Identification of substance P metabolites using a combination of reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography and capillary electrophoresis

Gradient elution reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic and capillary electrophoretic separations were optimised to separate substance P (SP) and twelve of its fragments. The methods were applied to a study of the in vivo metabolism of substance P in the rat after intrastriatal injection of the peptide (10 nmol). SP and significant amounts of its N-terminal fragments, SP(1-7) and SP(1-4), were detected but no major C-terminal fragments could be identified. At the concentration studied, the metabolism of SP was shown to follow zero order elimination kinetics with a rate of decay of 0.2 nmol/min. As we have shown that SP(1–4) and SP(1–7) can be produced in vivo in the striatum in relatively large amounts, it is conceivable that these fragments contribute to the overall pharmacological pattern of activity of the parent peptide.     

Identification and conformational changes of the intestinal proline carrier

Fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) was used to selectively label the rabbit intestinal brush-border imino carrier, identify the binding protein on SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, and monitor the effect of ions on fluorescein quenching. FITC inhibits Na+-dependent L-proline transport irreversibly, but transport is protected by physiological concentrations of Na+ and L-proline. About 1 nmol of FITC/mg of protein binds specifically to the transporter, which was identified by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis as a 100 +/- 5-kDa peptide. Na+ produced a specific, saturable quench in the fluorescence of FITC bound to the proline carrier. Both transport and FITC quenching are inhibited by n-acetylimidazole, and membranes are protected from acetylation by Na+. We conclude that Na+ binds to the proline carrier (100-kDa peptide) to produce a change in conformation that results in an increase in the affinity of the carrier for proline.     

Purification and sequencing of a trypsin-sensitive cholecystokinin-releasing peptide from rat pancreatic juice. Its homology with pancreatic secretory trypsin inhibitor

The trypsin-sensitive cholecystokinin-releasing peptide is a peptide purified from rat pancreatic juice on the basis of its stimulatory activity toward pancreatic enzyme secretion. We postulate that the peptide acts as a mediator of pancreatic enzyme secretion in response to dietary protein intake and that it (designated as "monitor peptide" from its role in the intestine) could be responsible for the feedback regulation of pancreatic enzyme secretion. About 20 nmol of the highly purified peptide were obtained from 800 ml of rat pancreatic juice by reverse-phase high performance liquid chromatography. It was then sequenced. The peptide comprises 61 amino acid residues (Table I). It has a sequence that closely resembles that of a highly conserved region in pancreatic secretory trypsin inhibitors (PSTIs, Kazal type inhibitor): -Ile-Tyr-Asx-Pro-Val-Cys-Gly-Thr-Asx-Gly-. However, the peptide is less related to other mammalian PSTIs than they are to each other. The additional 5 residues at the NH2 terminus make the peptide larger than the common 56-residue PSTIs. The trypsin-sensitive cholecystokinin-releasing peptide is to be classified as a Kazal-type inhibitor and may be one of the rat PSTIs or a related peptide. The present results and increasing evidence from other laboratories and ours suggest that Kazal-type inhibitors play previously unrecognized multiple physiological roles.     

UNiquant, a program for quantitative proteomics analysis using stable isotope labeling

Stable isotope labeling (SIL) methods coupled with nanoscale liquid chromatography and high resolution tandem mass spectrometry are increasingly useful for elucidation of the proteome-wide differences between multiple biological samples. Development of more effective programs for the sensitive identification of peptide pairs and accurate measurement of the relative peptide/protein abundance are essential for quantitative proteomic analysis. We developed and evaluated the performance of a new program, termed UNiquant, for analyzing quantitative proteomics data using stable isotope labeling. UNiquant was compared with two other programs, MaxQuant and Mascot Distiller, using SILAC-labeled complex proteome mixtures having either known or unknown heavy/light ratios. For the SILAC-labeled Jeko-1 cell proteome digests with known heavy/light ratios (H/L = 1:1, 1:5, and 1:10), UNiquant quantified a similar number of peptide pairs as MaxQuant for the H/L = 1:1 and 1:5 mixtures. In addition, UNiquant quantified significantly more peptides than MaxQuant and Mascot Distiller in the H/L = 1:10 mixtures. UNiquant accurately measured relative peptide/protein abundance without the need for postmeasurement normalization of peptide ratios, which is required by the other programs.     

