On the influence of hydrophobicity in the SIMS spectra of amino acids in glycerol matrix

Neuropeptide Y 3-36 is an endogenous ligand selective for Y2 receptors

Neuropeptide Y (NPY 1-36) binds to Y1 and Y2 receptors with similar affinity. No endogenous molecular form of NPY with selectivity for Y1 or Y2 receptors has been described so far. We report the presence of an endogenous fragment of NPY in porcine brain, NPY 3-36, which lacks the amino-terminal dipeptide Tyr-Pro of NPY 1-36. NPY 3-36 accounts for 35% of NPY-like immunoreactivity in porcine brain. We have compared binding of NPY 3-36 and NPY 1-36 in model systems of Y1-like (SK-N-MC cells) and Y2-like receptors (CHP234 cells). NPY 3-36 and NPY 1-36 had similarly high affinity for Y2-like receptors on CHP234 cells, but NPY 3-36 had a 1000-fold lower affinity than NPY 1-36 for Y1-like receptors on SK-N-MC cells. Thus amino-terminal cleavage of NPY 1-36 generating NPY 3-36 converts an unselective Y1/Y2 receptor ligand into a highly Y2 selective ligand. This may be a means of fine tuning NPY biological actions.

Characterization of two forms of peptide YY, PYY(1-36) and PYY(3-36), in the rabbit

Peptide YY (PYY) has been purified as a 36 amino acid peptide from intestinal extracts of several mammalian species including pig, rat, dog, and man. The primary structure of rabbit PYY is still unknown, although rabbit tissues have extensively been used for characterization of PYY receptor subtypes and receptor subtype-mediated actions. We report the purification and primary structure of PYY(1-36) (PYY-I) from rabbit intestinal mucosa, and the existence of a second endogenous molecular form of PYY, PYY(3-36) (PYY-II). The amino acid sequence of PYY-I is YPSKPEAPGEDASPEELNRYYASLRHYLNLVTRQRY-amide. Rabbit PYY differs from porcine PYY, which is identical to rat and canine PYY, by two amino acid substitutions at positions 3 (Ser instead of Ala) and 18 (Asp instead of Ser), whereas rabbit PYY and human PYY differ by only one residue at position 3 (Ser instead of Ile). The existence of two endogenous forms of PYY in the rabbit, with PYY-II lacking the amino-terminal dipeptide Tyr-Pro of PYY-I, is consistent with previously reported findings, demonstrating the existence of PYY-II in man and dog (9,11). We have previously demonstrated that PYY-I is an unselective Y1/Y2 agonist, whereas PYY-II is a highly selective Y2 agonist. Thus, proteolytic processing of PYY-I controls the peptide's receptor selectivity. The existence of PYY-I and PYY-II in the rabbit supports the assumption of a physiological role of Y receptor heterogeneity for PYY.

Purification and characterization of PSP-I and PSP-II, two major proteins from porcine seminal plasma

Two major glycoproteins, designated PSP-I and PSP-II, were purified from porcine seminal plasma by ammonium sulfate fractionation, CM-cellulose chromatography, gel filtration on Sephadex G-75 (superfine), and reverse phase high performance liquid chromatography. These two proteins exist in several forms differing mainly in the carbohydrate moiety. The complete amino acid sequence of PSP-I has been determined by automated Edman degradation of peptides generated by proteolytic digestion and cyanogen bromide cleavage. The protein is 109 residues long and has a single glycosylation site at the asparagine residue at position 47. In addition, the N-terminal sequence of PSP-II has also been determined. PSP-I is a unique protein; a sequence homology search using the protein data base did not reveal any significant homology with other proteins. PSP-II shares 50% sequence homology with a family of zona pellucida-binding glycoproteins at the N-terminus.

m-nitrobenzyl alcohol electrochemistry in fast atom bombardment mass spectrometry

