Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UNIPROT:P01185 (vasopressin)
 23,126 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Light microscopic observations using Nomarski optics on the aldehyde-fixed hypothalamus of normal adult cats, monkeys and rabbits revealed the presence of cells in the supraoptic, paraventricular and periventricular nuclei which possessed yellow birefringent inclusions. Immunogold labelling showed that in each species the cells displayed oxytocin-like immunoreactivity, both in electron-dense inclusions within some (but not all) cisterns of rough endoplasmic reticulum and in secretory granules. The cells in cats and rabbits were in all respects indistinguishable from the homologous 'birefringent' cells previously described in rats, but in monkeys, cells frequently contained additional inclusions in cisterns of rough endoplasmic reticulum which did not display oxytocin or vasopressin-like immunoreactivity, even after trypsin, pepsin or chymotrypsin treatment of sections. Observations on cats and rabbits using fluorescence microscopy revealed that the birefringent cells possessed bright autofluorescence which facilitated the identification of more cells than were seen using Nomarski optics alone. Autofluorescence was abolished when sections were mounted in glycerol, or when exposed to light for protracted periods of time. Attempts to label for monoamines in these cells were not successful, suggesting that the fluorescence is not due to aldehyde-induced amine fluorescence. It is not clear why neuropeptides are retained in some rough endoplasmic reticulum cisterns. It is possible that these birefringent cells contain a peptide, or peptides, which are abnormal in some manner, or which may be other members of the oxytocin gene family. Alternatively, the processing of neuropeptides to permit their export to the Golgi apparatus may be deficient. Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) histochemistry revealed that, unlike other oxytocin neurons, cells with intracellular accretions lacked detectable acetyl cholinesterase. As AChE is a known peptidase, it may be involved in regulating peptide export from the rough endoplasmic reticulum.
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PMID:Neuropeptide accretions in the endoplasmic reticulum of oxytocinergic neurons in cats, monkeys and rabbits: a widespread phenomenon. 129 66

An immobilized digestive enzyme assay, which has been used to determine whether orally administered peptide drugs are hydrolyzed by the digestive system, was applied to the measurement of rates of proteolysis of biologically active peptides. In this study, the rates of hydrolysis by trypsin and chymotrypsin of the pressor agent angiotensin II, the peptide hormone [Arg8]vasopressin, and the peptide drug [deamino-Cys1,D-Arg8]vasopressin were measured. Enzyme immobilization prevented autolytic proteolysis and provided a stable enzyme preparation during the assays. For rate determinations, the disappearance of substrate was measured over time by using either flow injection continuous-flow fast atom bombardment (FAB) mass spectrometry with selected ion monitoring or reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with UV absorbance detection. Compared to the HPLC method, continuous-flow FAB was faster, provided more confident identification of the analyte because molecular weight data was obtained, and could be used for all enzymatic reactions instead of only those in which complete chromatographic resolution of substrate from proteolytic fragments was obtained. The in vitro proteolytic rates measured for the vasopressins were compared to data from rat bioassays and confirmed that the limiting factor in the oral bioavailability of [Arg8]vasopressin was rapid hydrolysis by trypsin in the intestinal lumen. The more bioactive compound, [deamino-Cys1,D-Arg8]vasopressin, was more stable to chymotryptic digestion and completely resistant to trypsinization.
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PMID:Rates of peptide proteolysis measured using liquid chromatography and continuous-flow fast atom bombardment mass spectrometry. 144 12

An endopeptidase was isolated from Xenopus laevis skin secretions. This enzyme, which has an apparent molecular mass of 100 kDa, performs a selective cleavage at the Xaa-Phe, Xaa-Leu, or Xaa-Ile bond (Xaa = Ser, Phe, Tyr, His, or Gly) of a number of peptide hormones, including atrial natriuretic factor, substance P, angiotensin II, bradykinin, somatostatin, neuromedins B and C, and litorin. The peptidase exhibited optimal activity at pH 7.5 and a Km in the micromolar range. No cleavage was produced in vasopressin, ocytocin, minigastrin I, and [Leu5]enkephalin, which include in their sequence an Xaa-Phe, Xaa-Leu, or Xaa-Ile motif. The endopeptidase activity was inhibited by divalent cation chelators and by phosphoramidon only at high concentrations (IC50 = 50 microM), whereas it was insensitive to classical inhibitors of chymotrypsin, angiotensin convertase, and serine and cysteine peptidases, as well as carboxypeptidases. It is hypothesized that this enzyme, which is distinct from neutral endopeptidase (EC 3.4.24.11), constitutes the prototype of a family of related metalloendopeptidases that inactivate peptide substrates by cleavage at the Xaa-Phe, Xaa-Leu, or Xaa-Ile bond.
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PMID:A peptide-hormone-inactivating endopeptidase in Xenopus laevis skin secretion. 172 23

