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)

Seven cationic, cystine-rich peptides of 29 to 32 amino acid residues have been purified from extracts of rat bone marrow (R-1, R-1a, R-1b, R-2, R-3, R-4 and R-5). Structural analysis clearly indicated that all seven peptides belong to the corticostatin/defensin family of leukocyte-derived peptides known to participate in oxygen-independent killing of phagocytosed bacteria. For R-1 to R-5, six cysteine residues were found at characteristic and highly conserved positions. R-1a and R-1b were partially characterized and appear to be structural variants of R-1. Aside from the conserved cysteines, there is a remarkable degree of structural diversity evident within the sequences of those members of the corticostatin/defensin family characterized so far. The structures of the peptides that we have purified can be compared directly with the sequences obtained for rat defensins isolated from extracts of peritoneal neutrophils (Lehrer, Ganz and Selsted, Cell, 64 (1991) 229-230). Some discrepancies are apparent which can be explained in terms of proteolytic cleavage of several of these peptides at both amino- and carboxyl-termini. The corticostatins owe their bioactivity to their ability to compete with corticotropin for occupancy of the corticotropin receptor (Zhu, Hu, Mulay, Esch, Shimasaki and Solomon, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 85 (1988) 592-596). The potency of these peptides can be expressed in terms of their capacity to inhibit the steroidogenic response of isolated rat adrenocrotical cells half-maximally stimulated by corticotropin (i.e., at the ED50 concentration for corticotropin in this assay, namely 33 pM). In this assay, the rat peptides R-1, R-2 and R-3 were shown to be inactive. In contrast, the more cationic peptides R-4 and R-5 were found to inhibit steroidogenesis. R-4 was somewhat less active than rabbit corticostatin (IC50 25 nM) showing an IC50 value of 50 nM. R-5 appeared to be significantly less potent than R-4. The lower yield of R-5 precluded an accurate estimate of the corticostatic potency of this peptide. R-4 differs in structure from R-5 in having an arginine to serine substitution at position 7. It can be concluded that an arginine at this position accounts, at least in part, for the corticostatic activity of R-4.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
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PMID:Purification of cationic cystine-rich peptides from rat bone marrow. Primary structures and biological activity of the rat corticostatin family of peptides. 133 40

Secretion systems engineered for the expression of heterologous protein in E. coli provide several advantages for subsequent isolation of purified product. Proteins released from the periplasmic space, which represent a small fraction (i.e., 4-10%) of total cell protein, can readily be separated from other cellular proteins by centrifugation of the remaining cellular debris or cross-flow ultrafiltration. The starting material derived from secretion systems is generally of higher purity than comparable material produced from strains expressing cytoplasmically for systems exhibiting similar expression levels. The available evidence suggests that recombinant proteins derived from the periplasm are generally, but not always (44-46), soluble in a nonaggregated form. Consequently, simple purification protocols can be effectively employed for producing homogeneous product with a high yield. The majority of the secreted recombinant proteins reviewed in this chapter were purified by simple one- or two-step chromatography procedures. High-resolution techniques such as reversed phase HPLC were found necessary only in cases where the secreted polypeptides were contaminated with proteolytic degradation variants, e.g., hirudin (51) and beta-endorphin (22). The fact that a high level of biological activity has been shown to be characteristic of purified recombinant proteins secreted into the periplasmic space suggests the presence of a native conformation stabilized by the expected disulfide linkages. Intramolecular disulfide bonds most probably form either as the polypeptide is translocated through the cytoplasmic membrane into the periplasm or within the periplasmic compartment, which has a higher oxidation potential than that found in the cytoplasm (57). Studies performed with hGH (31) and muIL-2 (35) provide excellent examples of differences observed in protein folding and disulfide bond formation between heterologous proteins expressed in the cytoplasmic and periplasmic compartments. Thus, hGH and muIL-2 extracted from the cytoplasm of E. coli have been characterized as high molecular weight disulfide-bonded oligomers. It is likely that oligomerization occurs as the polypeptides are released from the reducing environment of the cytoplasm. In contrast, secreted hGH and muIL-2 extracted from the periplasm of E. coli by osmotic shock displayed the properties of a property folded native protein with correct disulfide pairing. In the case of muIL-2 only a small residual fraction (approximately 15%) of the purified secreted protein exhibited incomplete oxidation of cysteine (35). Secretion of heterologous proteins into the periplasm prevents their exposure to the action of proteases located in the cytoplasm of E. coli (58). The smaller polypeptides such as somatostatin (59), IGF-1 (46), and hEGF (54) are known to be particularly susceptible to intracellular degradation.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
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PMID:Purification of secreted recombinant proteins from Escherichia coli. 136 83

