Neuropeptide Y: complete amino acid sequence of the brain peptide

The amino acid sequence of neuropeptide Y, a 36-residue peptide recently isolated from porcine brain, has been determined by using high performance liquid chromatography for separation of its tryptic and chymotryptic fragments and subsequent sequence analysis of the isolated fragments by an improved dansyl Edman subtractive technique. The amino acid sequence of neuropeptide Y has been found to be: Tyr-Pro-Ser-Lys-Pro-Asp-Asn-Pro-Gly-Glu-Asp-Ala-Pro-Ala-Glu-Asp-Leu-Ala-Arg-Tyr -Tyr-Ser-Ala-Leu-Arg-His-Tyr-Ile-Asn-Leu-Ile-Thr-Arg-Gln-Arg-Tyr-NH2. Neuropeptide Y has a high degree of sequence homology with peptide YY (70%), the newly isolated porcine intestinal peptide, and pancreatic polypeptide (50%). It is therefore proposed that neuropeptide Y, peptide YY, and pancreatic polypeptide are members of a newly recognized peptide family.

Calmodulin supports both inactivation and facilitation of L-type calcium channels

L-type Ca2+ channels support Ca2+ entry into cells, which triggers cardiac contraction, controls hormone secretion from endocrine cells and initiates transcriptional events that support learning and memory. These channels are examples of molecular signal-transduction units that regulate themselves through their own activity. Among the many types of voltage-gated Ca2+ channel, L-type Ca2+ channels particularly display inactivation and facilitation, both of which are closely linked to the earlier entry of Ca2+ ions. Both forms of autoregulation have a significant impact on the amount of Ca2+ that enters the cell during repetitive activity, with major consequences downstream. Despite extensive biophysical analysis, the molecular basis of autoregulation remains unclear, although a putative Ca2+-binding EF-hand motif and a nearby consensus calmodulin-binding isoleucine-glutamine ('IQ') motif in the carboxy terminus of the alpha1C channel subunit have been implicated. Here we show that calmodulin is a critical Ca2+ sensor for both inactivation and facilitation, and that the nature of the modulatory effect depends on residues within the IQ motif important for calmodulin binding. Replacement of the native isoleucine by alanine removed Ca2+-dependent inactivation and unmasked a strong facilitation; conversion of the same residue to glutamate eliminated both forms of autoregulation. These results indicate that the same calmodulin molecule may act as a Ca2+ sensor for both positive and negative modulation.

Primary structure of the ovine hypothalamic luteinizing hormone-releasing factor (LRF) (LH-hypothalamus-LRF-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry-decapeptide-Edman degradation)

The primary structure of ovine hypothalamic hypophysiotropic luteinizing hormone-releasing factor, LRF, has been established as pGlu-His-Trp-Ser-Tyr-Gly-Leu-Arg-Pro-Gly-NH(2) by hydrolysis of the peptide with chymotrypsin or pyrrolidone-carboxylylpeptidase and by analysis of the products by an Edman-dansylation sequencing technique, as well as by mass spectrometry of the derived phenylthiohydantoins. A decapeptide with the proposed primary structure, prepared by total synthesis, gave the same result on sequencing. The synthetic decapeptide possesses the same biological activities as the native ovine LRF. The amino-acid sequence of ovine LRF is identical to that already published for porcine LRF.

Appraisal of four pre-column derivatization methods for the high-performance liquid chromatographic determination of free amino acids in biological materials

Reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) is a powerful method for assaying physiological amino acid concentrations in biological fluids. Four pre-column derivatization methods, with o-phthaldialdehyde (OPA), 9-fluorenylmethyl chloroformate (FMOC-Cl), phenyl isothiocyanate (PITC) and 1-dimethylaminonaphthalene-5-sulphonyl chloride (dansyl-Cl), were assessed with respect to their applicability in biological research. The methods permit the measurement of 21-26 major amino acids in 13-40 min. The superior sensitivity favours the use of OPA, FMOC-Cl and dansyl-Cl techniques. Because of instability of the OPA adducts, automated on-line derivatization is required when using this method in general practice. Application of the PITC method, although less sensitive, is useful in clinical chemistry, where sample availability is rarely a problem. Cystine determination is not feasible when using OPA or FMOC-Cl and with PITC the reproducibility and linearity are poor, whereas the dansyl-Cl method allows reliable quantitation. The four methods are currently used to perform ca. 8000 OPA and 5000-6000 FMOC-Cl, PITC and dansyl-Cl analyses of biological samples per year. The results obtained with the RP-HPLC methods compare favourably with those derived from conventional ion-exchange amino acid analyses. When the guard column is regularly changed after 120 analyses, the separation remains satisfactory for at least 700 OPA, 800 FMOC-Cl, 150 PITC and 500 dansyl-Cl analyses. Careful control of factors and limitations inherent in the various methodologies is a prerequesite for proper identification and appropriate quantitation.

