ISOLATION AND IDENTIFICATION OF γ-AMINOBUTYRYL-CYSTATHIONINE FROM HUMAN BRAIN AND CSF |
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| Authors: | Thomas L. Perry Shirley Hansen Gary M. Schier Berthold Halpern |
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| Affiliation: | Department of Pharmacology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada;Department of Chemistry, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, N.S.W., Australia |
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| Abstract: | Abstract— A new dipeptide, γ-aminobutyryl-cystathionine, has been identified in human brain and CSF. The compound was isolated from peptide concentrates which were prepared by removing free a-amino acids from deproteinized brain extracts on a copper Sephadex column. The isolated peptide was shown to be GABA-Cysta by standard chemical methods, and its identification was confirmed by mass spectrometry. GABA-Cysta is present in both biopsy and autopsy specimens of adult human brain, its content in some brain areas being as high as 0.090 μrnol/g wet weight. Its concentration in CSF is much lower. What physiologic role this unusual peptide plays in brain remains to be determined. |
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