Proopiomelanocortin (POMC) is a polyprotein which is targeted to the regulated secretory pathway of neuroendocrine cells where it undergoes tissue-specific proteolysis to yield peptides such as adrenocorticotropic hormone, beta-lipotropin and beta-endorphin. The pro-region of POMC is 49 amino acid long with two disulfide bonds between cysteine residues 2 and 24 and 8 and 20. These cysteine residues are conserved across the species. The pro-region contains no known hormonal sequence. Sorting to the regulated secretory pathway is thought to involve targeting signals encoded in the structure of secretory proteins. In the present study, we have examined the possibility that the disulfide bridges located in the NH2-terminal portion of the pro-region of POMC are essential for maintaining a determinant involved in the sorting of POMC to the regulated secretory pathway. Using site-directed and deletion mutagenesis of the porcine POMC cDNA, we created mutants in which one or both disulfide bridges were disrupted or in which the first 26 amino acid residues of the pro-region were deleted. Recombinant retroviruses carrying the mutated POMC cDNAs were used to infect Neuro2A cells. Immunofluorescence and immunoelectron microscopy studies performed on infected cells revealed that the unmutated and mutated POMC-immunoreactive peptides were localized in dense-core vesicles at the tips of cellular extensions. Analysis of the POMC-immunoreactive peptides extracted from the infected Neuro2A cells indicated that the mutated precursors in which one disulfide bridge was disrupted (POMC-S2 or POMC-S8) were stored and processed as efficiently as the unmutated POMC. By contrast, the mutated precursor in which both disulfide bridges were disrupted (POMC-S2,8) did not accumulate in intracellular compartments to the same extent as unmutated POMC. Moreover, this mutant was very inefficiently processed and no release could be observed upon stimulation of the cells with K+/Ca2+. These results suggest that POMC-S2,8 entered the regulated secretory pathway less efficiently than the unmutated precursor. However, when both disulfide bridges were removed from the precursor from the precursor by deletion of the first 26 amino acid residues of POMC, the truncated precursor (POMC delta 1-26) behaved as the unmutated POMC. Taken together our results indicate that the NH2-terminal portion of the pro-region including both disulfide bridges can be deleted without affecting the targeting of the molecule to secretory granules. However, when the entire POMC sequence is expressed in Neuro2A cells, the proper folding of the NH2-terminal region might be important for efficient processing and targeting.
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PMID:Investigation of a possible role of the amino-terminal pro-region of proopiomelanocortin in its processing and targeting to secretory granules. 179 12

The antagonist potency of a series of bivalent adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) peptides was examined using suspensions of inner zone rat adrenocortical cells. Bivalent antagonists were prepared by bis(maleimide) covalent cross-linking of carboxyl terminal cysteine sulfhydryl groups of synthetic ACTH peptides, Cys25 ACTH(7-25) and Cys39 ACTH(7-39). Antagonist potency enhancement was defined by shifts in ACTH(1-39) concentration-steroidogenic response curves relative to monovalent antagonist analogs. The EC50 values measured in the presence of 0.5 microM monovalent antagonist were 110 +/- 28 pM for Cys25 ACTH(7-25)-S-N-ethylsuccinimide and 44 +/- 9 pM for Cys39 ACTH(7-39)-S-N-ethylsuccinimide. Some bivalent ACTH antagonists displayed much greater antagonist potency than their monovalent analogs, which supports the findings of Stolz and Fauchere (Helv Chim Acta 71: 1421-1428, 1988). The level of potency enhancement, however, was found to be dependent upon the spacer used to link receptor binding domains and the length of the ACTH peptide used in bivalent antagonist synthesis. The most potent inhibitor, bis(Cys25 ACTH(7-25)-S-succinimidopropionyl)2-hydroxy-1,3-propanediamine, was 28 times more potent than its monovalent analog, Cys25 ACTH(7-25)-S-N-ethylsuccinimide. However, a bivalent Cys25 ACTH(7-25) peptide containing two bis(succinimidopropionyl)2-hydroxy-1,3-propanediamine spacers that had been linked end-to-end via dithioerythritol showed no potency enhancement. Cys25 ACTH(7-25) based peptides containing one receptor binding domain and having the structure peptide-spacer-cysteine displayed no enhancement in antagonist potency. Bivalent Cys39 ACTH(7-39) linked by bis(succinimidopropionyl)2-hydroxy-1,3-propanediamine spacer exhibited only 4-fold enhancement in antagonist potency relative to Cys39 ACTH(7-39)-S-N-ethylsuccinimide. We therefore conclude that the potency enhancement observed with bivalent ACTH peptides: (1) is optimal with spacers less than approximately 40 A in length, (2) is not due to direct interactions between the spacer and cell surface, and (3) is dependent on the length of the ACTH peptide component. In addition, these results indicate that electrostatic interaction between bivalent ACTH peptides and plasma membrane lipids does not adequately account for the potency enhancements observed.
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PMID:Bivalent ACTH antagonists: influence of peptide and spacer components on potency enhancement. 184 14

