-eCGs tested. These results provide insight into the molecular mechanisms underlying the production of rec-eCG hormones with excellent bioactivity in vivo.
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