alpha-Subunit dissociated from glycoprotein hormones has been previously shown to stimulate rat pituitary lactotroph differentiation and proliferation. However, whether the free form of the alpha-subunit (free alpha) can also play such a role is not known. To test whether free alpha may act on prolactin (PRL) release from ovine foetal pituitaries, this molecule was purified and two major isoforms, alphaA and alphaB were isolated. Free alphaA was found to be more acidic and more hydrophobic than both free alphaB and ovine LH alpha-subunit (oLHalpha). Free alphaA and oLHalpha exhibited a molecular mass of 14 kDa as determined by mass spectrometry, whereas free alphaB displayed a molecular mass of only 13.5 kDa because of its truncated N-terminus. All three alpha molecules bear mature-type N-linked saccharide chains including Nacetyl galactosamine residues but none of them contains O-linked oligosaccharide. The free alphaA isoform, more than the oLHalpha, was able to stimulate PRL release from ovine foetal pituitary explants in culture, whereas the free alphaB isoform displayed no activity. Moreover, the free alphaA and alphaB isoforms were able to recombine with the ovine LH beta-subunit (oLHbeta). The free alphaB/oLHbeta, and the oLHalpha/oLHbeta dimer were 4-fold more active than the free alphaA/oLHbeta dimer in a specific LH radioreceptor assay and in the stimulation of testosterone release from rat Leydig cells. The present study demonstrates that the two free alpha isoforms of ovine glycoprotein hormones exhibit distinct efficiencies in stimulating PRL release from ovine foetal pituitaries. Moreover, despite their identical ability to recombine with the oLHbeta, the free alpha isoform, which is the most efficient on PRL release, is the least efficient in conferring LH activity on the alpha/beta dimer.

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