Scurvy-prone animals, including man, monkey, and guinea pig, do not express the gene for gulonolactone oxidase

Man, monkeys, and guinea pigs cannot synthesize ascorbic acid due to a lack of gulonolactone oxidase activity. Recently, using two immunological methods, immunoprecipitation and microcomplement fixation, we reported that guinea pigs do not contain antigenic material related to gulonolactone oxidase. Now, using such immunologie techniques as double immunodiffusion, microcomplement fixation, antibody affinity chromatography, and a more sensitive radioimmunoassay, we have found that all three of these species do not contain immunologically cross-reacting material to gulonolactone oxidase. On the other hand, comparable extracts from tissues of all other species that were investigated and that do possess gulonolactone oxidase did cross-react with antiserum to enzyme from two widely differing species, rat and goat. We conclude that the gene for gulonolactone oxidase is not expressed in these scurvy-prone animals.     

Serological characterization of a ribonuclease from Hordeum vulgare

Specific rabbit antisera against purified Hordeum vulgare seedling RNase I from two winter barley cultivars each formed a single precipitin band when reacted with the homologous crude tissue extract. RNase antigen from either cultivar was equally reactive with both antisera when evaluated by immunodiffusion and immunoelectrophoresis. A small but consistent difference in anti-RNase specificity between cultivars was shown by passive hemagglutination inhibition, suggesting that molecular differences may exist between the two RNase antigens. Immunodiffusion and rocket immunoelectrophoresis were used to qualitatively test the cross-reactivity of protein preparations from various members of the genus Hordeum and species from other related grass genera. Neither antiserum showed cross-reactivity with soluble protein preparation from species outside the genus Hordeum. A few species within the genus Hordeum were cross-reactive. A modification of rocket immunoelectrophoresis was developed to determine the amount of RNase in unpurified tissue extracts. The technique involved a template-reservoir which allowed detection of 250 ng RNase in tissue extract volumes of 50 μl. The amount of RNase in unpurified protein extracts from the two cultivars of barley was similar.     

Immunochemical studies on phosphoglycerate kinase deficiency

Antisera to normal erythrocyte and skeletal muscle PGK, raised in rabbits, were shown to cross-react with extracts from normal tissues and with extracts from a subject with PGK deficiency. Radial immunodiffusion, using the antisera raised against normal human PGK, was used to determine the amount of cross-reacting PGK protein present in extracts of several tissues from an affected subject. For all tissues tested, activity was only a small percentage of the PGK protein concentration. In particular, evidence for normal levels of protein in erythrocytes and myocardium was obtained. The results indicate that the deficiency is due to a structural mutation of the enzyme.     

Plasmodium lophurae: Antibody-induced movement and capping of surface membranes of erythrocyte-free malarial parasites

Surface antigens of the avian malarial parasite, Plasmodium lophurae, and its host cell, the duckling erythrocyte, were visualized at the ultrastructural level using rabbit antisera and ferritin-labeled goat anti-rabbit IgG. Rabbit antisera to P. lophurae caused an aggregation of parasite and parasitophorous vacuole surface membrane antigens, a phenomenon known as capping. Capping required living plasmodia and did not occur if parasites had been fixed with glutaraldehyde prior to exposure to antisera. Antisera against duckling erythrocytes did not cross-react with erythrocyte-free malarial parasites, and did not form caps on the surface of the red blood cell. Antiplasmodial sera did not react with normal or malaria-infected red cells. These results suggest that surface membrane proteins of the intracellular plasmodium are capable of lateral movement.     

Protein G: a powerful tool for binding and detection of monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies

Protein G is an immunoglobulin (IgG)-binding bacterial cell wall protein recently isolated from group G streptococci. We have investigated the avidity of protein G for various monoclonal and polyclonal Ig of the IgG class, and compared it with the binding properties of protein A, the staphylococcal Fc-binding protein. Radiolabeled Ig were mixed with Sepharose-coupled protein G or protein A, and the amounts of radioactivity bound to the matrix-coupled bacterial proteins were determined. The avidity was found to be greater for protein G than for protein A for all examined Ig. Protein G bound all tested monoclonal IgG from mouse IgG1, IgG2a, and IgG3, and rat IgG2a, IgG2b, and IgG2c. In addition, polyclonal IgG from man, cow, rabbit, goat, rat, and mouse bound to protein G, whereas chicken IgG did not. The binding property of protein G was additionally exploited in the Western blot assay, in which iodine-labeled protein G was used successfully for the detection of a rat monoclonal antibody against ovalbumin, and for the detection of rabbit and goat polyclonal whole antisera against human urinary proteins. In these experimental situations, protein G was found to be a powerful reagent for the detection of IgG, and consequently the antigen against which these antibodies are directed.     

