Studies on immunoassays of peptide factors. V. Synthesis of cholecystokinin-58-[1-11]/iso-1-cytochrome c conjugate

In previous studies on model compounds we have found that the maleimide function is sufficiently stable under the conditions of peptide synthesis to allow its incorporation at preselected positions of a peptide chain in earlier steps of the synthetic route. Taking advantage of this observation the N-terminal undecapeptide of canine cholecystokinin-58 containing at its N-terminus the maleimide group became accessible in high yields as chromatographically homogenous and analytically well characterized compound. Via the incorporated anchor group the undecapeptide was linked selectively at its N-terminus to the cysteine residue 107 of iso-1-cytochrome c to yield a well characterized conjugate of 1:1 stoichiometry for immunization experiments.     

Studies on immunoassays of peptide factors. III. Gastrin/iso-1-cytochrome C as immunogen for raising anti-gastrin antisera

Iso-1-cytochrome c contains in penultimate position of its sequence a cysteine residue which in analogy to the known tertiary structures of cytochromes c should be exposed on the surface of the protein. Its selective reaction with N alpha-maleoyl-beta-alanyl-human-little-gastrin-I-[2-17] led to a well characterized and homogeneous gastrin conjugate to be used as immunogen in rabbits. The antisera raised by this procedure exhibited a degree of specificity for the hormone gastrin parallel to that of the gastrin receptor. This is clearly documented by comparison of the immune crossreactivities of gastrin-peptides of increasing chain length and of fragments corresponding to various regions of the hormone molecule with their biological activity. The immune response provoked in the animals by the use of an homogeneous immunogen was found to be highly reproducible in terms of specificity of the antigastrin antibodies.     

Studies on mammalian intestinal peroxidase.

A peroxidase, purified from rat small intestine to apparent homogeneity as judged by polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis, exhibited an absorbance ratio (A412/A280) of 0.783. Its Mr (44000 +/- 1000) and spectral properties were similar to those of the pig intestinal enzyme. The velocity constant for the reaction between rat intestinal peroxidase and hydrogen peroxide was found to be 1.8 x 10(7) M-1 . s-1. Benzhydroxamic acid inhibited the peroxidative oxidation of guaiacol by intestinal peroxidase from both species but the concentration required to cause half-inhibition of the enzyme from the rat was higher by one order of magnitude than for the pig enzyme. The amino acid composition of highly-purified pig intestinal peroxidase showed a relative abundance of basic amino acids (lysine and arginine) and was similar to that of lactoperoxidase, but not that of myeloperoxidase. The initial ten amino acid residues of this enzyme (the first reported partial sequence for a mammalian peroxidase) were also determined.     

New tris-alkoxycarbonyl arginine derivatives for peptide synthesis.

alpha-Alkoxycarbonyl protected ornithines were treated with N,N'-[Z(2Cl)](2)-S-methylisothiourea and N,N'-[Z(2Br)](2)-S-methylisothiourea, N,N'-Z(2)-S-methylisothiourea and N,N'-Boc(2)-S-methylisothiourea to form N(alpha, omega, omega')-tris-alkoxycarbonyl arginines. Two of them, Boc-Arg-{omega,omega'-[Z(2Br)](2)}-OH and Boc-Arg-{omega,omega'-[Z(2Cl)](2)}-OH, were used for the synthesis of dermorphin fragments containing two or three arginine residues. Examination of the products by HPLC and ESI-MS revealed that the purity of the materials obtained with the use of the new derivatives was higher than that obtained in concurrent syntheses in which Boc-Arg(Tos) was used.     

Studies in solid-phase peptide synthesis: a personal perspective

By the early 1970s it had became apparent that the solid-phase synthesis of ribonuclease A could not be generalized. Consequently, virtually every aspect of solid-phase peptide synthesis (SPPS) was reexamined and improved during the decade of the 1970s. The sensitive detection and elimination of possible side reactions (amino acid insertion, N(alpha)-trifluoroacetylation, N(alphaepsilon)-alkylation) were examined. The quantitation of coupling efficiency in SPPS as a function of chain length was studied. A new and improved support for SPPS, the "PAM-resin," was prepared and evaluated. These and many other studies from the Merrifield laboratory and elsewhere increased the general acceptance of SPPS leading to the 1984 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for Bruce Merrifield.     

Isolation of a gastrin releasing peptide receptor from normal rat pancreas.

The presence of a putative GRP receptor on rat pancreatic particulate membranes was demonstrated by covalent cross-linking to 125I-gastrin releasing peptide (GRP), which revealed a radioactive band with Mr = 80-90 kDa on reduced SDS-PAGE. Fresh rat pancreatic membranes contained a GRP receptor which was solubilized with Triton X-100 as assessed by its failure to sediment at 100,000 x g for one hour and its ability to pass through a 0.22 mu filter. When 125I-GRP binding was studied using Sephadex G50 gel filtration chromatography to separate bound from unbound ligand, substantial amounts of 125I-GRP binding were observed in rat crude solubilized pancreatic membranes, but essentially no specific binding was observed until the crude solubilized membranes were fractionated by ammonium sulfate precipitation. Specific 125I-GRP binding was 500, 700 and 1400 fmol/mg protein, respectively, in the 0-25%, 25-50% and 50-80% saturated ammonium sulfate fractions (125I-GRP concentration = 1 nM). Specific binding was temperature dependent, saturable and of high affinity, (KD = 2.3 nM). A unique 70 kDa band was visualized by silver staining of the SDS-PAGE of eluates of GRP(14-27) affinity gel compared with eluates of control affinity gels incubated with the 25-50% (NH4)2SO4 fraction. The lower Mr than that observed with covalent cross-linking may represent the binding subunit of a larger receptor protein. This ligand-affinity isolated protein is thus a good candidate for the GRP receptor, or the binding subunit of it, from normal rat pancreas.     