A bland procedure, conducted in ice, is described for the extraction with HCl of smooth-muscle-contracting substances from plexus-containing ileal longitudinal muscle (l.m.) sheets obtained mainly from rabbits and some guinea-pigs. The spasmogenic activity in rabbit extracts was distinguished from acetylcholine, histamine and 5-hydroxytryptamine by antagonists; and from prostaglandins, by its insolubility in ether at acid pH and by pretreatment of the animals with indomethacin. The fact that it contracts the separated l.m. of the guinea-pig ileum, whether plexus-containing or plexus-free, and in atropine distinguishes it also from methionine-enkephalin, somatostatin, 13-norleucine motilin, bombesin, and cholecystokinin octapeptide (CCK8). This activity was partially purified, first by several partitions with ether at pH 1.4-2.2 and then by treatment at pH 4.5-5 with lead acetate. The virtual absence of ATP was confirmed by the firefly bioluminescence technique. The guinea-pig-ileum-contracting component in the partially purified extracts was destroyed by pepsin, chymotrypsin and DPCC-treated trypsin, indicating its peptide nature and distinguishing it from oxytocin, vasopressin, bradykinin, etc. In parallel assays the partially purified rabbit extracts were considerably more active than Substance P on jird or rat ascending colons than on the guinea-pig l.m., suggesting the presence of a second spasmogenic component in the extracts. In guinea-pig extracts the partially purified activity was 8-16 times greater when plexus-containing than when plexus-free, pointing to Auerbach's plexus as the source of the activity.
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PMID:Extraction and partial purification of spasmogenic substances in Auerbach's plexus. 242 21

Platelet responses to agonists are believed to be mediated by at least two pertussis toxin-sensitive guanine nucleotide-binding (G) proteins: Gi which inhibits adenylyl cyclase and Gp, which stimulates phospholipase C. The present studies compare the properties of Gi and Gp and examine their interactions with the receptors for various platelet agonists. In permeabilized platelets and platelet membranes, pertussis toxin [32P]ADP-ribosylated a protein(s) (alpha 41) which migrated on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis fractionally below rabbit and bovine alpha i (Mr = 41,000). Prior exposure of the platelets to an agonist inhibited the [32P]ADP-ribosylation of alpha 41 to an extent which correlated with the pattern of responses to that agonist. Thrombin, which elicited responses that were mediated by both Gi and Gp, decreased radiolabeling by greater than 90%. Epinephrine, which was functionally coupled only to Gi, decreased radiolabeling by 50%, as did vasopressin and platelet-activating factor (PAF), which were coupled only to Gp. U46619, a thromboxane analog which neither inhibited cAMP formation nor caused pertussis toxin-sensitive phosphoinositide hydrolysis, had no effect on 32P-ADP-ribosylation. These results suggest that either G alpha 41 regulates more than one enzyme or that alpha subunits from more than one G protein comigrate within alpha 41. Two-dimensional electrophoresis was used to test the latter possibility. Upon isoelectric focusing, alpha 41 resolved into two distinct subspecies. However, these appear to be minor variants rather than functionally distinct alpha subunits since: 1) both proteins produced the same proteolytic fragments after digestion with chymotrypsin or Staphylococcus aureus V8 protease and 2) preincubation of the platelets with agonists, including those which appear to interact in intact platelets solely with Gp (PAF and vasopressin) or solely with Gi (epinephrine), inhibited the [32P]ADP-ribosylation of both proteins to the same extent. The pattern of functional responses produced by some of the agonists was found to depend upon the conditions used for the assay. Although unable to inhibit cAMP formation in intact platelets, both PAF and vasopressin caused pertussis toxin-sensitive inhibition of adenylyl cyclase in isolated membranes. Collectively, these observations suggest that 1) in platelets a single pertussis toxin-sensitive, alpha 41-containing G protein may be involved in the regulation of both adenylyl cyclase and phospholipase C and 2) additional constraints which are altered during membrane isolation may help to determine which enzyme is coupled to which agonist.
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PMID:Interactions in platelets between G proteins and the agonists that stimulate phospholipase C and inhibit adenylyl cyclase. 283 6