The efficacy of m-nitrobenzyl alcohol (NBA) as a solvent (matrix) for fast atom bombardment (FAB) mass spectrometry of a group of pyrazolate-bridged dirhodium A-frame complexes has been assessed. Although NBA is frequently used to mitigate the formation of artifacts in FAB/MS of organometallics and other materials susceptible to bombardment-induced reactions, substantial evidence indicates that such reactions cause the formation of artifacts in the spectra obtained here. Parallel absorption spectroscopic studies have established that NBA is capable of inducing both oxidation and reduction reactions independent of ion bombardment, depending on analyte reduction half-wave potential (E1/2). From the known electrochemistry of the complexes studied, it can be estimated that 1020 mV > E1/2 > 500 mV for the reaction of NBA serving as a reducing agent, while 500 mV > E1/2 > 424 mV for the reduction potential of NBA. However, in the presence of bombardment the former E1/2 must be at least as low as 356 mY, and the latter E1/2 must be at least as high as 1188 mY. The kinetics of redox reactions involving NBA, and therefore their influence on the appearance of FAB mass spectra, will be highly sample-dependent. However, this study illustrates an important potential role for redox reactions when NBA is used as a solvent, especially in the presence of bombardment in FAB/MS. Although analyte reaction products could be identified, substantial efforts aimed at identifying NBA oxidation and reduction products did not yield any definitive results due to the complexity of product mixtures.

Factors affecting the fast atom bombardment mass spectrometric analysis of proteolytic digests of proteins

The fast atom bombardment (FAB) mass spectrometric analysis of proteolytic digests of proteins is currently used in protein structural characterization. The major current limitation of this procedure is that not all the peptides generated by enzyme digestion can be observed in the spectra. Previous studies showed that in a mixture the more hydrophilic peptides are suppressed. Several enzymatic digests of 18 different proteins ranging from 10 kDa to 67 kDa in molecular weight were examined using FAB mass spectrometry. It was observed that, even though the hydrophobicity of peptides is a factor in determining their presence or absence in the spectra, the predictions of whether or not a peptide would be detected based on this criterion varies in a wide range of values. Moreover, present results seem to indicate that the presence of particular amino acid side chains within a peptide sequence capable of forming hydrogen bonds with the matrix heavily affects the behaviour of that peptide in the mixture, despite the overall hydrophobicity of the peptide itself.

Isolation and amino acid sequence analysis of bovine adrenal 3 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase/steroid isomerase

3 beta-Hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase/steroid isomerase has been purified to homogeneity from bovine adrenal glands. A single protein of molecular weight 42,090 +/- 40 containing both enzyme activities has been isolated. Approximately 86% of the amino acid sequence of the bovine adrenal 3 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase/steroid isomerase has been obtained by sequencing peptides isolated from digests with trypsin and lysyl endopeptidase and by chemical cleavage with CNBr. The sequence obtained is identical with that of the deduced amino acid sequence of the bovine ovarian 3 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase/steroid isomerase [Zhao et al. (1989) FEBS Lett. 259, 153-157], with the exception that the N-terminal methionine residue found in the bovine ovarian sequence is not present in the mature bovine adrenal enzyme. On the basis of the primary structure and comparisons with other NAD+ binding proteins, we propose a structural model of the bovine adrenal 3 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase/steroid isomerase localizing the NAD+ binding site as well as the membrane-anchoring segment.

Affinity labeling of bovine adrenal 3 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase/steroid isomerase by 5'-[p-(fluorosulfonyl)benzoyl]adenosine

Incubation of bovine adrenal 3 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase/steroid isomerase with 5'-[p-(fluorosulfonyl)benzoyl]adenosine (5'-FSBA) results in the inactivation of the 3 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase enzyme activity following pseudo-first-order kinetics. A double-reciprocal plot of 1/kobs versus 1/[5'-FSBA] yields a straight line with a positive y intercept, indicative of reversible binding of the inhibitor prior to an irreversible inactivation reaction. The dissociation constant (Kd) for the initial reversible enzyme-inhibitor complex is estimated at 0.533 mM, with k2 = 0.22 min-1. The irreversible inactivation could be prevented by the presence of NAD+ during the incubation, indicating that 5'-FSBA inactivates the 3 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase activity by reacting at the NAD+ binding site. Although the enzyme was inactivated by incubation with 5'-FSBA, no incorporation of the inhibitor was found in labeling studies using 5'-[p-(fluorosulfonyl)benzoyl] [14C]adenosine. However, the inactivation of 3 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase activity caused by incubation with 5'-FSBA could be completely reversed by the addition of dithiothreitol. This indicates the presence of at least two cysteine residues at or in the vicinity of the NAD+ binding site, which may form a disulfide bond catalyzed by the presence of 5'-FSBA. The intramolecular cysteine disulfide bridge was found between the cysteine residues in the peptides 274EWGFCLDSR282 and 18IICLLVEEK26, by comparing the [14C]iodoacetic acid labeling before and after recovering the enzyme activity upon the addition of dithiothreitol.