HP-1 is a 30-residue cysteine- and arginine-rich peptide of the human neutrophil primary granule and is the most abundant human representative of the family of peptides variously called defensins and corticostatins. Peptides belonging to this family have many biological activities including the non-oxidative destruction of ingested microorganisms, the inhibition of adrenocorticotropin-stimulated synthesis of glucocorticoids, monocyte chemotaxis, the non-cytolytic inhibition of [3H]thymidine incorporation in HL-60 promyelocyte-like cells and the stimulation of nifedipine-sensitive calcium channels. Using a combination of reversed-phase and size-exclusion high performance liquid chromatography and an HP-1 radio-immunoassay, three immunoreactive peptides were detected and isolated from the promyelocyte-like cell line, HL-60, and from leukocytes of patients with chronic myelogenous and chronic lymphocytic leukemias. One of these peptides was HP-1 itself. A second was identified by gas-phase Edman microsequencing as an amino-terminally extended fragment of the HP-1 precursor which we call HP1-56. The third is likely to arise from enzymatic cleavage of the precursor at a dibasic site. Of the leukemic cells the greatest amount of HP1-56 relative to HP-1 was found in cells from a patient in myeloblastic crisis but overall the richest source of HP1-56 relative to HP-1 was found to be in fetal lung tissue. HP1-56 is difficult to detect in normal peripheral neutrophils and its presence in cells that are actively biosynthesizing primary granule components such as HL-60 may make it useful for studying the biosynthesis of granule polypeptides, their ontogeny, and possibly as a marker protein for leukemic diseases.
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PMID:The isolation and identification of multiple forms of the neutrophil granule peptides from human leukemic cells. 201 82

In the present study, a significant positive correlationship was found between the contents of bradykinin (BK)-like and met-enkephalin(ME)-like peptides in adrenal medulla of the rat with cavity-formed incisors in vivo, and the production of ME-like peptides was increased by BK in adrenal medulla of the rat in vitro. Influence of BK on the degradation of BANA, a synthetic substrate for trypsin, by the tissue enzymes was also studied. It was found that BK (0.1-10 microM) enhanced the enzyme activities in a dose-dependent manner, and the effect of BK(1 microM) was most effective at pH 6 and 8. The BK effect was inhibited by FOY-305, an inhibitor of serine proteinases, at pH 6, but not at pH 8. However, E-64, an inhibitor of cysteine proteinases, reduced the BK effects at both pH 6 and 8. These results suggested that 1) BK was an activator for BANA-degrading enzymes which were thought as processing proteinases of ME-like peptides in adrenal medulla of the rat, and 2) there may be, at least, two kinds of BANA-degrading enzymes activated by BK, one might be a serine proteinase with optimal pH at 6, and the others might be cysteine proteinases with optimal pH at both 6 and 8.
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PMID:Enhancement of proteinase activities by bradykinin in adrenal medulla of the rat. 269 19

A 34-amino acid peptide and three other structurally related peptides were isolated from rabbit fetal and adult lung. These cationic arginine- and cysteine-rich peptides inhibit corticotropin (ACTH)-stimulated rat adrenal cell corticosterone production. The peptide was called corticostatin (CSI). CSI was purified by reverse-phase HPLC and was shown to be homogenous from its amino acid analysis. Its sequence was determined on a gas-phase sequenator. The structure of CSI is Gly-Ile-Cys-Ala-Cys-Arg-Arg-Arg-Phe-Cys-Pro-Asn-Ser-Glu-Arg-Phe-Ser-Gly- Tyr-Cys - Arg-Val-Asn-Gly-Ala-Arg-Tyr-Val-Arg-Cys-Cys-Ser-Arg-Arg. CSI was found to markedly inhibit ACTH-stimulated corticosterone production by rat adrenal cells in vitro but did not affect basal levels. CSI did not affect the stimulation of aldosterone synthesis by angiotensin II in rat zona glomerulosa cells but it did suppress ACTH-stimulated aldosterone synthesis in whole adrenal cells, demonstrating that CSI is a specific inhibitor of ACTH-stimulated corticosteroid synthesis. The minimum effective concentration of CSI inhibiting ACTH-stimulated (33 pM) corticosterone production was 5 nM (20 ng/ml), the ED50 (50% effective dose) was 25 nM and steroidogenesis was completely inhibited at concentrations greater than 500 nM (2 micrograms/ml).
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PMID:Isolation and structure of corticostatin peptides from rabbit fetal and adult lung. 282 94