Parathyroid hormone (PTH) -degrading activity was studied using osteoblast-like UMR-106 cells. PTH-degrading activity was assessed by the amount of PTH fragments produced in the medium after exposure of intact human PTH-(1-84) to UMR-106 cells. PTH immunoreactivity recovered in trichloroacetic acid-soluble products of the medium and in fractions eluted from reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was measured by radioimmunoassay using an antibody specific for the mid-region and C-terminus of PTH. In this study, intact UMR-106 cells but not extracellular enzymes cleaved human PTH(1-84) into fragments which were released into the medium (in a time- and temperature-dependent fashion). HPLC analysis of the PTH fragments depicted three immunoreactive peaks (peaks 1, 2 and 3) besides intact PTH, indicating a limited PTH-hydrolyzing activity of the cells. Furthermore, a 1000-fold molar excess of either hPTH-(3-34) or [Nle8,Nle18,Tyr34]hPTH-(3-34)amide inhibited PTH-degrading activity by 63% and 80% of control, respectively, whereas neither calcitonin, vasopressin nor growth hormone suppressed it. Additionally, HPLC analysis of the samples treated with [Nle8,Nle18,Tyr34]hPTH-(3-34)amide showed a reduction of the three peaks, suggesting an involvement of PTH receptor in the production of PTH fragments. This PTH-degrading activity was strongly inhibited by phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride and chymostatin, but not by soybean trypsin inhibitor, elastatinal or inhibitors of cysteine, aspartic or metalloproteinases, indicating that it is due to a seryl chymotrypsin-like endopeptidase. Chymotrypsin-like activity seems to be solely responsible for PTH-degrading activity in intact UMR-106 cells, since all three PTH fragments were predominantly suppressed in the presence of chymostatin. Further analysis of chymotrypsin-digested products of hPTH-(1-84) eluted from HPLC exhibited five fragments detected by ultraviolet absorbance at 210 nm, three of which were measurable by PTH radioimmunoassay, each corresponding to the three PTH fragments produced by UMR-106 cells. To explore the cleavage sites of PTH further, amino acid analysis of chymotrypsin-cleaved products was performed. The results strongly support the view that the chymotrypsin-like enzyme in UMR-106 cells cleaved the hormone between residues 23-24 and 34-35, to produce, at least, hPTH-(24-84) and -(35-84). Our present study indicates that a chymotrypsin-like endopeptidase is solely responsible for limited hydrolysis of PTH by intact UMR-106 cells.
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PMID:Parathyroid hormone degradation by chymotrypsin-like endopeptidase in the clonal osteogenic UMR-106 cell. 291 1

To better characterize putative neurophysin-vasopressin prohormones in human posterior pituitary tissue, we extracted human posterior pituitary glands in 0.1 M HCl and isolated the higher molecular weight neurophysin-immunoreactive proteins. Sephadex G-75 gel filtration in 0.1 M formic acid with 6 M urea showed four distinct peaks of neurophysin immunoreactivity. Analysis of isolated lyophilized fractions of these peaks by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis revealed neurophysin-immunoreactive proteins at molecular weights of 10,000 daltons (79-87% of the total neurophysins), 19,000-20,000 daltons (10-16%), 26,000-30,000 daltons (1-2%), and a broad range of 30,000- to 100,000-dalton immunoreactivity from the void volume (V0) peak (2-3%). The 19,000- to 20,000-dalton and 26,000- to 30,000-dalton proteins were stable after both heating and treatment with reducing agents, but could be converted by chymotrypsin proteolysis to 10,000-dalton neurophysins and 3,000- to 5,000-dalton AVP-immunoreactive proteins. In contrast, the neurophysin immunoreactivity in the V0 peak was broken down to lower molecular weight neurophysin- and AVP-immunoreactive proteins by heating alone. Extraction of human posterior pituitaries in the presence of either [125I]human AVP-neurophysin or [35S] cysteine-labeled monkey neurophysin showed that no labeled neurophysin eluted in the areas of the 19,000- to 20,000- or 26,000- to 30,000-dalton proteins, but a significant fraction of the [35S]monkey neurophysin eluted in the V0. These data suggest that the 19,000- to 20,000- and 26,000- to 30,000-dalton human neurophysins represent stable proteins which are probably common precursor molecules for neurophysin and AVP, but the greater than 30,000-dalton neurophysins found in the V0 appear to be aggregates of neurophysins, neurophysin precursors, AVP, oxytocin, and probably other proteins and lipids as well, rather than very high molecular weight precursor proteins.
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PMID:Characterization of neurophysin-vasopressin prohormones in human posterior pituitary tissue. 640 29