Protein processing and other modifications analyzed by diagonal peptide chromatography

Diagonal peptide chromatography consists of two consecutive, identical peptide separations with in between an enzymatic or chemical alteration of the side-chain structure of selected peptides. Such selected and altered peptides acquire different chromatographic properties thereby segregating from non-altered peptides in a series of secondary peptide separations. Originally described by Brown and Hartley in 1966, we have modified the technique such that it can be used for higher throughput gel-free proteomics. Our technique is termed COmbined FRActional DIagonal Chromatography (COFRADIC) and exploits evoked differences of the hydrophobicity of peptides in reverse-phase liquid chromatography. One important advantage of COFRADIC is its versatility: by changing the alteration reaction, different classes of peptides are sorted and finally analyzed. We previously published protocols and applications for separating methionyl, cysteinyl, amino terminal and phosphorylated peptides. In this review, we assess the potential of COFRADIC for the analysis of several posttranslational modifications emphasizing on in vivo protein processing events. Additional modifications that can be analyzed include phosphorylation and N-glycosylation. The potential of COFRADIC for isolating peptides holding such modified amino acids are discussed here.     

Multidimensional separations for protein/peptide analysis in the post-genomic era

Proteomics is the study of all or part of the protein complement of genes in an organism, often involving the analysis of complex protein/peptide samples. Such complex samples are beyond the separation capacity of 1-D separation techniques. This review describes several multidimensional separations for proteins and peptides. First, several variants of 2-D liquid chromatography (2DLC) are reviewed, including coupled size exclusion-reversed phase, ion exchange-reversed phase, and reversed phase-reversed phase chromatography. Second, we describe coupled liquid chromatography and capillary electrophoresis methods. Finally, a multidimensional protein identification technique (MudPIT) is explained in detail. Each of the described techniques has a much higher separation capacity than 1-D methods and can potentially be automated for high-throughput experiments. In particular, MudPIT takes advantage of both the high separation capacity of 2DLC and the powerful peptide characterization ability of tandem mass spectrometry to analyze complex protein samples. Additional applications and developments of multidimensional liquid separations for proteomics are expected in the future.     

Use of the fluorescent timer DsRED-E5 as reporter to monitor dynamics of gene activity in plants

Fluorescent proteins, such as green fluorescent protein and red fluorescent protein (DsRED), have become frequently used reporters in plant biology. However, their potential to monitor dynamic gene regulation is limited by their high stability. The recently made DsRED-E5 variant overcame this problem. DsRED-E5 changes its emission spectrum over time from green to red in a concentration independent manner. Therefore, the green to red fluorescence ratio indicates the age of the protein and can be used as a fluorescent timer to monitor dynamics of gene expression. Here, we analyzed the potential of DsRED-E5 as reporter in plant cells. We showed that in cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) mesophyll protoplasts, DsRED-E5 changes its fluorescence in a way similar to animal cells. Moreover, the timing of this shift is suitable to study developmental processes in plants. To test whether DsRed-E5 can be used to monitor gene regulation in plant organs, we placed DsRED-E5 under the control of promoters that are either up- or down-regulated (MtACT4 and LeEXT1 promoters) or constitutively expressed (MtACT2 promoter) during root hair development in Medicago truncatula. Analysis of the fluorescence ratios clearly provided more accurate insight into the timing of promoter activity.     

Influence of gp41 fusion peptide on the kinetics of poly(ethylene glycol)-mediated model membrane fusion

The fusion peptide of the HIV fusion protein gp41 is required for viral fusion and entry into a host cell, but it is unclear whether this 23-residue peptide can fuse model membranes. We address this question for model membrane vesicles in the presence and absence of aggregating concentrations of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG). PEG had no effect on the physical properties of peptide bound to membranes or free in solution. We tested for fusion of both highly curved and uncurved PC/PE/SM/CH (35:30:15:20 mol %) vesicles and highly curved PC/PE/CH (1:1:1) vesicles treated with peptide in the presence and absence of PEG. Fusion was never observed in the absence of PEG, although high peptide concentrations led to aggregation and rupture, especially in unstable PC/PE/CH (1:1:1) vesicles. When 5 wt % PEG was present to aggregate vesicles, peptide enhanced the rate of lipid mixing between curved PC/PE/SM/CH vesicles in proportion to the peptide concentration, with this effect leveling off at peptide/lipid (P/L) ratios approximately 1:200. Peptide produced an even larger effect on the rate of contents mixing but inhibited contents mixing at P/L ratios >1:200. No fusion enhancement was seen with uncurved vesicles. The rate of fusion was also enhanced by the presence of hexadecane, and peptide-induced rate enhancement was not observed in the presence of hexadecane. We conclude that gp41 fusion peptide does not induce vesicle fusion at subrupturing concentrations but can enhance fusion between highly curved vesicles induced to fuse by PEG. The different effects of peptide on the rates of lipid mixing and fusion pore formation suggest that, while gp41 fusion peptide does affect hemifusion, it mainly affects pore formation.     

