title: Identification of the C-terminally alpha-amidated amino acid in peptides by high-performance liquid chromatography.
abstract: A sensitive method for the rapid identification of the C-terminally amidated amino acid in peptides is described. Peptides containing the alpha-amide group at the C-terminus were cleaved with endopeptidases. The fragments released (oligopeptides, amino acids and the C-terminally amidated residue) are coupled to phenylisothiocyanate. The phenylthiocarbamoyl derivative of the amino acid alpha-amide is selectively extracted from the mixture by alkaline butyl acetate and identified by a high-performance liquid chromatography system that enables rapid and complete separation of the derivatives of 17 amino acid amides at a detection limit of 20-50 pmol. The C-terminal alpha-amides of neurokinin-A (Met-NH2), mammalian secretin (Val-NH2), pancreatic polypeptide (Tyr-NH2) and peptide HI (Ile-NH2) are unequivocally determined at a level of 0.5-2 nmol per peptide. This method was used to characterize a crude peptide fraction prepared from porcine brain. Cholecystokinin-58 was identified in this fraction by detection of phenylthiocarbamoyl-phenylalaninamide. The method is suitable for the identification of the C-terminal alpha-amidated residue of purified peptides, but can also be used as a screening strategy to isolate from complex biological extracts novel peptides containing an alpha-amidated amino acid at the C-terminus.
mesh_terms: D000577:Amides / Q000032:analysis*; D000596:Amino Acids / Q000032:analysis*; D000818:Animals; D001923:Brain Chemistry; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D004064:Digestive System / Q000032:analysis; D010450:Endopeptidases; D006868:Hydrolysis; D010455:Peptides / Q000032:analysis*; D013552:Swine
chemical_list: D000577:Amides; D000596:Amino Acids; D010455:Peptides; D010450:Endopeptidases