A gastric inhibitory polypeptide. II. The complete amino acid sequence

Porcine gastric inhibitory polypeptide is a 43 amino acid residue polypeptide with the amino acid sequence Tyr–Ala–Glu–Gly–Thr–Phe–Ile–Ser–Asp–Tyr–Ser–Ile–Ala–Met–Asp–Lys–Ile–Arg–Gln–Gln–Asp–Phe–Val–Asn–Trp–Leu–Leu–Ala–Gln–Gln–Lys–Gly–Lys–Lys–Ser–Asp–Trp–Lys–His–Asn–Ile–Thr–Gln. Fifteen of the first 26 amino acids occur in the same position as they do in porcine glucagon, and nine of the first 26 in the same position as in porcine secretin. The calculated molecular weight of the polypeptide is 5105.

Pressure-induced reversible dissociation of enolase

A study of the polarization of the intrinsic fluorescence and the fluorescence of dansyl conjugates of enolase shows that an increase in hydrostatic pressure, in the range of 1 bar-3 kbar, promotes the dissociation of this protein into dimers. The dissociation of oligomeric proteins under pressure is predicted to be a general phenomenon by a model that assumes the existence of small "free volumes" at the intersubunit boundaries. The same model predicts a dependence of the standard volume change in the dissociation reaction upon the pressure, owing to the additional surface compressibility of the monomers, and numerical analysis of the results clearly shows that dependence for enolase. For a midpoint dissociation pressure of 1.5 kbar the standard volume change in the dissociation reaction is delta V p0 = -65 +/- 8 mL mol-1 and the dependence of the volume change upon pressure (dVp0/dp) is approximately -30 mL mol-1 kbar-1. The reversibility of the pressure effects is shown to be better than 95% by either polarization or fluorescence spectrum recovery. The pressure perturbation of the fluorescence polarization is a method of general applicability to studies of protein aggregation, and it can be also of value in characterizing the effect of ligands on the aggregation of oligomeric proteins.

Identification and distribution of beta-phenylethylamine in the rat

A procedure for the quantitative evaluation of some amines present in mammalian tissues has been developed. It includes isolation of the amines by ion exchange chromatography followed by conversion to dansyl derivatives, chromatographic separation, and quantitation by the mass spectrometric integrated ion current technique. The use of an isotopically labelled internal standard improves the precision and sensitivity of the analysis.The concentrations of β-phenylethylamine in some tissues of male Wistar rats were (ng/g); brain 1.8 ± 0.4, heart 5.7 ± 3.1, kidney 20.5 ± 2.2, liver 2.0 ± 0.7, lung 4.0 ± 1.4, and spleen 4.7 ± 2.7. In the brain the hypothalamus contained 25.3 ± 5.0, the cerebellum 3.4 ± 0.5, the stem 2.2 ± 0.9, the caudate nucleus 8.0 ± 0.3, and the 'rest' 1.1 ± 0.2 ng/g, respectively.

Motilin, a gastric motor activity stimulating polypeptide: the complete amino acid sequence

Porcine motilin is a 22 amino acid residue polypeptide with the amino acid sequence Phe–Val–Pro–Ile–Phe–Thr–Tyr–Gly–Glu–Leu–Gln–Arg–Met–Glu–Glu–Lys–Glu–Arg–Asn–Lys–Gly–Gln. The calculated molecular weight is 2700.

Distribution of end-to-end distances of oligopeptides in solution as estimated by energy transfer

A homologous series of oligopeptides each containing at its ends a donor and an acceptor of electronic excitation energy was synthesized by the solid-phase method. N-5-(2-Hydroxyethyl)-L-glutamine was the repeating unit, and peptides containing 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 of these amino-acid residues were prepared. The chromophores naphthalene and dansyl, which were used as donor and acceptor, respectively, fulfil the conditions necessary for energy transfer according to the Förster mechanism. A distance corresponding to 50% efficiency of energy transfer, tro = 22 plus or minus 1 A, was calculated. The kinetics of fluorescence decay of an oligomer containing the naphthalene chromophore only could be described precisely by a monoexponential function. In contrast, the kinetics of the decay curves of the fluorescence of the donor of all of the oligomers containing both donor and acceptor, as measured in viscous solution, deviated markedly from monoexponential behavior. The deviation was interpreted in terms of the great number of different conformations that the various molecules of each of the oligomers attain in solution, leading to characteristic end-to-end distribution functions between the donor and acceptor. Numerical adjustment of the parameters of some of the previously proposed expressions to describe the end-to-end distribution enabled the reconstruction of the kinetics of the fluorescence decay of the donor with great precision. The end-to-end distribution functions for the various oligopeptides were thus evaluated.