Phosphorylation of purified bovine cardiac sarcolemma and potassium-stimulated calcium uptake

Sarcolemmal vesicles were prepared from bovine cardiac muscle by differential and discontinuous sucrose density gradient centrifugation. Na+/K+-ATPase was purified 33-fold to a specific activity of 53 +/- 0.5 (12) mumol Pi X mg-1 X h-1, binding sites for strophantin 20-fold to a density of 56.3 +/- 5.3 (14) pmol/mg and that for the calcium antagonist nitrendipine 5.5-fold to a density of 0.72 +/- 0.07 (6) pmol/mg. The specific activity of the Na+/Ca2+ exchanger was 61.1 +/- 3.7 (6) nmol/mg. The vesicles had an intravesicular volume of 20 +/- 4 (4) microliter/mg and 56.9 +/- 6 (4)% of the vesicles were right-side-out oriented. Several peptides of the purified membranes were phosphorylated in the presence of Mg . ATP and EGTA. Most of the radioactive phosphate was incorporated into a peptide with an apparent molecular mass of 22 kDa. Denaturation of the membranes at 100 degrees C changed the mobility of this peptide to 15 kDa and 11 kDa. This peptide could not be distinguished from a sarcoplasmic reticulum peptide of similar molecular mass. The phosphorylation of the sarcolemmal peptide was stimulated by Ca2+/calmodulin, cAMP and the catalytic subunit of cAMP-dependent protein kinase. A comparison of the phosphorylation of sarcolemmal membranes with that of sarcoplasmic reticulum showed that Ca2+/calmodulin stimulated in each membrane, the phosphorylation of the 22-kDa peptide and a 44-kDa peptide, and in the sarcoplasmic reticulum the phosphorylation of an additional peptide of 55-kDa. Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent phosphorylation of a 55-kDa peptide could not be demonstrated in sarcolemma, regardless if sarcolemmal membranes were incubated together with sarcoplasmic reticulum or if the phosphorylation was carried out in the presence of purified cardiac myosin light chain kinase or phosphorylase kinase. 'Depolarization' induced Ca2+ uptake which was measured according to Bartschat, D.K., Cyr, D.L. and Lindenmayer, G.E. [(1980) J. Biol. Chem. 255, 10044-10047] was 5 nmol/mg protein. This uptake was not enhanced after preincubation of the vesicles with Mg . ATP or Mg . ATP and cAMP-dependent protein kinase. The value of 5 nmol/mg protein is in agreement with the theoretical amount of Ca2+ which can be accumulated by the bovine cardiac sarcolemma in the absence of a driving force other than the Ca2+ gradient. The potassium-stimulated Ca2+ uptake was not blocked by the organic Ca2+ channel blockers. Prolonged incubation of Mg . ATP with sarcolemmal vesicles in the presence of various ATPase inhibitors led to the hydrolysis of ATP. The liberated phosphate precipitated with Ca2+ in the presence of LaCl3. These precipitates amounted to an apparent Ca2+ uptake ranging from 50 to over 1000 nmol/mg. The results suggest that potassium-stimulated Ca2+ uptake of bovine cardiac sarcolemmal vesicles is not enhanced in the presence of ATP or by phosphorylation of a 22-kDa peptide.     