Characterization of a gastrin releasing peptide from porcine non-antral gastric tissue.

A heptacosapeptide with potent gastrin releasing activity has been isolated from porcine non-antral gastric and intestinal tissue. The amino acid sequence suggested from a preliminary study on the gastric peptide is: Ala-Pro-Val-Ser-Val-Gly-Gly-Gly-Thr-Val-Leu-Ala-Lys-Met-Tyr-Pro-Arg-Gly-Asn-His-Trp-Ala-Val-Gly-His-Leu-Met-NH₂. Striking homology in the C-terminal region is seen with bombesin, accounting for the similar bioactivities of the two peptides. Some structural resemblance with porcine cholecystokinin in the N-terminal region is noted.     

Studies on the coupling rates in liquid-phase peptide synthesis using competition experiments.

Competition experiments were carried out in order to determine relative reaction rates, Vrel, for the peptide-forming step. Using the liquid-phase method of peptide synthesis a model system was developed to investigate the influence of coupling method, amino component, derivatization and solvent upon Vrel. According to a standard procedure, Vrel for all 20 commonly occurring amino acids were established. A strong dependence of Vrel upon steric effects of the coupling components was found. The data obtained may serve as a guideline for optimizing the reaction conditions in peptide synthesis.     

The synthesis of polyamide-oligonucleotide conjugate molecules.

We have developed methods for the synthesis of peptide-oligodeoxyribonucleotide conjugate molecules in particular, and polyamide-oligonucleotide conjugates in general. Synthesis is carried out by a solid-phase procedure and involves the assembly of a polyamide on the solid support, conversion of the terminal amino group to a protected primary aliphatic hydroxy group by reaction with alpha, omega-hydroxycarboxylic acid derivatives, and finally oligonucleotide synthesis using phosphoramidite chemistry. The conjugate molecules can be used as DNA probes, with the polyamide component carrying one or more non-radioactive markers. These conjugates also have the potential to be used as anti-sense inhibitors of gene expression, with the peptide segment acting as a targeting moiety.     

Synthetic immunogens. Part IV: Conformational studies on gastrin conjugates with the human immunoglobulin G1 hinge peptide 225-232/225'-232'

Hybrids of the double-chain bis-cystinyl fragment 225-232/225'-232' of human immunoglobulin G1 (IgG1) with the human little-gastrin sequence 2-17 were found to induce in animals a strong antigastrin humoral immune response with antibody titers comparable to those raised with conventional gastrin/carrier-protein conjugates. The observed gastrin receptor-like specificity of the polyclonal antibodies led to the assumption that the gastrin component of the hybrids is still capable of folding into its preferred bioactive structure and thus to express a similar conformational epitope in the dynamic process of recognition by the B-cell receptors. CD measurements on these hybrid compounds in aqueous and aqueous organic media confirmed the free conformational space for the antigenic gastrin moiety, which is essentially randomly coiled in aqueous solution but retains its ability to fold into the gastrin-specific ordered structure in aqueous organic media as used to mimic the water-limited environment of peptides while interacting with target cells at receptor level. The absence of reciprocal conformational restriction in such hybrid molecules suggests that a compact, rigid heterodetic cyclic structure as the hinge peptide is well suited for the multiple attachment of antigenic sequences in view of the preparation of fully synthetic immunogens.     

Phytochrome regulation of peroxidase activity in maize IV. Photosynthetic independence of peroxidase enhancement

The continuous far-red light mediation of the enhancement ofperoxidase activity was repressed only partially by inhibitorsof cyclic and non-cyclic photophosphorylation. Under far-redlight the chlorophyll development was minimal and plastids weredifferentiated only partially. Isolated plastids from seedlingsgrown under far-red light developed photosystem I and II activityafter a lag of 4 hr, cyclic photophosphorylation after 8 hr,and non-cyclic photophosphorylation at 24 hr. These seedlings,however, failed to show CO²-dependent oxygen evolution upto24 hr of irradiation. The magnitudes of the various photochemicalactivities developed under far-red light were considerably lowerthan those developed under white light. Photosynthetic participationin the far-red mediated ‘high irradiance reaction’was excluded as it had a longer lag than the onset of the enhancementof peroxidase activity, and its magnitude was minimal. ¹Present address: School of Life Sciences, University of Hyderabad,Hyderabad-500001, India. (Received February 26, 1979; )     

Gram-scale enzymatic synthesis of a peptide bond.

The synthesis reaction of the peptide, N-Cbz-L-tryptophanyl-glycineamide, catalyzed by alpha-chymotrypsin was performed in a 20% water/80%, 1,4-butanediol mixture. The synthesis yield reached 90.9% at the end of the reaction and 72.3% after purification. The effects on the yield of both pH and the ratio between total initial concentrations of glycineamide and N-Cbz-L-tryptophan are examined. The high yield, specificity, simplicity and reproducibility of this method make it complementary of the chemical methods.