The purification and characterization of rabbit placental lactogen.

Rabbit placental lactogen, a polypeptide hormone functionally related to the growth hormone/prolactin family, was isolated from placenta by (NH4)2SO4 precipitation, gel filtration and ion-exchange chromatography on DEAE-and CM-cellulose. The hormone was purified to more than 90% homogeneity, as determined by end-group analysis. On disc gel electrophoresis at pH9.0 it migrates as a pair of closely spaced bands with mobilities of 0.489 (minor band) and 0.511 (major band), and its isoelectric point is 6.1. Its mol.wt. is 20600, as determined by sedimentation--equilibrium centrifugation, and 24200, as estimated by gel electrophoresis in sodium dodecyl sulphate. Its amino acid composition resembles that of rabbit growth hormone and rat prolactin, except for a lower glutamic acid and leucine content. Like the prolactins, rabbit placental lactogen has two tryptophan and six cysteine residues, and its N-terminus, valine, is identical with that for human placental lactogen. By radioimmunoassay, it does not cross-react with antisera to either rat growth hormone or rat prolactin; in addition, it does not cross-react with antisera to bovine placental lactogen by double immunodiffusion. The similarity of the biochemical characteristics of rabbit placental lactogen to the other non-primate placental lactogens lends further support to the hypothesis that these molecules occupy a more central position in the growth hormone/prolactin "tree" than do their primate counterparts.     

Biological properties of antibodies against rat adipocyte intrinsic membrane proteins. Dependence on multivalency for insulin-like activity.

Antisera from rabbits injected with rat adipocyte plasma membranes or intrinsic proteins from such membranes, obtained by a dimethylmaleic anhydride extraction step, mimicked the action of insulin on both glucose transport and lipolysis in intact adipocytes. Biological activity in both types of antisera was mediated by immunoglobulin binding to one or more intrinsic proteins of the adipocyte plasma membrane since fat cells were unresponsive to all antisera absorbed with dimethylmaleic anhydride-extracted membranes. Acid treatment of immunoprecipitates released antibodies which activated glucose uptake and reacted with solubilized adipocyte membranes on immunodiffusion plates. The biologically active immunoglobulin preparations failed to form immunoprecipitin lines when tested against membranes from brain, liver, lung, muscle, kidney, and spleen. Insulin-sensitive glucose uptake in rat soleus muscle did not respond to the antisera. The antibodies activated hexose uptake into fat cells and reacted with solubilized adipocyte membranes on immunodiffusion plates when rat or mouse adipocytes were studied, but not when monkey fat cells were used. The anti-membrane antibody preparations readily activated hexose uptake in trypsinized fat cells which had lost the capacity to bind or respond to insulin. These data are consistent with the concept previously proposed (Pillion, D.J., and Czech, M.P. (1978) J. Biol. Chem. 253, 3761-3764) that the anti-membrane immunoglobulins do not interact with the insulin binding site of the insulin receptor. Monovalent Fab fragments of the biologically active antisera, prepared by papain digestion of the native anti-membrane immunoglobulins, were ineffective in enhancing glucose uptake in adipocytes. However, biological activity of the anti-membrane Fab fragments was restored by the addition of goat anti-rabbit Fab antisera to cells treated with the Fab fraction. Anti-rabbit Fab antisera alone or in combination with Fab fragments prepared from control rabbit sera exhibited no biological activity. These results demonstrate that the ability of anti-membrane antisera to mimic the biological activity of insulin on isolated fat cells is critically dependent on immunoglobulin binding to one or more intrinsic plasma membrane proteins and the multivalent nature of immunoglobulin structure.     