Structural characterization of calcitonin gene-related peptide purified from rabbit intestine

Calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) immunoreactive material has been found in extracts of the intestine, however, the structure of intestinal CGRP is not known. Analytical reverse phase HPLC and ion-exchange FPLC revealed one predominant immunoreactive CGRP peak in rabbit intestinal extracts. This material was purified from rabbit intestine by sequential steps of reverse phase HPLC and ion-exchange FPLC. Microsequence and mass spectral analysis of the purified peptide and its chymotryptic fragments were consistent with the structure: GCNTATCVTHRLAGLLSRSGGMVKSNFVPTNVGSEAF-amide. Rabbit intestinal CGRP is identical to human CGRP-II in 35 of 37 amino acid residues. Two amino acid differences were detected at position 1, with Gly in rabbit CGRP instead of Ala in human CGRP-II, and at position 35, with Glu instead of Lys, respectively. Rabbit CGRP differed from human CGRP-I by three additional amino acids at positions 3, 22, and 25. This report shows that a CGRP form which closely resembles human CGRP-II, by means of chemical characterization, is the predominant form in rabbit intestine. Rabbit CGRP is the only CGRP form which has Gly as the amino terminal amino acid. Since the amino terminus of CGRP seems to be important for expression of bioactivity, the biological activity of rabbit CGRP may differ from human, rat and porcine CGRP.

Domain structure in yeast tRNA ligase

Yeast tRNA ligase is one of two proteins required for the splicing of precursor tRNA molecules containing introns. The 95-kDa tRNA ligase has been purified to homogeneity from a strain of Escherichia coli which overexpresses the protein. The ligation reaction requires three enzymatic activities: phosphodiesterase, polynucleotide kinase, and ligase. By partial proteolytic digestion, we have produced fragments of tRNA ligase which contain the constituent activities. These results provide evidence for a model in which the three constituent activities of ligase are located in three distinct domains separated by protease-sensitive regions. We have also located the active adenylylated site in the ligase domains. It is lysine-114. The tRNA ligase sequence in this region has limited homology to the active-site region of T4 RNA ligase.

Translational frameshifting generates the gamma subunit of DNA polymerase III holoenzyme

The dnaX gene (previously called dnaZX) of Escherichia coli has only one open reading frame for a 71-kDa polypeptide from which two distinct DNA polymerase III holoenzyme subunits, tau (71 kDa) and gamma (47 kDa), are produced. To determine how the gamma subunit is generated, we examined the influence of mutations in the dnaX gene on the pattern of tau and gamma production in overproducing cells. Important structural elements in dnaX mRNA include a stretch of six adenines (nucleotides 1425-1430), a stable hairpin structure (nucleotides 1437-1466), and a UGA stop codon in a -1 frame (nucleotides 1434-1436) between the stretch of adenines and the hairpin structure. Disruption of this stop codon generates a slightly larger gamma subunit, indicative of the use of a -1 stop codon farther downstream (nucleotides 1470-1472). These results suggest that a -1 frameshift during translation allows the use of this UGA codon to terminate translation of the gamma polypeptide. The amino acid composition, sequence, and mass spectra of a C-terminal peptide from mild digestion of the purified gamma protein with endoproteinase Lys-C confirms that this frameshift occurs at either of the two lysine codons in the region of the adenine stretch. Remarkable features of this frameshifting are its high frequency (i.e., about 80% in an overproducing cell) and the striking structural similarity to the frameshifting signal responsible for expression of the pol and pro genes in many retroviruses.

Structural characterization of canine PYY

PYY was purified from canine colonic mucosa by sequential steps of reverse phase HPLC and ion-exchange FPLC. Microsequence, amino acid and mass spectral analyses of the purified peptide and its tryptic fragments were consistent with the structure: YPAKPEAPGEDASPEELSRYYASLRHYLNLVTRQRY-amide. Canine PYY(1-36) has the identical sequence as porcine and rat PYY but differs from human PYY at position 3, with Ala instead of Ile, and position 18, with Ser instead of Asn. A smaller form, PYY(3-36), was also purified and characterized. It may differ in its biological activity from the intact peptide and could act as a partial antagonist or agonist of PYY(1-36).

