Two-hundred-liter scale fermentation, purification of recombinant human fibroblast growth factor-21, and its anti-diabetic effects on ob/ob mice

April 9, 2019

Title

Two-hundred-liter scale fermentation, purification of recombinant human fibroblast growth factor-21, and its anti-diabetic effects on ob/ob mice

Author

Qi Hui, Zhen Huang, Shucai Pang, Xuanxin Yang, Jinghang Li, Bingjie Yu, Lu Tang, Xiaokun Li, Xiaojie Wang

Year

2018

Journal

Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology

Abstract

Fibroblast growth factor-21 (FGF-21) is a potential cytokine for type II diabetes mellitus. This study aimed to optimize recombinant human FGF-21 (rhFGF-21) production in Escherichia coliBL21 (DE3) employing high cell density fermentation at a 200-L scale and pilot-scale purification. FGF-21 was eventually expressed in E. coli BL21 (DE3) using human FGF-21 synthetic DNA sequence via the introduction of vector pET-3c; the product is used as seed strain during the fermentation of rhFGF-21. Fermentation of rhFGF-21 was performed in a 30-L and 200-L fermenters. rhFGF-21 was primarily expressed in the form of inclusion bodies after IPTG induction. At the 200-L scale, the bacterial production and expression levels of rhFGF-21 were 38.8 ± 0.6 g/L and 30.9 ± 0.7%, respectively. Additionally, the high purification (98%) of rhFGF-21 was tested with HPLC analysis and reducing & non-reducing SDS-PAGE analysis. The final yield of purified rhFGF-21 was 71.1 ± 13.9 mg/L. The activity of rhFGF-21 stock solution reached at 68.67 ± 8.74 IU/mg. Blood glucose controlling and insulin sensitization were improved with treatment of rhFGF-21 in type II diabetic ob/ob mice. Our results showed that the relatively stable and time-saving pilot-scale production process was successfully established, providing an efficient and cost-effective strategy for large-scale and industrial production of rhFGF-21.

Instrument

J-715

Keywords

Circular dichroism, Secondary structure, Biochemistry