Double radial immunodiffusion as a tool to identify pregnancy-associated glycoproteins in ruminant and nonruminant placentae

Pregnancy-associated glycoproteins (PAGs) are antigens synthesized in the superficial layers of the ruminant trophoblast. Initially, they were identified either as proteins released into the maternal bloodstream (where they have applications in pregnancy diagnosis) (PAG1) or as molecules binding to the LH receptor (PAG2). In this study, double radial immunodiffusion was used to test the ability of antisera raised against different PAG molecules (bovine, ovine and caprine) to react with placental extracts from nonruminants (rabbit, cat, mouse, pig, and wild pig) and ruminants (cow, ewe, and goat). Placental extracts from all nonruminants tested except rabbit reacted with anti bovine PAG2 (anti-boPAG2). Extracts of ruminant placentas reacted with different antisera, confirming the expression of various PAG molecules. According to the time at which the placentas were collected (early or middle pregnancy), the reaction differed as regards the thickness, position, and number of precipitation lines, suggesting that PAG expression varies as pregnancy progresses. Bos indicus and Bos taurus placental extracts exhibited different reactions with anti-boPAG2: a single precipitation line in the former case and two lines in the latter. This suggests differential expression of boPAG2 related glycoproteins in these two subspecies.     

Comparative Biochemical and Immunological Studies of Bacterial Glutamine Synthetases

Antisera prepared against adenylylated and unadenylylated Escherichia coli glutamine synthetase cross-reacted with the glutamine synthetases from a number of gram-negative bacteria and one gram-variable species as demonstrated by immunodiffusion and inhibition of enzyme activity. In contrast, the antisera did not cross-react with the glutamine synthetases from gram-positive bacteria (with one exception) nor with the synthetases of higher organisms. Modification of the various glutamine synthetases by covalent attachment of adenosine 5'-monophosphate (or other nucleotides) was tested for by determining whether or not snake venom phosphodiesterase altered catalytic activity in a manner similar to its effect on adenylylated E. coli glutamine synthetase. Only the activity of the glutamine synthetases from gram-negative bacteria grown with specific levels of nitrogen sources could be altered by snake venom phosphodiesterase. In addition, a relative order of antigenic homology between cross-reacting enzymes was suggested based on the patterns of spur formation in the immunodiffusion assay.     

Antiserum inhibition of rabbit spermatozoal adherence to ova

The in vitro effects of different normal and immune sera, rabbit oviductal fluid, and culture media from incubations of female reproductive tissues on the adherence of rabbit spermatozoa to rabbit and rat ova is described. There were no apparent differences in results due to species of ova. Adherence of spermatozoa to ova was not affected by treatment with normal sera. Antisera against materials that contained spermatozoa such as semen epididymal spermatozoa and testis completely inhibited the spermatozoa from attaching to ova and caused considerable agglutination of sperm cells in the incubation slides. When the agglutinating and immobilizing activities of rabbit and goat antisera were removed by papain treatment the antiadherent effect of the antisera was unaffected. Oviductal secretions and concentrated media from the culture of reproductive tissue from female rabbits isoimmunized with semen inhibited adherence of sperm.     

An immunological study of the uncoupling protein of brown adipose tissue mitochondria

1. Ewes were injected with purified 32,000-Mr uncoupling protein from mitochondria of brown adipose tissue of cold-adapted rats in order to raise antibodies. 2. The existence of antibodies in the plasma of ewes and the cross-reactivity of plasmas were demonstrated and studied by 125I-labelled antigen-antibody reaction, double immunodiffusion, the inhibition of GDP binding to the 32,000 Mr protein and by immunohistochemistry. 3. The antibodies raised against the homogeneous protein yielded a single immunoprecipitation band with detergent-solubilized mitochondrial membranes of brown adipose tissue from rat, hamster, guinea-pig, rabbit and with the purified uncoupling protein of these animals. No immunoprecipitation was obtained with the protein purified from brown adipose tissue of term lamb foetus. 4. The GDP-binding activity of the uncoupling protein (isolated or in solubilized membranes) was largely inhibited by the antiserum. 5. The anti-(rat uncoupling protein) could not cross-react with solubilized membranes from liver or muscle, nor with the purified beef heart or rat liver ADP/ATP translocator.     