Characterization of beta-endorphin in human pituitary by fast atom bombardment mass spectrometry of trypsin-generated fragments

A novel mass spectrometric method possessing a high level of structural specificity is described for characterization in biological fluids and tissues of endogenous beta-endorphin of the human amino acid sequence (beta h-EP). The method is based upon purification of tissue extracts by an RP-HPLC gradient, followed by trypsinolysis of that particular HPLC fraction corresponding to the elution time of synthetic beta h-EP. The tryptic digest of that endogenous beta h-EP fraction was purified further by a second RP-HPLC gradient. A unique tryptic fragment selected from the second gradient was analyzed by fast atom bombardment mass spectrometry and B/E linked-field scan MS/MS techniques to provide molecular weight and amino acid sequence-determining fragment ion information, respectively, of that fragment. Collectively, these independent analytical methodologies provided unequivocal structure evidence for the presence of endogenous beta h-EP in human pituitary. The method was established first by utilizing synthetic beta h-EP to optimize experimental parameters, and then applied to the analysis of beta h-EP in post-mortem human pituitary extracts. The suitability of the present method for semi-quantitation of tissue extracts is also demonstrated. The corresponding detection limit of the synthetic beta h-EP was 90 fmol, and human pituitary contained 1.5 pmol of beta h-EP mg-1 protein. The method can be extended readily to the analysis of beta-endorphin derived from other species and tissues.

A new molecular form of PYY: structural characterization of human PYY(3-36) and PYY(1-36)

A radioimmunoassay was developed using an antibody raised in rabbits against synthetic porcine PYY. This radioimmunoassay was used to detect PYY immunoreactivity in human intestinal extracts. Human colonic mucosa was extracted with acid, centrifuged and the supernatant concentrated by low pressure preparative reverse phase chromatography. A subsequent C-18 reverse phase HPLC step separated two peaks of PYY immunoreactivity. Each peak was purified by sequential steps of ion-exchange FPLC and reverse phase HPLC. In the final purification step single absorbance peaks were associated with PYY immunoreactivity. Microsequence, amino acid, and mass spectral analysis of the intact and tryptic fragments of the two peptides were consistent with the structures: YPIKPEAPGEDASPEELNRYYASLRHYLNLVTRQRY-amide [human PYY(1-36)] and--IKPEAPGEDASPEELNRYYASLRHYLNLVTRQRY-amide [human PYY(3-36)]. Human PYY(1-36) differs from porcine PYY only at position 3, with Ile instead of Ala, and position 18, with Asn instead of Ser. PYY(3-36) may differ in its biological activity from the intact peptide. Its high proportions in the colon suggest that it is released into the circulation where it could act as a partial antagonist of PYY(1-36).

Rapid determination of sequence variations in actinidin isolated from Actinidia chinensis (var. Hayward) using fast atom bombardment mapping mass spectrometry and gas phase microsequencing

A current limitation in the use of fast atom bombardment (FAB) mass spectrometric mapping of peptide mixtures, derived from enzymic digestion of proteins, is that most of the hydrophilic peptides are not observed. However, it has been demonstrated from previous work that esterification of the peptide mixture results in the detection of almost all peptides in FAB mass spectrometry. This strategy of FAB mapping was applied to the protein actinidin, isolated from an Italian variety of Actinidia chinensis. Two of the 12 tryptic peptides in FAB mass spectrometry did not exhibit molecular ions predicted from the known sequence of actinidin isolated from the New Zealand variety of A. chinensis. The two peptides were isolated by high-performance liquid chromatography, subjected to Staphylococcus aureus V8 protease digestion and sequenced by gas-phase microsequencing. Nine changes in amino acid composition were detected using the rapid and powerful combination of FAB mass spectrometric mapping and gas-phase microsequencing.

Formaldehyde adducts of glutathione. Structure elucidation by two-dimensional n.m.r. spectroscopy and fast-atom-bombardment tandem mass spectrometry

Aqueous mixtures of formaldehyde and glutathione react to form a variety of cyclized adducts in addition to S-hydroxymethylglutathione. The adducts are in labile equilibrium with each other and are not readily separated. The structures of two of the other major adducts were determined by concerted application of 13C-1H two-dimensional chemical-shift correlation, fast-atom-bombardment mass spectrometry and tandem mass spectrometry to the adduct mixtures in aqueous solution.