Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UNIPROT:P01189 (beta-endorphin)
 21,003 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The binding of 3H-beta-endorphin to rat brain homogenates, reported by several other laboratories, has suggested unique selective beta-endorphin binding sites. We now present additional evidence supporting the concept of distinct beta-endorphin binding (epsilon) sites in rat brain. In competitive displacement studies, 3H-beta-endorphin was inhibited far better by unlabeled beta-endorphin than a variety of opiates and enkephalins. Conversely, beta-endorphin inhibited the binding of a series of 3H-labeled ligands, including dihydromorphine, ethylketocyclazocine, SKF 10,047, naloxone and D-ala2-D-leu5-enkephalin, far less potently than their corresponding unlabeled drug. Other differences were also found. Compared to 3H-dihydromorphine and 3H-D-ala2-D-leu5-enkephalin binding, 3H-beta-endorphin binding was far less sensitive to the reagent N-ethylmaleimide and more sensitive to the proteolytic enzyme trypsin. The regional distribution for 3H-beta-endorphin binding was also distinct from other 3H-ligands tested. This evidence supports the concept of a distinct binding site for beta-endorphin which does not correspond to the previously defined opioid binding sites.
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PMID:Binding of 3H-beta-endorphin in rat brain. 629 32

The biotransformation of adrenocorticotropin (ACTH-(1-39)) by brain synaptic membranes has been studied. Peptide fragments of ACTH-(1-39) which were formed during in vitro incubation of the peptide with membrane preparations were isolated by high pressure liquid chromatography and characterized by determination of amino acid composition and NH2- terminal residue. At pH 7.4, ACTH-(1-38) was found as the main metabolite, together with ACTH-(7-21) and ACTH-(7-20). In addition, a series of secondary products was identified. At pH 6.2, ACTH-(1-38), ACTH-(1-37), and ACTH-(1-36) were exclusively formed, while at pH 8.5, ACTH-(1-39) was converted into ACTH-(1-16), ACTH-(17-39), ACTH-(22-39), and ACTH-(3-15). Time course experiments demonstrated the action of a carboxypeptidase activity and a trypsin-like endopeptidase on ACTH-(1-39) as predominant proteolytic events. The carboxypeptidase was optimally active at pH values of 5.7 or below. These enzymes play an essential role in the stepwise conversion of ACTH-(1-39) in brain. It is suggested that they are involved in the modulation of the central activities of ACTH fragments in the brain.
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PMID:Proteolysis of adrenocorticotropin in brain. Characterization of cleavage sites by peptidases in synaptic membranes and formation of peptide fragments. 630 63

Tonin, an esteroprotease isolated from rat submaxillary gland, is a serine protease with trypsin- and chymotrypsin-like activity. The substrate specificity of tonin shows that it differs from kallikreins and is definitely not a renin-like enzyme or an angiotensin-converting enzyme. Tonin can produce directly the vasoactive peptide angiotensin II, from angiotensin I, angiotensinogen and the synthetic tetradecapeptide substrate of renin by cleavage of a Phe-His bond. It has also been found to cleave some Phe and Arg bonds in various substrates such as beta-lipotropin (beta-LPH), adrenocorticotropin (ACTH), pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) and substance P. Here we describe the complete amino acid sequence of rat submaxillary gland, tonin. Comparison of the sequence of 219 amino acids with other serine proteases, particularly kallikreins, gamma-subunit of nerve growth factor (NGF) and the recently described gamma-renin, reveals extensive similarities. More interestingly, it also reveals the substitution of an Asp residue always found in the serine protease active site triad (Asp, His, Ser) by a Leu residue. This unusual substitution does not seem to affect the proteolytic activity of the enzyme.
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PMID:Amino acid sequence of rat submaxillary tonin reveals similarities to serine proteases. 632 14