Trypanosoma vivax: Absence of host protein on the surface coat

The possible presence of host serum proteins on the surface of Trypanosoma vivax stock Zaria Y486 was studied. Intact washed bloodstream forms from mice were not lysed or neutralized by antisera against mouse serum proteins. Serum against T. vivax prepared in rabbits against an antigen which was a water-soluble trypanosome extract, failed to cross-react with mouse serum when tested by immunoelectrophoresis and immunodiffusion. The T. vivax antigen failed to cross-react with three different anti-mouse sera when tested by the same techniques.Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) analyses of ¹²⁵I-surface-labeled parasites showed the presence of a cluster of proteins ranging in molecular weights between 57,000 and 45,000 daltons. None of these proteins was precipitated by anti-mouse serum protein sera. The serum against T. vivax precipitated a protein of 50,000 daltons molecular weight.     

Antigenic relationships between chloroplast and cytosolic fructose-1,6-bisphosphatases.

Cytosolic fructose-1,6-biphosphatases (FBPase, EC 3.1.3.11) from pea (Pisum sativum L. cv Lincoln) and spinach (Spinacia oleracea L. cv Winter Giant) did not cross-react by double immunodiffusion and western blotting with either of the antisera raised against the chloroplast enzyme of both species; similarly, pea and spinach chloroplast FBPases did not react with the spinach cytosolic FBPase antiserum. On the other hand, spinach and pea chloroplast FBPases showed strong cross-reactions against the antisera to chloroplast FBPases, in the same way that the pea and spinach cytosolic enzymes displayed good cross-reactions against the antiserum to spinach cytosolic FBPase. Crude extracts from spinach and pea leaves, as well as the corresponding purified chloroplast enzymes, showed by western blotting only one band (44 and 43 kD, respectively) in reaction with either of the antisera against the chloroplast enzymes. A unique fraction of molecular mass 38 kD appeared when either of the crude extracts or the purified spinach cytosolic FBPase were analyzed against the spinach cytosolic FBPase antiserum. These molecular sizes are in accordance with those reported for the subunits of the photosynthetic and gluconeogenic FBPases. Chloroplast and cytosolic FBPases underwent increasing inactivation when increasing concentrations of chloroplast or cytosolic anti-FBPase immunoglobulin G (IgG), respectively, were added to the reaction mixture. However, inactivations were not observed when the photosynthetic enzyme was incubated with the IgG to cytosolic FBPase, or vice versa. Quantitative results obtained by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) showed 77% common antigenic determinants between the two chloroplast enzymes when tested against the spinach photosynthetic FBPase antiserum, which shifted to 64% when assayed against the pea antiserum. In contrast, common antigenic determinats between the spinach cytosolic FBPase and the two chloroplast enzymes were less than 10% when the ELISA test was carried out with either of the photosynthetic FBPase antisera, and only 5% when the assay was performed with the antiserum to the spinach cytosolic FBPase. These results were supported by sequencing data: the deduced amino acid sequence of a chloroplast FBPase clone isolated from a pea cDNA library indicated a 39,253 molecular weight protein, with a homology of 85% with the spinach chloroplast FBPase but only 48.5% with the cytosolic enzyme from spinach.     

Antigenic comparison of five species of mammalian zonae pellucidae

A comparison of glycoproteins of the zona pellucida (ZP) of five different mammalian species (cat, dog, rabbit, pig, and rat) has been made using polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies. In an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), polyclonal antisera against total rabbit and pig ZP recognize their homologous ZP to the greatest extent but also detect crossreactive antigenic determinants in the ZP of all other species tested. Polyclonal antibodies against each of two purified rabbit ZP glycoproteins or one purified pig ZP glycoprotein also show some recognition of heterologous (pig, cat, and dog) ZP, but not rat ZP. Monoclonal antibodies (McR5-rabbit ZP protein determinant; McPSI-determinant associated with post-translational modifications of pig ZP proteins such as carbohydrates) further demonstrate that specific determinants are shared between some but not all of these mammalian species. For example, both of these antibodies recognize distinct determinants which are most abundant in pig and cat ZP. However, McR5 recognizes a determinant on all species of ZP except the rat, while McPSI does not recognize either the rabbit or rat ZP. Collectively, these studies suggest that the molecules of the pig, dog, and cat ZP are more closely related to each other than to those of the rabbit ZP, while there is little similarity with rat ZP molecules. Immunoblot analysis of ZP glycoproteins separated by two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis was used to identify antigenic relationships among four different species. The polyclonal antisera show that all of the major proteins of pig, rabbit, cat, and dog ZP are antigenically related.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Detection and partial characterization of two bovine pregnancy-specific proteins

