Abstract | Expression of the human parathyroid hormone (PTH) gene in E. coli yielded intact PTH and PTH-(8–84). To determine if PTH-(8–84) is the result of a competing translation initiated from methionine codon-8 or degradation of the intact PTH, twelve new gene constructs with or without an internal ribosome-binding site (iRBS) in the PTH-(1–5) region were prepared via substitution with degenerate codons. Expression of constructs without iRBS produced only intact PTH. Constructs with weak iRBS, including one that resembles the cDNA sequence, yielded PTH-(8–84) as a minor product. In contrast, constructs with strong iRBS produced predominantly or exclusively this shorter analogue. |
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