High-level soluble expression of bioactive porcine myostatin propeptide in E. coli.

Myostatin (MSTN) is a potent negative regulator of skeletal muscle mass. The activity of MSTN is suppressed by MSTN propeptide (MSTNPro), the N-terminal part of unprocessed MSTN that is cleaved off during posttranslational MSTN processing. Easy availability of MSTNPro would help to investigate the potential of the protein as an agent to enhance muscle growth in agricultural animal species. Thus, this study was designed to produce bioactive wild-type porcine MSTN propeptide (pMSTNProW) and its mutated form at the BMP-1/TLD proteolytic cleavage site (pMSTNProM) in Escherichia coli. The pMSTNProW and pMSTNProM genes were separately cloned into pMAL-c5X vector downstream of the maltose-binding protein (MBP) gene and were transformed and expressed in soluble forms in E. coli. For each milliliter of cell culture, about 40 µg of soluble MBP-pMSTNProW and MBP-pMSTNProM proteins were purified by amylose resin affinity chromatography. Further purification by anion exchange chromatography of the affinity-purified fractions yielded about 10 µg/mL culture of MBP-pMSTNProW and MBP-pMSTNProM proteins. Factor Xa protease cleaved the fusion partner MBP from MBP-pMSTNPro proteins, and approximately 4.2 µg of pMSTNProW and pMSTNProM proteins were purified per milliliter of culture. MBP-pMSTNProM was resistant to digestion by BMP-1 metalloproteinase, while MBP-pMSTNProW was cleaved into two fragments by BMP-1. Both MBP-pMSTNProW and MBP-pMSTNProM demonstrated their MSTN binding affinities in a pulldown assay. In an in vitro gene reporter assay, both proteins inhibited MSTN bioactivity without a significant difference in their inhibitory capacities, indicating that the cell culture-based gene reporter assay has limitation in detecting the true in vivo biological potencies of mutant forms of MSTNPro proteins at the BMP-1/TLD cleavage site. Current results show that a high-level production of bioactive porcine MSTNpro is possible in E. coli, and it remains to be investigated whether the administration of the MSTNpro can improve skeletal muscle growth in pigs via suppression of MSTN activity in vivo.

cDNA cloning and expression analysis of myostatin/GDF11 in shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei.

Myostatin (MSTN) and growth differentiation factor-11 (GDF11) are closely related proteins belonging to the transforming growth factor-ß (TGF-ß) superfamily. In vertebrates, MSTN is known to negatively regulate skeletal muscle growth, and GDF11 is found to inhibit neurogenesis. In invertebrates, only one ortholog of vertebrate MSTN and GDF11 (MSTN/GDF11) existed. Little attention has been paid on its role to date. In this study, the cDNA that encodes a 422-amino-acid MSTN/GDF11 protein (LvMSTN/GDF11) was characterized from a crustacean species, the Pacific white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei). Sequence analysis revealed that the overall protein sequence and specific functional sites of LvMSTN/GDF11 were highly conserved with those in other crustacean species. Expression analysis by quantitative real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction technique demonstrated its tissue-specific, larval developmental stage-specific, and molt stage-specific expression pattern, respectively. After in vivo injections of 20 hydroxyecdysone (20E), LvMSTN/GDF11 transcripts were declined in the abdominal (A) and pleopod (P1) muscles, increased in the pereiopod (P2) muscle, and not affected in the thoracic (T) muscle. The observed expression profiles suggest multiple functions of LvMSTN/GDF11 in L. vannamei and its role differs during the larval development and natural molt cycle. The different responses of LvMSTN/GDF11 to acute increases of 20E in the A, P1, P2 and T muscles may indicate that LvMSTN/GDF11 is transcriptionally regulated via ecdysteroids to coincide with its specific roles in the former three muscles, while its role may be independent of 20E regulation in the T muscle.

Presence, actions, and regulation of myostatin in rat uterus and myometrial cells.

Myostatin, a member of the TGF-beta superfamily of proteins, is known to suppress skeletal muscle mass and myocyte proliferation. The muscular component of the uterus is the myometrium, a tissue that regulates its mass in response to different physiological conditions under the influence of sex steroids. Recently, our laboratory reported effects of activin-A, another TGF-beta family member, on signalling and proliferation of rat uterine explants and human myometrial cell lines in culture. Here, we explore the expression, actions, and regulation of myostatin in uterine smooth muscle. Myostatin mRNA was demonstrated to be expressed in a myometrial cell line, pregnant human myometrial 1 cell line (PHM1). Functional assays showed that myostatin induced phosphorylation of Smad-2 and reduced proliferation of PHM1 number in a time and dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, myostatin activated smad-2 specific signalling pathways in rat uterine explants. To expand on our in vitro findings, we found that myostatin is expressed in rat uterus and determined that myostatin mRNA expression varies as a function of the phase of the estrous cycle. Uterine levels of myostatin peaked during late estrus and were the lowest at proestrus. Ovariectomy increased myostatin expression; estrogen treatment strongly decreased myostatin levels, whereas progesterone weakly decreased myostatin expression. In conclusion, myometrial cells are myostatin sensitive, myostatin mRNA levels are modulated in vivo in rats during the estrous cycle, and in response to steroid deprivation and replacement.