PURIFICATION OF A CANDIDATE GONADOTROPIN SURGE INHIBITING FACTOR FROM PORCINE FOLLICULAR-FLUID

Several lines of evidence suggest that the ovaries of many species produce a nonsteroidal substance, termed gonadotropin surge inhibiting factor (GnSIF), which inhibits the midcycle gonadotropin surge and attenuates the pituitary response to endogenous or exogenous GnRH. We have previously reported the partial purification of GnSIF from porcine follicular fluid (pFF) and its differentiation from inhibin. We present now the purification of GnSIF to homogeneity and determination of the partial NH2-terminal amino acid sequence. The bioassay for GnSIF used rat pituitary cells in short-term culture that were incubated with test fractions for 48 h, washed, and then incubated with 10 nM GnRH plus test fractions for 4 h. GnSIF activity is defined as the suppression of GnRH-stimulated LH secretion. GnSIF was purified from 500 ml of pFF using sequential heparin-Sepharose, anion-exchange, and cation-exchange liquid chromatography followed by gel permeation, hydrophobic interaction, and mono-Q HPLC steps. Using these six purification steps, we have obtained an apparently homogenous preparation that stains as a single band on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. GnSIF has an apparent mol wt of 69K. Limited NH2-terminal sequence analysis reveals that GnSIF has no sequence homology with other reproductive hormones including the inhibins, activins, and follistatins. Over the dose range tested, GnSIF had no effect on basal LH or FSH secretion by pituitary cells in culture and only slightly inhibited GnRH-stimulated FSH secretion at the highest dose tested. In addition, there was no inhibin or follistatin immunoactivity in the GnSIF preparation. As such, GnSIF appears to be a novel protein in pFF that inhibits GnRH-stimulated LH secretion, and which may participate along with other ovarian proteins and steroids in the regulation of pituitary gonadotropin secretion.