Bradykinin-potentiating peptide from venom of the spider Latrodectus tredecimguttatus

A bradykinin-potentiating peptide has been isolated from the venom of the spiderLatrodectus tredecimguttatus. Its physicochemical properties and amino acid composition have been investigated in detail. It has been shown by biological testing on isolated neck of the rat uterus that the peptide increases the contractile effect of bradykinin in in vitro experiments. The potentiating unit is 2 · 10^–3 mg/ml. A 50% increase in the hypotensive effect of bradykinin at a concentration of the bradykinin-potentiating peptide of 15 µg/kg of body weight has been found, the increase in the intensity of the effect being accompanied by a prolongation of its action.A. Sadykov Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Uzbek SSR, Tashkent. Translated from Khimiya Prirodnykh Soedinenii, No. 5, pp. 699–703, September–October, 1989.     

Fragmentation Analysis of Bradykinin by 252Cf-Plasma Desorption Mass Spectrometry

The ²⁵²Cf-plasma desorption (PO) mass spectrum of the nonapeptide bradykinin was studied in detail with particular emphasis on the fragmentation pattern resulting from fast metastable decay of the molecular ion. N-acetyl and O-methyl derivatives of bradykinin were used as mass shift species for assignment of N-terminal and C-terminal fragment ions. Thirty-seven sequence-specific fragment ions were identified, including those that are due to cleavage of peptide backbone as well as side chain bonds (i.e., d_n, v_n, w_n fragment ions). The degree of fragmentation correlates with what has been observed by fast atom bombardment tandem mass spectrometry using hi~h energy collisional activation. The high degree of excitation of bradykinin molecules in ²⁵²Cf-POMS is undoubtedly due to the special nature of excitation intrinsic to the ²⁵²Cf_PD process where electronic excitation occurs with a very high probability due to the high electron and photon flux surrounding the nuclear fission fragment track. These results offer further evidence that ²⁵²Cf_PDMS, in addition to providing molecular weight information, can be used to sequence peptides without the need for a second stage of molecular excitation.     

Synthesis of Photoaffinity Labelling Analogues of the Peptide Hormone Bradykinin

Fourteen peptides, analogues of bradykinin and (des-Arg⁹)bradykinin, have been synthesized by the solid-phase method or have been obtained through chemical modification. In all these peptides an aromatic residue has been substituted by (4′-NO₂)Phe, (4′-NH₂)Phe, (4′-N₃)Phe or (4′-NH₂-3′, 5′-I₂)Phe. These peptides will be used as photoaffinity labelling or affinity labelling probes for peptide hormone receptors.     

Decreased glycation and structural protection properties of γ-glutamyl-S-allyl-cysteine peptide isolated from fresh garlic scales (Allium sativum L.)

The antiglycative effect of γ-glutamyl-S-allyl-cysteine (GSAC) peptide isolated from fresh garlic scales was investigated in the bovine serum albumin (BSA)/glucose system. GSAC inhibited the increase of fluorescence intensity at about 440 nm in a concentration-dependent manner and reduced reacted free lysine side chains by 10.9%, 24.7% and 37.7%, as the GSAC concentrations increased from 0.1 to 2.5 mg mL^? 1. Glycation-specific decline in BSA α-helix content (from 61.3% to 55.6%) and increase in β-sheet (from 2.1% to 5.4%) were prevented by GSAC (2.5 mg mL^? 1) in vitro, implying its stabilisation effect. GSAC treatment (2.5 mg mL^? 1) suppressed protein crosslinking to form polymers. Additionally, GSAC (10, 40, and 160 μg mL^? 1) showed radical-scavenging and metal-chelating capacities. In conclusion, GSAC has an antiglycative effect, which may involve its radical-scavenging and metal-chelating capacities.     