Recent amino acid sequence data suggest that trypsin-like and carboxypeptidase B-like activities are required for the processing of pituitary prohormones--e.g., pro-opiocortin (pro-adrenocorticotropin/lipotropin) and provasopressin in secretory granules. In this study the existence of a carboxypeptidase B activity in purified secretory granules from anterior, intermediate, and neural lobes of rat pituitary has been examined. A carboxypeptidase B activity that cleaved the COOH-terminal -Lys-Lys-Arg residues from the adrenocorticotropin fragment ACTH-(1-17) (a potential hormone product liberated from pro-opiocortin by a trypsin-like enzyme) was detected in anterior and intermediate lobe granules. A similar carboxypeptidase B activity was also present in purified secretory granules from rat pituitary neural lobes that cleaved the -Lys-Arg residues from [Arg8]vasopressin-Gly-Lys-Arg, a potential product cleaved from provasopressin. Secretory granule carboxypeptidase(s) from the three lobes of the pituitary was shown to cleave 125I-[Met]enkephalin-Arg6 to form 125I-[Met]enkephalin as well. 125I-[Met]Enkephalin was used as a model substrate for the quantitative assay of pituitary carboxypeptidase activity. The carboxypeptidase B in secretory granules from all three lobes was shown to be active at pH 5.5, but not at pH 7.4. Inhibition by the zinc metallocarboxypeptidase inhibitors guanidinopropylsuccinic acid, aminomercaptosuccinic acid, benzylsuccinic acid, 2-mercaptomethyl-3-guanidinoethylthiopropanoic acid, and the potato carboxypeptidase B inhibitor, and inhibition by the metal chelators EDTA and 1,10-phenanthroline demonstrate metal ion dependence of the pituitary granule carboxypeptidase activities. However, Co2+ stimulated the secretory granule carboxypeptidase B activities. Thiol protease inhibitors such as Cu2+ and p-chloromercuriphenylsulfonic acid also inhibited the activity. Thus, the secretory granule carboxypeptidase B-like activities in all three lobes of the pituitary appear to be similar thiol-metallopeptidases that differ from other carboxypeptidase activities previously described and may play an exclusive role in hormone biosynthesis in the pituitary.
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PMID:Carboxypeptidase B-like converting enzyme activity in secretory granules of rat pituitary. 632 44

The relative stability of natural melanotropins and related synthetic analogues to serum and purified proteolytic enzymes was studied. Both alpha- and beta-MSH were rapidly inactivated by frog serum, but much more slowly by rat serum. beta-MSH was more stable than alpha-MSH to serum inactivation. Both alpha- and beta-MSH were rapidly inactivated by alpha-chymotrypsin and trypsin. The synthetic analogues, [Nle4, D-Phe7]-alpha-MSH and [Cys4, Cys10]-alpha-MSH, were totally resistant to inactivation by frog and rat serum enzymes. [Nle4, D-Phe7]-alpha-MSH was resistant to inactivation by alpha-chymotrypsin and trypsin, whereas [Cys4, Cys10]-alpha-MSH was partially resistant to these enzymes under similar conditions. Melanotropin analogues resistant to inactivation by serum enzymes may prove useful in a variety of physiological studies wherein natural melanotropins would be rapidly inactivated.
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PMID:Enzymological studies of melanotropins. 633 6

It was examined what mechanism involved in an increase of met-enkephalin (met-EK)-like peptide content in the pulp induced by noxious stimuli. The increased content of the peptides by cavity formation as noxious stimulation was not influenced by cycloheximide, but attenuated by FOY-305 [N,N-dimethyl carbamoyl-methyl 4-(4-guanidinobenzoyloxy) phenyl acetate methanesulfonate], a trypsin-like enzyme inhibitor, and enhanced by captopril, and attenuated by infusion of saline in the pulp cavity. From these results, it was suggested that noxious stimuli on the pulp led to activation of trypsin-like enzymes followed by an increased content of met-EK-like peptides, and thereafter, the peptides, such as met-EK, might be degraded by angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE). Furthermore, an immunohistochemical study demonstrated that met-EK-like immunoreactivity (met-EK-IR) of cells in the rat incisor pulp was clearly increased following tryptic digestion of the pulp section, supporting a suggestion mentioned above.
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PMID:Changes of the Met-enkephalin-like peptide content induced by noxious stimuli in the rat incisor pulp. 636 56

An amino-terminal fragment of pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) has been isolated from bovine intermediate pituitaries by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography. Peptide mapping and amino acid analysis indicated that the primary sequence corresponds exactly to that predicted by cDNA techniques for the first 49 residues of POMC including the presence of four cysteine residues. This peptide is almost certainly generated together with the gamma-melanotropins during the biosynthetic processing of the 16K amino-terminal fragment of bovine POMC. Careful analysis of the fragments resulting from V8 protease and trypsin digestion has permitted assignment of cystine bridges between residues 2 and 24 and between residues 8 and 20.
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PMID:Isolation and characterization of the 1 to 49 amino-terminal sequence of pro-opiomelanocortin from bovine posterior pituitaries. 639 86

