Cloning and expression of porcine growth hormone gene in mammalian cells

A cDNA for porcine growth hormone (pGH) was amplified by RT-PCR using RNA of porcine pituitary as the template. There were 2 amino acids difference in the signal peptide but no change in the mature peptide between new pGH and the other published reports of porcine GH was found. The recombinant expression vector was constructed by inserting the pGH cDNA into eukaryotic expression vector VR1020. Using lipofectin methods, the recombinant expression plasmid was transfected into COS7 cells. RT-PCR,ELISA and Immunofluorescence assay confirmed that pGH gene had been correctly transcripted and translated in COS7 cells.