The use of acetone as a substitute for acetonitrile in analysis of peptides by liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization mass spectrometry

The recent worldwide shortage of acetonitrile has prompted interest in alternative solvents for liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS). In this work, acetone was substituted for acetonitrile in the separation of a peptide mixture by reversed‐phase high‐performance liquid chromatography (RP‐HPLC) and in the positive electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI‐MS) of individual peptides. On both C12 and C18 stationary phases, the substitution of acetone for acetonitrile as the organic component of the mobile phase did not alter the gradient elution order of a five‐peptide retention standard, but did increase peak width, shorten retention times, and increase peak tailing. Positive ESI mass spectra were obtained for angiotensin I, bradykinin, [Leu⁵]‐enkephalin, and somatostatin 14 dissolved in both acetonitrile/water/formic acid (25%/75%/0.1%) and acetone/water/formic acid (25%/75%/0.1%). Under optimized ESI‐MS conditions, the mass spectral response of [Leu⁵]‐enkephalin was increased two‐fold when the solvent contained acetone. The substitution of acetone for acetonitrile resulted in only slight changes in the responses of the remaining peptides. A higher capillary voltage was required for optimum response when acetone was used. Compared with acetonitrile/water/formic acid (50/50/0.1%), more interfering species below m/z = 140 were found in the ESI‐MS spectra of acetone/water/formic acid (50/50/0.1%). Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Metastable decomposition of peptide [M + H]+ ions via rearrangement involving loss of the C-terminal amino acid residue

A novel fragmentation of metastable peptide [M + H]⁺ ions is described. Loss of the C-terminal amino acid residue is accomqanied by retention of one of the carboxyl oxygens, as judged by ¹⁸O-labeling. The retained ⁸O label is located at the new C-terminus. Sequential mass spectrometric analyses indicate that the structure of the first-generation product ion is indistinguishable from that of the [M + H]⁺ ion of the peptide with one fewer amino acid residues. Thus, for example, the metastable decompositions of ions of m/z 904 are similar whether they correspond to des-Arg⁹-bradykinin [M + H]⁺ ions or to fragments derived from bradykinin [M + H]⁺ ions. No corresponding rearrangements have been observed for peptides with C-terminal amide or ester functions. The mechanism of this fragmentation may be considered to be analogous to that previously suggested for fragmentations of [M + alkali metal cation]⁺ ions. For the examples of bradykinin and related peptides, the rearrangement is strongly promoted when arginine is the amino acid residue lost. The same fragmentation is also favored by the presence of an arginine residue at or near the N-terminus. The strong influence of peptide amino acid composition, including residues remote from the C-terminus, on the prevalence of this fragmentation suggests mechanistic complexities that require further elucidation.

     

The Influence of Stop-Flow on Band Broadening of Peptides in Micro-Liquid Chromatography

Stop-flow techniques are occasionally needed in combinations of LC-NMR and LC-MS. During the interval when there is no flow on the column, axial diffusion of components not yet eluted can be expected to take place. In this paper the size of the band broadening which is caused by diffusion during stop-flow has been determined for two peptides on reversed-phase packed micro columns. Within a temperature range of 20–40 °C, stop-flow could be extended to 30 minutes for peptides having k values in the range of 0.7–5.1 with little increase in band width on 1.0 mm i.d. columns at isocratic conditions. Stop-flow for 6 h at 20 °C increased the peak width of bradykinin and leucine-enkephalin by 25% and 60%, respectively, depending on the secondary interactions of the peptides. The peak broadening increased with increasing temperature (from 20 to 40 °C), as expected, and the impact was significant at stop-flow times larger than 2 h. Stop-flow during gradient elution resulted in less increase in peak width than isocratic elution due to the peak compression obtained when re-entering the gradient. At 20 °C the effective diffusion coefficients of leucine-enkephalin and bradykinin were determined to 6.5 × 10⁻⁷cm ²/s and 5.5 × 10⁻⁷ cm²/s, respectively, on the packed micro column.     

