Cloning and expression of the human erythropoietin gene
- F K Lin,
- S Suggs,
- C H Lin,
- J K Browne,
- R Smalling,
- J C Egrie,
- K K Chen,
- G M Fox,
- F Martin, and
- Z Stabinsky
Abstract
The human erythropoietin gene has been isolated from a genomic phage library by using mixed 20-mer and 17-mer oligonucleotide probes. The entire coding region of the gene is contained in a 5.4-kilobase HindIII-BamHI fragment. The gene contains four intervening sequences (1562 base pairs) and five exons (582 base pairs). It encodes a 27-amino acid signal peptide and a 166-amino acid mature protein with a calculated Mr of 18,399. The erythropoietin gene, when introduced into Chinese hamster ovary cells, produces erythropoietin that is biologically active in vitro and in vivo.
