O-glycans and O-glycosylation sites of recombinant human GM-CSF derived from suspension-cultured rice cells, and their structural role

July 28, 2017

Title

O-glycans and O-glycosylation sites of recombinant human GM-CSF derived from suspension-cultured rice cells, and their structural role

Author

Jihye Kim, Heajin Park, Byung Tae Park, Hye Seong Hwang, Jae Il Kim, Dae Kyong Kim, Ha Hyung Kim

Year

2016

Journal

Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications

Abstract

Recombinant human GM-CSF (rhGM-CSF) from yeast has been clinically applied to immunosuppressed patients. The production of suspension-cultured rice-cell-derived rhGM-CSF (rrhGM-CSF), which has a longer blood clearance time and the same bioactivity as yeast-derived rhGM-CSF, and the analysis of its N-glycans have been reported recently. However, there are no previous reports of the O-glycosylation of rhGM-CSF from plant cells, and so this study investigated O-glycans, O-glycosylation sites, and their structural role in rrhGM-CSF. Monosaccharide analysis revealed the presence of O-glycans comprising arabinose and galactose. Eight O-glycans comprising four arabinose residues with zero to seven galactose residues along with their relative quantities were analyzed. Analysis of pronase-digested glycopeptides indicated that the O-glycans are partially attached to Ser 5, Ser 7, Ser 9, or Thr 10 residues, and glycan heterogeneity was confirmed at each site. Pro-to-hydroxyproline conversions occurred at Pro 2, Pro 6, and Pro 8 residues. The preparation of deglycosylated rrhGM-CSFs revealed that deglycosylation greatly affects their α-helix structures. These findings indicate that O-glycans of rrhGM-CSF are essential for maintaining its structural stability and result in an extended in vivo half-life, but without affecting its biological function. This is the first report on the O-glycosylation of rhGM-CSF derived from plant cells.

Instrument

J-715

Keywords

Circular dichroism, Secondary structure, Biochemistry