Protein synthesis, RNA concentrations, nitrogen excretion, and metabolism vary seasonally in the Antarctic holothurian Heterocucumis steineni (Ludwig 1898)

Seasonal changes in protein and nitrogen metabolism have not previously been reported in any Antarctic suspension-feeding species that ceases feeding for extended periods in winter. To provide comparison with data reported on Nacella concinna, a species that continues to feed in winter, we have measured feeding activity; oxygen consumption; ammonia, urea, and fluorescamine-positive substance (FPS) excretion; O : N ratios; body wall protein synthesis; RNA to protein ratios; and RNA activity at three times during the year in an Antarctic suspension-feeding holothurian. Feeding activity ceased for 4 mo during winter, and oxygen consumption rates decreased from 8.79+/-0.43 micro mol h(-1) to 4.48+/-0.34 micro mol h(-1). Ammonia excretion also decreased during winter from 2,600+/-177 nmol N h(-1) to 974+/-70 nmol N h(-1), but urea excretion rates increased from 178+/-36 nmol N h(-1) to 281+/-110 nmol N h(-1), while FPS excretion rates remained unchanged throughout the year with a seasonal mean of 88+/-13 nmol N h(-1). Oxygen to nitrogen ratios ranged between 6 and 10, suggesting that proteins were used as the primary metabolic substrate. Body wall protein synthesis rates decreased from 0.35%+/-0.03% d(-1) in summer to 0.23% d(-1) in winter, while RNA to protein ratios decreased from 33.10+/-1.0 microg RNA mg(-1) protein in summer to 27.88+/-1.3 microg RNA mg(-1) protein in winter, and RNA activity was very low, ranging between 0.11+/-0.01 mg protein mg(-1) RNA d(-1) in summer and 0.06+/-0.01 mg protein mg(-1) RNA d(-1) in winter. Heterocucumis steineni shows a larger seasonal decrease in oxygen consumption and ammonia excretion between February (summer) and July (winter) than N. concinna, while the proportional decrease in protein synthesis rates is similar in both species.     

降钙素基因相关肽对大鼠肺泡上皮Ⅱ型细胞间质转分化的作用及机制

目的：观察降钙素基因相关肽（CGRP）对大鼠肺泡上皮细胞间质转分化（EMT）的作用并探讨其机制。方法：实验设Control组、TGF-β1（5 ng/ml）、CGRP （1、10、100 nmol/L）组、CGRP8-37（1 μmol/L）+CGRP （100 nmol/L）组。每组设9个复孔。细胞分别用CGRP或加CGRP8-37预处理1 h,再用转化生长因子β1（TGF-β1）处理48 h。MTT法检测大鼠肺泡上皮Ⅱ型细胞（RLE-6TN细胞）活性。分别采用Real-time PCR和Western blot检测细胞E-cadherin、α-SMA、eIF3a、Notch1和collagen Ⅲ mRNA及蛋白表达。结果：与TGF-β1（5 ng/ml）相比,不同剂量CGRP （1、10、100 nmol/L）均可明显提高RLE-6TN细胞活性,显著抑制eIF3a、Notch1、α-SMA及collagen Ⅲ胶原的表达,上调E-cadherin的表达,而CGRP的这些作用可以被CGRP阻断剂CGRP8-37所取消。结论：CGRP对EMT具有一定的抑制作用,其机制可能与其抑制Notch1、eIF3a表达有关。     

Chromatographic determination of angiotensin-converting enzyme and angiotensinase activity

An analytical method utilizing an automatic amino acid analyzer is described for the separation, identification, and measurement of 5 to 50 nmol of angiotensin I, angiotensin II, [Des-Phe⁸]angiotensin II, Phe-His-Leu, His-Leu, isoleucine, leucine, tyrosine, and phenylalanine. Aminex A-5 cation-exchange resin (0.9 × 15 cm) is sequentially eluted with three sodium citrate buffers: pH 3.25, 0.2 n; pH 4.85, 0.54 n, and pH 6.5, 0.39 n at 60 and 80°C. Reaction with ninhydrin is used for detection. This chromatographic system was used to determine angiotensin-converting enzyme activity and the angiotensinase activity of rabbit brain endopeptidase B. In each assay, the unhydrolyzed substrate and both products were measured simultaneously in one step without pretreatment of the hydrolysate. Products were recovered in 1:1 molar ratios and the overall recovery of unhydrolyzed substrate of products was quantitative.     

