title: Precursors in the biosynthesis of vasopressin and oxytocin in the rat. Characteristics of all the components in high-performance liquid chromatography.
abstract: A reverse-phase high performance liquid-chromatography (h.p.l.c.) protocol has been developed, whereby all the major known posterior-pituitary components that are derived from the processing of pro-oxytocin and pro-vasopressin can be separated one from another. Thus, in a single chromatographic step, it has been possible to separate vasopressin (VP), oxytocin (OT), oxytocin-neurophysin (rOT-Np), vasopressin-neurophysin (rVP-Np) and vasopressin-glycopeptide (rVP-GP) from acid extracts of the neurointermediate lobes of rat pituitary glands. All these peptides except rVP-GP were labelled in the neural lobe by 24h after a hypothalamic injection of [35S]cysteine, whereas all except VP were labelled by 24h after a similar injection of [3H]leucine. Three major labelled proteins were isolated from 20 min [35S]cysteine-injected rats when extracts of the supraoptic nucleus were subjected to Sephadex G-75 chromatography, h.p.l.c. and sodium dodecyl sulphate/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis. Immunoprecipitation with antisera raised against rat neurophysins, VP and OT revealed 21000- and 19000-mol.wt. common precursors to VP and rVP-Np and a 15000-mol.wt. common precursor to OT and rOT-Np. Some immunoreactive rVP-Np could occasionally be detected in the Vo of Sephadex G-75 chromatograms of Wistar rat supraoptic-nucleus extracts, but no evidence of [35S]neurophysin in this fraction was obtained from h.p.l.c. fingerprinting of its S-carboxymethylated tryptic digests. Radioimmunoassay for rVP-Np and rOT-Np revealed that about 70-80% of the total recovered immunoreactive neurophysin (IR-Np) in the supraoptic nucleus eluted from Sephadex G-75 and h.p.l.c. in the positions of rVP-Np and rOT-Np. Evidence is presented for an approx. 20000-mol.wt. rOT-Np in both Wistar and Brattleboro rats and for an approx. 20000-mol.wt. component in the Brattleboro rat that is recognized by vasopressin-neurophysin antisera.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002850:Chromatography, Gel; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D008297:Male; D008970:Molecular Weight; D009481:Neurophysins / Q000302:isolation & purification; D010121:Oxytocin / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D010904:Pituitary Gland, Posterior / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D013495:Supraoptic Nucleus / Q000378:metabolism; D014667:Vasopressins / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000302:isolation & purification
chemical_list: D009481:Neurophysins; D014667:Vasopressins; D010121:Oxytocin