Lectin from sainfoin (Onobrychis viciifolia scop.). Complete amino acid sequence.

The complete amino acid sequence of a lectin from sainfoin ( Onobrychis viciifolia Scop . var. Eski ) has been determined by sequential Edman analyses of the intact protein and peptides derived from digests with trypsin and thermolysin. Peptides were purified by pH fractionation, by gel filtration, and by cation-exchange and reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography. Seven segments of continuous sequence, accounting for the entire protein, were aligned through sequence comparison with several homologous leguminous lectins to give the final structure. Sainfoin lectin monomer, a glycoprotein which contains a single polypeptide chain of 236 amino acid residues with a molecular weight of 26 509, has amino- and carboxyl-terminal residues of alanine and threonine, respectively. A single residue of cysteine, located at position 33, is the only sulfur-containing amino acid present. Asparagine-118 is the single oligosaccharide attachment site. At least two apparent allelomorphic forms of the protein, having valine or isoleucine at position 49 in equal amounts, were detected. The amino acid sequence of sainfoin lectin exhibits circular permutation relative to that of the homologous protein concanavalin A.

Cellular fructose-P2 aldolase has a derivatized (blocked) NH2 terminus.

Fructose-P2 aldolases isolated from vertebrate skeletal muscle have underivatized NH2-terminal proline residues in contrast to most other cytoplasmic proteins which contain alpha-N-acetylated termini. However, if "native" aldolase molecules derived from chicken muscle, rat liver, wheat germ, and the cytosol of spinach leaves are isolated in the presence of phenylmethanesulfonyl fluoride (an inhibitor of serine proteases), they contain blocked and presumably derivatized NH2-terminal residues. When chicken muscle aldolase is isolated in the absence of this protease inhibitor, the derivatized NH2-terminal residue is removed by an endogenous protease(s). The native and modified forms of the enzyme were not distinguished on the basis of catalytic activity, thermal stability, electrophoretic mobility, or subunit molecular weight. Structural analyses of both forms, together with amino acid sequence analysis of the primary translation product encoded for by aldolase mRNA, showed that native muscle aldolase subunits contain a single derivatized methionine NH2-terminal to the proline residue. This form of the enzyme is presumably the one which exists in vivo.

Sciatin is a transferrin-like polypeptide.

Sciatin, an acidic glycoprotein from chicken sciatic nerve, the myotrophic effects on avian skeletal muscle cells in culture. As sciatin was found to have certain structural similarities to transferrin, we further investigated the physiochemical characteristics of sciatin in order to determine the relationship between these two proteins. Sciatin was found to be strikingly similar to ovotransferrin in amino acid composition. In addition, amino acid sequence analysis revealed that sciatin and ovotransferrin and identical amino-terminal sequences for a t least the first 20 amino acid residues. Chicken ovotransferrin, but not human serum transferrin, cross-reacted with rabbit antisciatin antibodies upon rocket immunoelectrophoresis and double immunodiffusion in agar. In addition, in the presence of bicarbonate, sciatin bound approximately 2 mol ferrous iron/mol protein. Using the purification procedure developed for sciatin, we purified a protein from chicken serum that cross-reacted with antisciatin serum, migrated at a position identical to that of sciatin or ovotransferrin on two-dimensional gel electrophoresis, had an amino composition very similar to ovotransferrin and sciatin, and had myotropic effects on cultured muscle cells. From these data, we conclude that sciatin is a growth-promoting polypeptide closely related in structure to transferrin.

The 20,000 molecular weight variant of human growth hormone. Preparation and some physical and chemical properties.

Extracts of frozen human pituitary glands contain, in addition to normal growth hormone (hGH (Mr = 22,005), a variant of lower molecular weight (approximately 20,000) (Singh, R. N. P., Seavey, B. K. and Lewis, U. J. (1974) Endocrinol. Res. Commun. 1, 449-464). This material, designated 20K hGH, occurs in various forms with the majority present as a heterologous dimer of Mr = 20,000 hGH and hGH. The purification scheme for obtaining the variant from these fractions is described. Analysis of Mr = 20,000 hGH in the sequenator has confirmed that residues 32-46 of hGH are absent in Mr = 20,000 hGH. The structures of hGH and Mr = 20,000 hGH have been compared by 1H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, circular dichroism, spectrophotometric titration, and nitration of the tyrosine residues by tetranitromethane. The results indicate that the folding of the polypeptide chain of the two proteins is similar but not identical.

Amino acid sequence of catfish pancreatic somatostatin I.

Two peptides, pancreatic somatostatins I and II, larger and more acidic than synthetic tetradecapeptide somatostatin, have been purified from pancreatic islets of channel catfish (Ictalurus punctata). These peptides have reduced immunoreactivity in a radioimmunoassay for synthetic somatostatin, but full biological activity was measured as inhibition of growth hormone released from isolated rat anterior pituitary cells. Pancreatic somatostatin I is composed of 22 amino acids. Eight additional amino acids are found as an NH2-terminal extension of the segment which is homologous to synthetic tetradecapeptide somatostatin. Seven of fourteen residues of tetradecapeptide somatostatin are present in the COOH-terminal portion of catfish pancreatic somatostatin I. The sequence is NH2-Asp-Asn-Thr-Val-Arg-Ser-Lys-Pro-Leu-Asn-Cys-Met-Asn-Tyr-Phe-Trp-Lys-Ser-Ser-Thr-Ala-Cys-COOH. There is considerable homology with the carboxyl end of synthetic tetradecapeptide somatostatin.

Peptide separations on substituted polystyrene resins. Effect of cross-linkage.

The effect of copolymer cross-linkage on the resolution of soluble tryptic peptides of human globin (alpha- and beta-chains) separated in columns containing substituted polystyrene resin classified to 11 +/- 1 micrometer has been examined. With both the cation and anion exchange resins, polymers of lower cross-linkage provided better resolution; inferior resolution was obtained with 12% cross-linked resins. It was also observed that microparticle anion-exchange resins could be used in columns maintained at 55 degrees instead of 35 degrees as used traditionally. Resolution and yield with 20 x 1 cm resin beds were generally as good as or superior to much longer columns of crushed bead resin of the same chemical structure.