The in vivo effects of a number of opioid agonists and antagonists were studied on the spontaneous reflex contractions of the urinary bladder recorded isometrically in the rat anesthetized with urethane. All substances were administered into the central nervous system by the intracereboventricular (i.c.v.) or spinal intrathecal (i.t.) route. The conformationally restricted enkephalin analogues [2-D-penicillamine, 5-L-cysteine] enkephalin (DPLCE), [2-D-penicillamine, 5-L-penicillamine] enkephalin (DPLPE) and [2-D-penicillamine, 5-D-penicillamine] enkephalin (DPDPE) produced dose-related inhibition of reflex bladder contractions when administered by the i.c.v. or i.t. route. Both the novel delta-opioid receptor antagonist ICI 154,129 (200-600 micrograms) [N,N-bisallyl-Tyr-Gly-Gly-Psi-(CH2S)-Phe-Leu-OH) and ICI 174,864 (1-3 micrograms) [N,N-dially-Tyr-Aib-Aib-Phe-Leu-OH: Aib = alpha-aminoisobutyric acid] attenuated or abolished the effects of DPLCE, DPLPE and DPDPE when administered by the i.c.v. or i.t. route. The antagonism observed was selective since the equipotent inhibition produced by the mu-opioid receptor agonist [D-Ala2, Me-Phe4, Gly(ol)5] enkephalin (DAGO) was unaffected. Overall, ICI 154,129 was considerably weaker than ICI 174,864 and both antagonists inhibited bladder activity at doses higher than those required to demonstrate delta-receptor antagonism. Further studies of the agonistic effect of ICI 174,864 showed that it was insensitive to low doses of naloxone (2 micrograms, i.c.v. or i.t.) but could be abolished by higher (10-15 micrograms) doses of naloxone. These observations suggested that the agonistic effect of ICI 174,864 was not mediated by mu-opioid receptor. beta-Endorphin (0.2-1.0 micrograms, i.c.v.) inhibited bladder contractions but following recovery from this effect, appeared to prevent the expression of delta-receptor antagonism by ICI 174,864. In addition a previously subthreshold dose of ICI 174,864 now exhibited marked agonistic activity. The inhibitory effect of a submaximal dose of DPDPE was also potentiated by beta-endorphin under these circumstances. These observations suggest that supra-spinal and spinal delta-opioid receptors are involved in the opioid-mediated inhibition of reflex bladder contractions in the rat. Moreover beta-endorphin may be important in regulating central delta-opioid receptors.
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PMID:Central delta-opioid receptor interactions and the inhibition of reflex urinary bladder contractions in the rat. 299 71

Two analogs of human beta-endorphin (beta-EP) which contain cystine bridges, [Cys15-Cys26,Phe27,Gly31]-beta-EP (I) and [Cys16-Cys26,Phe27,Gly31]-beta-EP (II), were synthesized by the solid-phase method. Peptides I and II were shown to contain 2-2.5 times the opiate receptor binding activity of beta-endorphin. We also synthesized two analogs with reduced alkylated cysteine residues and these peptides, [Arg9,19,24,28,29 Cys(Cam)11,26,Phe27,Gly31] and [Arg9,19,24,28,29,Cys-(Cam)12,26,Phe27,Gly31], were shown to have approximately the same opiate receptor activity as beta-endorphin.
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PMID:Beta-endorphin. Synthesis and biological activity of analogs with disulfide bridges. 299 81

We readdressed the question of whether or not rat adenohypophyseal vasopressin receptors have a ligand selectivity which is similar to that of the V1 subtype of vasopressin receptors. Vasopressin analogues substituted in positions 7 and 1 were used. By incubating rat anterior pituitary quarters or by perifusing rat isolated anterior pituitary cells, the effect of the vasopressin analogues on the release of beta-endorphin-like or adrenocorticotropin-like immunoreactivity was examined. The replacement of the proline residue in position 7 by sarcosine or N-methyl-alanine did not change the maximum effect reached but increased the EC50 values 20- or 5-fold, respectively, when compared with arginine vasopressin. This decrease in beta-endorphin-releasing activity was no longer observed after additional removal of the alpha-amino group of cysteine in position 1. Since these substitutions are known to drastically reduce vasopressor activity, these data suggest that the beta-endorphin-releasing activity of vasopressin can be dissociated from its V1 receptor activity. Vasopressin analogues substituted in position 7 and with deaminopenicillamine or beta-mercapto-beta,beta-cyclopentamethylenepropionic acid in position 1 were found to be weak antagonists of the beta-endorphin-releasing activity of vasopressin. Since these analogues are potent antagonists at the V1 receptor, these data suggest that the deaminopenicillamine and, more so, the beta-mercapto-beta,beta-cyclopentamethylenepropionic acid residues in position 1 of vasopressin are strong 'binding elements' at the V1 vasopressin receptor but weak 'binding elements' at the adenohypophyseal vasopressin receptor.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:Interaction of rat adenohypophyseal vasopressin receptors with vasopressin analogues substituted at positions 7 and 1: dissimilarity from the V1 vasopressin receptor. 302 2


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