High-affinity binding of testosterone in serum from normal developing chick embryos and during the graft-versus-host reaction

The sera of developing chicken embryos contain high-affinity, low-capacity protein binding sites for testosterone. The affinities remain constant throughout development, with mean values for the association constants of approx. 3.6 X 10(8) M-1 at 25 degrees C, whereas the concentration of sites varies markedly as a function of age: from approx. 2 nmol/g serum proteins in 11-day embryos, it rises to a peak of approx. 5-8 nmol at 14-16 days, then drops to approx. 2.6 nmol at 18 days and only 0.8-1 nmol in adults. Testosterone binding is inhibited by corticosterone, progesterone and dihydrotestosterone, and is little affected by estradiol. The testosterone and corticosterone binding properties of chicken sera show close similarities: parallel ontogenic patterns; constant ratios, throughout development, of the equilibrium binding parameters of the two steroids; mutual binding inhibition. The evidence strongly suggests that the two activities are associated, at least in part, with a common protein carrier(s). In growing embryos which undergo a graft-versus-host reaction, elicited by the graft of adult spleen tissue at 9 days of age, the testosterone and corticosterone binding activities are significantly decreased. This decrease is due to a fall in the number of sites, whereas association constants are not affected. This is the first high-affinity, saturable, testosterone-binding property to be described in an embryonic serum.     

Uptake and degradation of iodine-labelled chylomicron remnant particles by monolayers of rat hepatocytes.

1. Rat chylomicrons were labelled with 125I with 69--72% of the iodine in the protein moiety. Less than 1 nmol of iodine was incorporated per nmol of protein. Of the peptide radioactivity 44--56% was in apolipoprotein A-1, 30--40% in the C peptides and 11--15% in apolipoprotine B. The arginine-rich peptide, which accounted for about 14% of the chylomicron protein mass as determined by scanning of sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gels, contained very little radioactivity. 2. Chylomicron remnants generated with postheparin plasma from iodine-labelled chylomicrons showed a relative increase in the percentage of the arginine-rich peptide (76--90% of the apolipoprotein mass according to gel scanning). The major portion of the peptide iodine label was present in apolipoprotein A-1 (43--57%), B (22--32%) and C peptides (17--35%). 3. When iodine-labelled chylomicron remnants were added to rat hepatocytes in primary culture, labelled peptides were taken up and degraded by the hepatocytes by a saturable process. The Vmax. for the uptake was calculated to the 300ng of protein/h per mg of cell protein and the apparent Km as 7.7 microgram of protein/mg of cell protein. A larger proportion of the 125I-labelled lipids of the remnants (mainly polar lipids) was taken up. This suggest that these may also enter the cells by a mechanism that does not involve particulate uptake, such as phospholipid exchange. 4. The degradation of labelled peptides was inhibited by colchicine, concanavalin A, chloroquine and NH4Cl, which also inhibit degradation of the cholesteryl ester portion. All these drugs exerted their inhibition mainly after the uptake of labelled peptide. No degradation occurred at 4 degrees C, and also the uptake was markedly decreased. 5. The uptake of labelled chylomicron remnant peptide was 77 times as effective as that of labelled sucrose, which is likely to be taken up randomly by pinocytosis.     

Isolation of the terminal complement complex from target sheep erythrocyte membranes.

(1) Membranes from sheep erythrocytes lysed with antibody and human complement were solubilized in Triton X-100 and subjected to isoelectric focusing in polyacrylamide gels containing 1% Triton X-100. Membrane-bound serum proteins were located in the gels by subsequent immunoelectrophoresis against antisera to human serum proteins. Monospecific antisera against C9 and C5 were used to locate the terminal complement complex, which is not dissociated by Triton X-100. The complex focused between pH 5.8 and pH 6.5 and was separated from the bulk of other membrane-bound serum proteins, which focused at pH ranges below than 6.0. (2) In a second step, proteins electrophoretically eluted from the gel sections containing the terminal complement complex were chromatographed on Sepharose 6B equilibrated with 0.05% Triton X-100. Fused rocket immunoelectrophoresis was used to monitor separations. This step separated the terminal complement complex from the remaining contaminating proteins. The complex eluted in a broad peak corresponding to a molecular weight range of 800000-4000000. (3) The terminal complement complex thus obtained migrated with alpha-mobility and yielded a single precipitation arc in crossed immunoelectrophoresis using polyvalent antisera to human serum proteins. A distinct precipitate was obtained with monospecific anti-C9. The presence of C5 and C6, in complex with one another and with C9 was demonstrable by immuno-double-diffusion. No immunoprecipitate was obtained with antisera to sheep erythrocyte membrane proteins. (4) Dodecyl sulfate gel electrophoresis of the complex revealed seven protein bands of 190000, 160000, 115000, 93000, 85000, 68000 and 60000 daltons. Planimetric quantitation of densitometric scans gave a molar ratio of approx. 0.7:0.3:1:1:1:2:1 for these bands, respectively. All bands stained faintly with periodate-Schiff. Two-dimensional dodecyl sulfate gel electrophoresis showed that the first two bands (190000 and 160000 daltons, probably C5b and C5c) represented proteins possessing more than one peptide chain linked by disulfide bonds. The main subunit for both bands was a protein of approximately 68000 daltons. Band 5 (83000 daltons, probably C8alpha) was split into two peptide chains of approximately 68000 and 15000 daltons. The other components were not affected by dithiothreitol treatment. (5) The dodecyl sulfate gel electrophoretograms obtained were very similar to that described by Kolb and Müller-Eberhard (Kolb, W.P. and Müller-Eberhard, H.J. (1975) J. Exp. Med. 141, 724-735) for the terminal complement complex isolated from inulin-activated serum. However, certain minor but consistent deviations were observed. A preliminary correction of the electrophoretograms is presented.     