Delta-sleep-inducing peptide (DSIP)-like material was detected in human breast milk of two women by RIA with a recovery of about 90%. The high concentration of DSIP-like immunoreactivity (DSIP-LI) in colostrum (30 ng/ml) decreased to about 10 ng/ml in milk. The concentration continued to decrease over the next 2 months in one women. In the same woman, a significant circadian rhythm of the amount of breast milk DSIP was found with the peak in the afternoon and the trough in the morning. A significant effect of the sampling procedure was detected in the other woman examined; lower amounts of DSIP-LI were found when the milk was collected before and higher concentrations after nursing. Gel chromatography revealed that most of the immunoreactive DSIP-LI in milk and colostrum occurred in a form larger than the nonapeptide. The presence of DSIP itself, however, was demonstrated by high pressure liquid chromatography, which also showed additional peptides reacting with the antibody. Digestion of the large immunoreactive DSIP-LI by trypsin produced a peak on Sephadex G-10 that coeluted with DSIP. This peak contained three immunoreactive fractions with retention times on high pressure liquid chromatography similar to DSIP, phosphorylated DSIP, and N-tyrosine-DSIP. Plasma samples taken during pregnancy were assayed for DSIP but no difference from normal values was found. Slightly higher amounts were found in placenta than in blood, which might be due to interfering substances. No Tyr-MIF-1 or corticotropin-releasing hormone was detected by RIA in human breast milk. Peptides and proteins of milk can be absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract of babies, but it is not known if the DSIP-LI in human milk is involved in the induction of a sleep-wake cycle in neonates.
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PMID:Presence of delta-sleep-inducing peptide-like material in human milk. 654 44

The use of an antiserum raised against the joining peptide sequence -23 to -14 of bovine pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) enabled the detection of related immunoreactive sequences of peptides in bovine, porcine, mouse and guinea-pig pituitaries, as well as in mouse brain and cerebral cortex, guinea-pig cerebral cortex, and bovine hypothalamus. Gel chromatography of pituitary extracts (Sephadex G-75 and Bio-Gel P-4) indicated the presence of several immunoreactive joining peptide fragments ranging in the molecular weight range (Mr) of 1,500 to 2,300. Furthermore, high molecular weight (Mr greater than 22,500) immunoreactive-precursor from bovine anterior pituitary was readily digested with trypsin into an immunoreactive fragment of approximately Mr 1,500. Analyses of these immunoreactive peptides by reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) led to their resolution into six distinct peptides. The only apparent correspondence in the elution profiles of immunoreactive peptide profiles between different mammalian species was the identification of a similar fragment (Mr 2,000) from bovine and guinea-pig pituitaries. Thus, we conclude that immunoreactivity to the joining peptide region of POMC from various mammalian species exhibits a degree of heterogeneity in its composition. The relatively low levels of immunoreactivity in comparison to that of ACTH also suggest that the joining peptide domain may be further processed. The hormonal status of the joining peptide region remains to be determined.
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PMID:"Joining peptide" of pro-opiomelanocortin. II. Interspecies heterogeneity of the joining peptide fragment. 664 18

The content of met-enkephalin (met-EK)-like peptides in a crude extract from intact pulp of the rat markedly increased with tryptic digestion but not with carboxypeptidase B(CPase B) digestion, while the content of leu-enkephalin (leu-EK)-like peptides more markedly with CPase B- than with tryptic digestion. On the other hand, results by High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) showed that the contents of both met-EK-Arg-Phe and leu-EK in cavity formed pulp increased 6 times as much as those contents in intact pulp, while the met-EK content in cavity formed pulp increased 2 times as much as that in intact pulp. Furthermore, results by gel filtration of crude extract from intact pulp showed that one peak of met-EK-like immunoreactivity (met-EK-IR) appeared at position of approximately 30,000 of molecular weight and a broad peak of leu-EK-IR appeared at position of approximately 60,000 of molecular weight following tryptic digestion. From these results, it was suggested that noxious stimuli might cause activation of trypsin-like enzymes followed by processing from one precursor protein to met-EK-like peptides as well as from another to leu-EK-like peptides in the rat incisor pulps.
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PMID:A possible relationship between processing from precursor proteins to opioid peptides and noxious stimulation in the rat incisor pulp. 666 44


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