Analogs of [arginine8]vasopressin (AVP) in which the peptide chain was elongated from the N-terminus by the addition of Ala-Arg-Arg-, Ala-Ala-Phe-, Pro-Arg-Val-, Pro-Ala-Arg-Arg, and Pro-Ala-Ala-Phe-, and from the C-terminus by the addition of -Ala-Met-Ala-NH2 and -Gly-Arg-Arg-Ala-NH2 were synthesized by the solid phase method and purified by Sephadex G-15 chromatography. At the final step of the synthesis, the extent of formation of the intramolecular disulfide bond was found to be sequence dependent. These peptides were incubated with extracts of the rat hypothalamus (supraoptic region) and neural lobe and with isolated neurosecretory granules from the neural lobe, and the release of vasopressin was measured by the rat pressor assay. All peptides resisted conversion to the hormone in the presence of tissue extracts, except (Ala-Ala-Phe)-AVP which was converted to AVP in the presence of all three tissue extracts at pH 4.7 but not at pH 8.0. When these peptides were treated with trypsin, chymotrypsin, or leucine aminopeptidase at pH 8.0, only the action of chymotrypsin on [Ala-Ala-Phe]AVP resulted in AVP formation. Evidence obtained using lysosomal enzyme markers suggested that the converting enzyme activity in neurosecretory granule preparations was not of lysosomal origin.
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PMID:Extended chain analogs of [arginine8]vasopressin as model prohormones: investigation of precursor-processing enzymes in extracts of the rat hypothalamus and neural lobe. 675 99

Bovine neurophysin II was partially digested by chymotrypsin and by chymotrypsin followed by carboxy-peptidase B to produce large fragments collectively representing deletions of residues 1-5 and 91-95. All such fragments were capable of binding peptides to the principal hormone-binding site of neurophysin with normal or near-normal affinity, indicating that residues 1-5 and 91-95 do not directly participate in binding. In addition, preliminary results with thermolysin-derived fragments suggested that residue 6 does not participate in peptide binding. During the course of chymotrypsin studies, it was demonstrated that bovine neurophysin II behaves as a transient competitive inhibitor of chymotrypsin; for neurophysin-peptide complexes, Ki congruent to 8 x 10(-6) M. This inhibition is dependent on neurophysin conformation and is relieved by the anomalous preferential splitting by chymotrypsin of Arg-Arg and Phe-Pro bonds near the carboxyl terminus of neurophysin II. It is suggested that this phenomenon might reflect the interaction of neurophysin II with a chymotrypsin-related enzyme in the pituitary. One approach used in the study of binding properties of proteolytically modified neurophysin was affinity chromatography; the preparation and properties of a conveniently prepared affinity column for neurophysin are described.
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PMID:Partial digestion of neurophysins with proteolytic enzymes: unusual interactions between bovine neurophysin II and chymotrypsin. 707 53

Acid extracts of human neurohypophyseal tissue were found to contain neurophysin-immunoreactive proteins in the 17,000-20,000 dalton molecular weight range by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The 17,000-20,000 dalton neurophysins persisted under reducing conditions. Limited chymotrypsin proteolysis of the 17,000-20,000 dalton neurophysins generated both increased 10,000 dalton neurophysin and also 4000-8000 dalton vasopressin immunoreactivity. These 'big' neurophysins appear to represent precursor forms of the neurophysins and the neurohypophyseal hormones, which are present within the neurosecretory granules of the human posterior pituitary.
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PMID:Identification of high molecular weight neurophysins in extracts of human neurohypophyseal tissue. 708 11


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