5-Hydroxytryptophyl peptides: potent inhibitors of a storage compartment of serotonin.

Several analogues of 5-hydroxytryptophan were tested for their ability to inhibit the binding of serotonin to serotonin-binding protein (SBP), a protein found within serotonergic neurons which has a high affinity for serotonin. An N-substituted dipeptide, N-acetyl-5-hydroxytryptophan-5-hydroxytryptophan amide, was found to be an inhibitor of this binding. The inhibition (50% at 1.0 μM) was specific, since it did not affect other known sites of serotonin binding. The binding of serotonin to its membrane receptor was not affected by the dipeptide (up to 10 μM). Uptake of serotonin by synaptosomes was only slightly affected (9% at 10 μM), and aromatic-L-amino-acid carboxy-lyase(EC 4.1.1.28) and amine: oxygen oxidoreductase (deaminating) (flavin-containing) (EC 1.4.3.4) were not inhibited (10 μM and 5 mM respectively), The peptide was not hydrolyzed by honiogenates of brain or myenteric plexus. The ¹⁴C-labelled dipeptide was shown to be taken up by synaptosomes. However, the uptake of the peptide was not affected either by drugs that inhibit serotonin uptake or by serotonin itself although the uptake was abolished by excess 5-hydroxytryptophan. Intraventricular injection of N-acetyl dipeptide caused a biphasic effect depending on dose. Lower doses (10nmol) induced a decrease in serotonin brain levels (40%). Higher doses (300 nmol) caused a 95% increase in serotonin levels. It is suggested that 5-hydroxytryptophyl peptides may be used as potent specific inhibitors of SBP, a storage compartment of serotonin.     

Optimization of reversed-phase peptide liquid chromatography ultraviolet mass spectrometry analyses using an automated blending methodology.

The balance between chromatographic performance and mass spectrometric response has been evaluated using an automated series of experiments where separations are produced by the real-time automated blending of water with organic and acidic modifiers. In this work, the concentration effects of two acidic modifiers (formic acid and trifluoroacetic acid) were studied on the separation selectivity, ultraviolet, and mass spectrometry detector response, using a complex peptide mixture. Peptide retention selectivity differences were apparent between the two modifiers, and under the conditions studied, trifluoroacetic acid produced slightly narrower (more concentrated) peaks, but significantly higher electrospray mass spectrometry suppression. Trifluoroacetic acid suppression of electrospray signal and influence on peptide retention and selectivity was dominant when mixtures of the two modifiers were analyzed. Our experimental results indicate that in analyses where the analyzed components are roughly equimolar (e.g., a peptide map of a recombinant protein), the selectivity of peptide separations can be optimized by choice and concentration of acidic modifier, without compromising the ability to obtain effective sequence coverage of a protein. In some cases, these selectivity differences were explored further, and a rational basis for differentiating acidic modifier effects from the underlying peptide sequences is described.     