Two pregnancy-specific proteins were detected by immunoelectrophoresis using antisera developed to homogenates of bovine extraembryonic membranes. Antisera also reacted to extracts of endometrium from pregnant cows and extraembryonic fluids. However, antisera did not react with a preparation presumed to be bovine placental lactogen, fetuin, extracts of various somatic tissues from pregnant cows or extracts of endometrium from nonpregnant cows. One of the proteins had an estimated molecular weight of 65,000-70,000, an isoelectric point of 4.6-4.8 and yielded a reaction of identity with bovine alpha 1-fetoprotein by immunodiffusion. The second protein yielded a reaction of identity with bovine alpha 1-fetoprotein by immunodiffusion. The second protein had no immunological cross-reactivity with the known proteins or organ extracts which were tested. The molecular weight and isoelectric point was 47,000-53,000 and 4.0-4.4, respectively. These data demonstrate the presence of at least 2 pregnancy-specific proteins in cattle.     

Studies on the immunological cross-reactivity and physical properties of fatty acid synthetases

Fatty acid synthetase enzymes were purified from the liver, mammary gland, and adipose tissue of rats and the liver and mammary gland of mice. The enzymes from the liver and mammary gland of the same species have similar molecular weights and and dissociate into subunits at comparable rates.Rabbit antisera were prepared against the fatty acid synthetase from the lactating rat mammary gland. Cross-reactivity between different fatty acid synthetases was determined by immunodiffusion and immunoprecipitin tests. No differences in immunological cross-reactivity could be detected in liver, mammary gland, and adipose enzymes from the same species; fatty acid synthetases from the rat and mouse gave reactions of incomplete identity. Partially purified fatty acid synthetases from pigeon liver and rabbit mammary gland did not react with the antiserum.It is concluded that the immunochemical approach is useful in determining the degree of resemblance between fatty acid synthetases from different species. Within a given species, the liver and mammary gland fatty acid synthetases seem to be very similar, if not identical, proteins.     

L-type glycogen synthase. Tissue distribution and electrophoretic mobility

We previously reported (Kaslow, H.R., and Lesikar, D.D.FEBS Lett. (1984) 172, 294-298) the generation of antisera against rat skeletal muscle glycogen synthase. Using immunoblot analysis, the antisera recognized the enzyme in crude extracts from rat skeletal muscle, heart, fat, kidney, and brain, but not liver. These results suggested that there are at least two isozymes of glycogen synthase, and that most tissues contain a form similar or identical to the skeletal muscle type, referred to as "M-type" glycogen synthase. We have now used an antiserum specific for the enzyme from liver, termed "L-type" glycogen synthase, to study its distribution and electrophoretic mobility. Immunoblot analysis using this antiserum indicates that L-type glycogen synthase is found in liver, but not skeletal muscle, heart, fat, kidney, or brain. In sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gels of crude liver extracts prepared with protease inhibitors, rat L-type synthase was detected with electrophoretic mobility Mapp = 85,000. In contrast, the M-type enzyme in crude skeletal muscle extracts with protease inhibitors was detected with Mapp = 86,000 and 89,000. During purification of L-type synthase, apparent proteolysis can generate forms with increased electrophoretic mobility (Mapp = 75,000), still recognized by the antiserum. These M-type and L-type antisera did not recognize a protein with Mapp greater than phosphorylase. The anti-rat L-type antisera recognized glycogen synthase in blots of crude extracts of rabbit liver, but with Mapp = 88,000, a value 3,000 greater than that found for the rat liver enzyme. The anti-rat M-type antisera failed to recognize the enzyme in blots of crude extracts of rabbit muscle. Thus, in both muscle and liver, the corresponding rat and rabbit enzymes are structurally different. Because the differences described above persist after resolving these proteins by denaturing sodium dodecyl sulfate electrophoresis, these differences reside in the structure of the proteins themselves, not in some factor bound to the protein in crude extracts.     

Characterization of immunoreactive motilin from the rat small intestine.

