The human growth hormone antagonist B2036 does not interact with the prolactin receptor

The human growth hormone (hGH) antagonist B2036 combines a single amino acid substitution impairing receptor binding site 2 (G120K) with eight additional amino acid substitutions that improve binding site 1 affinity. This hGH antagonist is being tested for treating pathologies linked to excess hGH levels. B2036-PEG is a polyethylene glycol (PEG) conjugated form of B2036 that has an increased half-life due to reduced renal clearance. It is currently in phase III trials for acromegaly. Human GH is also able to bind to the receptor of prolactin (PRLR). Since activation of PRLR can promote an array of pathological states (reproduction disorders, breast cancer), the ability of B2036-PEG to interact with the PRLR had to be determined. In this study, we compared four hGH antagonists (G120K, G120K-PEG, B2036 and B2036-PEG) in three bioassays: proliferation of rat Nb2 cells, binding to the human PRLR and activation of human PRLR-mediated signaling in a cell line stably expressing this receptor and a luciferase reporter gene. Agonistic and antagonistic properties were characterized. Our data show that B2036-PEG does not bind, activate or antagonize PRLRs, either from rat or human origin. These observations further demonstrate that the eight amino acid substitutions within binding site 1 provide binding specificity directed towards the human GH receptor.