Zhang Jiawei, Luo Haoshu
State Key Laboratory of Animal Biotech Breeding, College of Biological Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China.
Beijing VJTBio Co., Ltd., Beijing 100085, China.
Vet Sci. 2025 Mar 12;12(3):264. doi: 10.3390/vetsci12030264.
Embryo transfer technology is extensively utilized in cattle breeding, with superovulation serving as its foundation. Superovulation currently relies on the administration of exogenous hormones to stimulate follicular development and maturation in the ovaries, with porcine pituitary-derived follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) being the most commonly used. However, pituitary-derived FSH requires multiple injections, contains luteinizing hormone (LH) and other proteins, and carries a risk of disease transmission. The development of recombinant FSH proteins through protein recombinant technology represents a significant research direction for addressing the aforementioned challenges. Over the past 30 years, extensive studies have been conducted on the development of recombinant bovine, ovine, or porcine FSH. Nevertheless, to date, no commercially recombinant FSH has been widely applied in the superovulation of cattle. This review provides an overview of the molecular design, selection of expression systems, and biological activity of recombinant bovine, ovine, or porcine FSH. This review also summarizes the results of utilizing recombinant FSH in superovulation protocols for cattle. The utilization of recombinant proteins as an alternative to traditionally extracted products in livestock production represents an irreversible trend. The livestock industry is highly sensitive to costs; therefore, it is essential to develop high-quality and cost-effective recombinant FSH products through appropriate molecular design and the use of suitable expression systems.
胚胎移植技术在奶牛育种中得到广泛应用，超数排卵是其基础。目前，超数排卵依赖于外源激素的施用，以刺激卵巢中的卵泡发育和成熟，其中猪垂体来源的促卵泡激素（FSH）是最常用的。然而，垂体来源的FSH需要多次注射，含有促黄体生成素（LH）和其他蛋白质，并且存在疾病传播的风险。通过蛋白质重组技术开发重组FSH蛋白是应对上述挑战的一个重要研究方向。在过去30年中，人们对重组牛、羊或猪FSH的开发进行了广泛研究。然而，迄今为止，尚无商业重组FSH在奶牛超数排卵中得到广泛应用。本文综述了重组牛、羊或猪FSH的分子设计、表达系统选择和生物学活性。本文还总结了在奶牛超数排卵方案中使用重组FSH的结果。在畜牧生产中使用重组蛋白替代传统提取产品是一种不可逆转的趋势。畜牧业对成本高度敏感；因此，通过适当的分子设计和使用合适的表达系统来开发高质量、低成本的重组FSH产品至关重要。