New immunolatex spheres: visual markers of antigens on lymphocytes for scanning electron microscopy

New immunochemical reagents consisting of antibodies bound to small latex spheres were used as visual markers for the detection and localization of cell surface antigens by scanning electron microscopy. Cross-linked latex spheres of various sizes from 300 to 3,4000 A in diameter were synthesized by aqueous emulsion copolymerization of methacrylate derivatives containing hydroxyl and carboxyl functional groups. Proteins and other molecules containing primary amino groups were covalently bonded to the acrylic spheres under a variety of mild conditions by the aqueous carbodiimide, cyanogen bromide, and glutaraldehyde methods. For use in the indirect immunochemical-labeling technique, goat antibodies directed against rabbit immunoglobulins were bonded to the spheres. These immunolatex reagents were shown to bind only to cells (red blood and lymphocytes) which had previously been sensitized with rabbit antibodies against cell surface antigens. Mouse spleen lymphocytes with exposed immunoglobulins on their surface (B cells) were labeled with these spheres and distinguished from unlabeled or T lymphocytes by scanning electron microscopy. The distribution of Ig receptors on lymphocytes was also studied using the spheres as visual markers. When lymphocytes were fixed with glutaraldehyde and subsequently labeled with the immunolatex reagents, a random distribution was observed by scanning electron microscopy; a patchy distribution was observed when unfixed lymphocytes were used. These results are consistent with studies using ferritin-labeled antibodies (S. De Petris and M. Raff. 1973. Nature [Lond.]. 241:257.) and support the view that Ig receptors on lymphocytes undergo translational diffusion. In addition to serving as visual markers for scanning electron microscopy, these latex spheres tagged with fluorescent or radioactive molecules have applications as highly sensitive markers for fluorescent microscopy and as reagents for quantitative studies of cell surface antigens and other receptors.

Age-associated changes in human epidermal cell renewal

Epidermal cell renewal was assessed nonintrusively in normal human volunteers by monitoring the disappearance of a fluorescent marker dye, dansyl chloride, from the skin surface. In young adults, stratum corneum transit time was approximately 20 days, whereas in older adults this was lengthened by more than 10 days. Because the number of horny cell layers does not change with age, these data indicate that the increased stratum corneum transit time was a reflection of diminished epidermal cell proliferation. Additional analysis indicated that the decline in epidermal cell renewal may not occur at a constant rate throughout the adult lifespan but, instead, remains relatively constant in the younger years and then begins to drop dramatically after age 50. This suggests that a linear-spline model rather than a simple linear model may be more appropriate for analyzing these results.

Design and production of novel tetravalent bispecific antibodies

We have produced novel bispecific antibodies by fusing the DNA encoding a single chain antibody (ScFv) after the C terminus (CH3-ScFv) or after the hinge (Hinge-ScFv) with an antibody of a different specificity. The fusion protein is expressed by gene transfection in the context of a murine variable region. Transfectomas secrete a homogeneous population of the recombinant antibody with two different specificities, one at the N terminus (anti-dextran) and one at the C terminus (anti-dansyl). The CH3-ScFv antibody, which maintains the constant region of human IgG3, has some of the associated effector functions such as long half-life and Fc receptor binding. The Hinge-ScFv antibody which lacks the CH2 and CH3 domains has no known effector functions.

Study of interaction of carprofen and its enantiomers with human serum albumin--I. Mechanism of binding studied by dialysis and spectroscopic methods

The binding of carprofen, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug of the aryl propionic acid class [2-(6-chlorocarbazole)propionic acid], and its enantiomers to human serum albumin (HSA) has been studied by dialysis and spectroscopic methods. Binding parameters obtained by different methods were in close agreement. The binding of carprofen to HSA by both fluorescence and equilibrium dialysis (ED) methods is characterized by two sets of association constants [K1 = 5.1 x 10(6) M-1 (fluorescence) and 3.7 x 10(6) M-1 (ED), K2 = 3.7 x 10(5) M-1 (fluorescence) and 1.3 x 10(5) M-1 (ED)]. The S(+)-enantiomer of carprofen showed slightly higher affinity for HSA than its corresponding antipode by both methods. Different analyses of the binding to HSA suggested the presence of one high affinity site and five to seven low affinity sites for carprofen and its enantiomers on HSA. Fluorescence displacement data implied that carprofen primarily binds to site II, the benzodiazepine site, while the low affinity site of carprofen is site I, the warfarin site. Circular dichroism data suggested different mechanisms for the high affinity and the low affinity binding of carprofen to HSA. The data are consistent with the major part of the binding energy at site II being electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions, whereas for the low affinity binding, hydrophobic interactions. Binding was exothermic, entropy driven and spontaneous, as indicated by the thermodynamic analyses. From binding data with chemically modified HSA derivatives, it is likely that tyrosine, lysine and histidine residues are especially involved in carprofen binding to HSA, and it is most likely that the high affinity binding of carprofen is located in the N-terminal part of domain III or that section of protein plus the C-terminal part of domain II of the HSA molecule. When the binding of carprofen to HSA was compared to the binding of carprofen methyl ester to HSA (K = 0.1 x 10(6) M-1), the carboxyl group of carprofen was found to play an important role especially in the high affinity binding of carprofen to HSA. The high affinity of carprofen to HSA was independent of the conformational changes on HSA caused by N-B transition.