Modified forms of vasopressin and oxytocin in a bovine pineal preparation.
A bovine pineal acid extract displays a vasotocin-like bioactivity in several bioassays, and is recognized by antibodies against the Pro-Arg-Gly-amide ending common to vasopressin and vasotocin. By using molecular sieve filtration and reversed-phase HPLC, a vasopressin- and oxytocin-like peptide was isolated from this pineal preparation, while no evidence for a vasotocin-like peptide was obtained. The isolated neuropeptides contain a modified amino acid at position 2. This structural difference with authentic pituitary vasopressin and oxytocin may alter their biological and immunological properties, which have been interpreted as vasotocin-like, and thus underlies the controversy concerning the existence of vasotocin in the mammalian pineal gland.
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001127:Arginine Vasopressin / Q000032:analysis; D002417:Cattle; D002850:Chromatography, Gel; D007525:Isoelectric Focusing; D010121:Oxytocin / Q000378:metabolism*; D010870:Pineal Gland / Q000378:metabolism*; D011863:Radioimmunoassay; D014667:Vasopressins / Q000378:metabolism*; D014668:Vasotocin / Q000032:analysis
D014667:Vasopressins; D001127:Arginine Vasopressin; D010121:Oxytocin; D014668:Vasotocin