Effect of a high-protein diet on the gene expression of a trypsin-sensitive, cholecystokinin-releasing peptide (monitor peptide) in the pancreas

The adaptation to a high protein diet of the concentration and mRNA level of a trypsin-sensitive, cholecystokinin-releasing peptide (monitor peptide), which was proposed to be the mediator of the cholecystokinin release in response to protein intake, was investigated in the rat pancreas. Adult rats were placed on one of two isocaloric diets. One group was fed a 22% casein diet (control diet) and the other a 64% casein diet (high-protein diet) for 14 days. In order to quantify the monitor peptide separately from pancreatic secretory trypsin inhibitor (PSTI-II), which is highly similar in its amino acid and mRNA nucleotide sequences to the monitor peptide but has less cholecystokinin-releasing activity, we used specific assay methods: HPLC was used for determining the monitor peptide concentration in zymogen granules and a synthetic oligonucleotide probe for determining the mRNA of the monitor peptide in the pancreas. The concentrations in the zymogen granules and the mRNA levels in the pancreas of the two peptides increased in parallel during the adaptation to the high protein diet, indicating that these two peptides were under the same control during the adaptation. The concentration and mRNA level of the monitor peptide, which were measured after 0, 3, and 14 days, increased throughout the experiment period, as did the concentration of trypsin. This suggested that the monitor peptide and trypsin may respond to similar signals during the adaptation to a high protein diet and that this apparent coordination may facilitate the adaptation of the pancreas to the diet.     

TPO模拟肽与人IgG1 Fc片段的融合表达及其生物学特性研究

依据本室获得的人TPO模拟肽序列,合成了该模拟肽的DNA序列,分别连接至4种不同长度的人IgG1 Fc基因片段的5′端,并克隆至质粒表达载体pET28a( ),转化大肠杆菌BL21（DE3）,筛选获得了4种重组工程菌,其中3种分别高效表达了3种不同长度的融合蛋白,而第4种工程菌未表达,表达的3种融合蛋白的分子量分别约为28kD,12kD和12kD。表达量约占菌体蛋白总量的30％左右,纯化获得了3种TPO模拟肽融合蛋白,3种融合蛋白均有较好的体外活性,维持TPO依赖细胞Ba/F3-mp1生长的EC50分别为：13,10,10nmol/L,用血小板减少症小鼠动物模型,测定了它们的体内活性,3种融合蛋白均有升高血小板和缩短血小板恢复时间的功能,分别比TPO模拟肽活性提高了18,8,8倍,而对白细胞及红细胞无显著影响,分别用3种融合蛋白免疫BALB／c小鼠,均未刺激小鼠产生抗TPO模拟肽抗体,并显示了较好的应用潜力。     

Influence of membrane-spanning alpha-helical peptides on the phase behavior of the dioleoylphosphatidylcholine/water system

The effect of solubilized hydrophobic peptides on the phase behavior of dioleoylphosphatidylcholine (DOPC)/water system was studied by 2H- and 31P-NMR spectroscopy and by x-ray diffraction, and partial phase diagrams were constructed. The utilized peptides were HCO-AWW(LA)5WWA-NHCH2CH2OH (WALP16), which is an artificial peptide designed to resemble a transmembrane part of a membrane protein; and VEYAGIALFFVAAVLTLWSMLQYLSAAR (Pgs peptide E), a peptide that is identical to one of the putative transmembrane segments of the membrane-associated protein phosphatidylglycerophosphate synthase (Pgs) in Escherichia coli. Circular dichroism spectroscopy suggests that both peptides are mostly alpha-helical in DOPC vesicles. The most striking features in the phase diagram of the WALP16/DOPC/water system are 1) a single lamellar liquid crystalline (L alpha) phase forms only at very low peptide concentrations. 2) At low water content and above a peptide/lipid molar ratio of approximately 1:75 a reversed hexagonal liquid crystalline (H[II]) phase coexists with an L alpha phase, while in excess water this phase forms at a peptide/lipid molar ratio of approximately 1:25. 3) At peptide/lipid ratios > or =1:6 a single H(II) phase is stable. Also, the Pgs peptide E strongly affects the phase behavior, and a single L alpha phase is only found at low peptide concentrations (peptide/lipid molar ratios <1:50), and water concentrations <45% (w/w). Higher peptide content results in coexistence of L alpha and isotropic phases. Generally, the fraction of the isotropic phase increases with increasing temperature and water concentration, and at 80% (w/w) water content only a single isotropic phase is stable at 55 degrees C. Thus, both peptides were found to be able to induce nonlamellar phases, although different in structure, in the DOPC/water system. The phase transitions, the extensions of the one-phase regions, and the phase structures observed for the two systems are discussed in terms of the molecular structure of the two peptides and the matching between the hydrophobic lengths of the peptides and the bilayer thickness of DOPC.