Immunocytochemistry, radioimmunoassay, chromatography, and biological assay using a rabbit isolated duodenal muscle strip preparation were used in attempting to characterize motilin from the rat small intestine. Several different antisera and monoclonal antibodies directed against natural porcine motilin were used. A variety of fixation techniques using Bouin's, paraformaldehyde, and benzoquinone with different staining methods including, fluorescein-conjugated second antibody, peroxidase-antiperoxidase or peroxidase-conjugated second antibody techniques were used. All methods failed to detect immunoreactive motilin cells in the rat small intestine. The same antisera were used in radioimmunoassays for motilin to evaluate extracts of rat intestinal tissue. Two of these detected immunoreactive motilin in gut extracts, and these antisera showed a different distribution for the peptide. Samples containing immunoreactive motilin obtained from cation exchange chromatography on SP-Sephadex-G25 were concentrated and assayed for biological activity in a rabbit duodenal muscle strip preparation. Desensitization of duodenal tissue to porcine motilin could be demonstrated by pretreatment with this peptide. The biological activity of partially purified rat intestinal immunoreactive motilin was not prevented by pretreatment of the tissue with motilin. Further purification of this preparation on Bio-Gel P-10 yielded an immunoreactive motilin peak that co-eluted with natural porcine motilin. Rat intestinal immunoreactive motilin did not co-elute with natural porcine motilin following high pressure liquid chromatography on a Waters microBondapak C18 reversed-phase column using a linear gradient of water-acetonitrile (10-45%) over 30 min. Although of similar molecular size, rat motilin is probably structurally dissimilar to other mammalian motilins.     

The antibody response to myoglobin is independent of the immunized species. Analysis in terms of replacements in the antigenic sites and in environmental residues of the cross-reactions of fifteen myoglobins with sperm-whale myoglobin antisera raised in different species.

The recent determination of the entire antigenic structure of sperm-whale myoglobin with rabbit and goat antisera has permitted the examination of whether the antigenic structure recognized by antibodies depends on the species in which the antisera are raised. Also, by knowledge of the antigenic structure, the molecular factors that determine and influence antigenicity can be better understood in terms of the effects of amino acid substitutions occurring in the antigenic sites and in the environmental residues of the sites. In the present work, the myoglobins from finback whale, killer whale, horse, chimpanzee, sheep, goat, bovine, echidna, viscacha, rabbit, dog, cape fox, mouse and chicken were examined for their ability to cross-react with antisera to sperm-whale myoglobin. By immunoadsorbent titration studies with radioiodinated antibodies, each of these myoglobins was able to bind antibodies to sperm-whale myoglobin raised in goat, rabbit, chicken, cat, pig and outbred mouse. It was found that the extent of cross-reaction of a given myoglobin was not dependent on the species in which the antisera were raised. This indicated that the antibody response to sperm-whale myoglobin (i.e. its antigenic structure) is independent of the species in which the antisera are raised and is not directed to regions of sequence differences between the injected myoglobin and the myoglobin of the immunized host. Indeed, in each antiserum from a given species examined, that antiserum reacted with the myoglobin of that species. The extent of this auto-reactivity for a given myoglobin was comparable with the general extent of cross-reactivity shown by that myoglobin with antisera raised in other species. The cross-reactivities and auto-reactivities (both of which are of similar extents for a given myoglobin) can be reasonably rationalized in terms of the effects of amino acid substitutions within the antigenic sites and within the residues close to these sites. These findings confirm that the antigenicity of the sites is inherent in their three-dimensional locations.     

Corticotrophin-related peptides in the intermediate lobe of the rodent pituitary gland: characterization by high performance liquid chromatography and radioimmunoassay

High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and radioimmunoassay have been used to characterize corticotrophin-related peptides in extracts of the intermediate lobe of the rat and mouse pituitary gland. Multiple peaks have been observed, which resemble corticotrophin-like intermediate lobe peptide (CLIP) in that they cross-react with antisera raised against the COOH-terminal region of corticotrophin (ACTH) but not against NH2-terminal directed antisera. These CLIP-like peptides were released from the incubated neurointermediate lobe and their secretion was inhibited in the presence of dopamine. Heterogeneity of peptide species was also observed with antisera raised against alpha-MSH. Multiple peaks of CLIP and alpha-MSH-like material were identified in pituitary extracts from the mouse and levels were elevated in the genetically obese (ob/ob) animal. The nature and possible functions of multiple forms of intermediate lobe peptides are discussed.