Physicochemical characterization of a novel surfactant peptide containing an arginine cation and laurate anion

 A novel surfactant peptide consisting of an arginine cation with laurate anion has been synthesized, purified and characterized. The critical micellar concentration (cmc) of peptide in aqueous solutions has been determined using spectroscopic techniques and is found to increase from 0.06 to 0.11 mM with increasing temperature (15–45 °C). Cmc is also determined in the presence of salts like NaCl, KCl and sodium acetate and it is found that these electrolytes hinder aggregation with a significant increase in the case of sodium acetate. The aggregation number of the surfactant peptide has been determined using fluorescence quenching measurements and is observed to decrease from 14 to 6 with increasing temperature (15–45 °C). The standard free energy change (ΔG ⁰ _m) and standard enthalpy change (ΔH ⁰ _m) of the peptide aggregate are found to be negative with a small positive value for standard entropy change (ΔS ⁰ _m). The peptide aggregate seems to undergo phase transition above 50 °C as observed from UV–vis and fluorescence spectroscopy. From pyrene binding studies, it is shown that the interior dielectric constant increases from 5.08 at 34 °C to 8.77 at 50 °C and further decreases with increase in temperature indicating a phase change at 50 °C. Also, the ratio of excimer intensity to monomer intensity, which is a measure of microviscosity of the aggregate, decreases with increase in temperature with a change at 50 °C indicating a phase change. Received: 14 February 1997 Accepted: 13 August 1997     

LfcinB-Derived Peptides: Specific and punctual change of an amino acid in monomeric and dimeric sequences increase selective cytotoxicity in colon cancer cell lines

We observed how a change of specific residues in LfcinB dimeric and palindromic sequences caused a notable increase in the cytotoxic activity against CaCo-2 cells while maintaining or even diminishing the level of the cytotoxic effect against normal fibroblast and HEK-293 cells. In both cases, the IC₅₀ of the peptides was reduced by more than half of the concentration, diminishing the IC₅₀ value from 150 µg/mL (101 µM) (LfcinB (21–25)_Pal: RWQWRWQWR) to 60 µg/mL (42.8 µM) for the modified palindromic peptide ⁵[A] LfcinB (21–25)_Pal: RWQWAWQWR and the IC₅₀ from 125 µg/mL (LfcinB (20–30)₂: (RRWQWRMKKLG)₂-K-Ahx to 58 µg/mL (18 µM) for the modified dimeric peptide ²⁶[F] LfcinB (20–30)₂: (RRWQWRFKKLG)₂-K-Ahx. The cytotoxic effect of ²⁶[F] LfcinB (20–30)₂ and LfcinB (21–25)_Pal peptides against colon cancer cell line HCT-116 was greater than the cytotoxic effect of these peptides against Caco-2 cells, suggesting that the cytotoxic effect of these peptides is selective for colon cancer cell lines. The cytotoxic effect of the peptides rapidly caused severe damage to the morphology of CaCo-2 cells, while the morphology of the normal fibroblast and HEK-293 cells was not affected. The dimeric modified peptide ²⁶[F] LfcinB (20–30)₂ mainly caused death through apoptotic events. As for the palindromic modified peptide ⁵[A] LfcinB (21–25)_Pal, the cell death was induced by both necrotic and apoptotic pathways. All this suggests that specific modification of a single residue in the peptide sequence can improve the anticancer activity of the original monomeric or dimeric peptides, giving place to new potential molecules for the future development of drugs for use against colorectal carcinoma. Our results show that changes to a residue of the anti-cancer peptide sequence may be considered a versatile, feasible, and invaluable strategy for obtaining promising sequences for developing peptide-based cancer treatments.     

Carbamino group formation with peptides and proteins studied by mass spectrometry

At high pH and in the presence of dissolved CO₂, the N-terminus and ε-amino groups of amino acids, peptides, and proteins can form carbamino adducts with CO₂, R-NH₂ + CO₂ ↔ R-NHCOO⁻ + H⁺. We report the first study of carbamino group formation by electrospray ionization (ESI) mass spectrometry (MS). Angiotensin II, bradykinin, substance P, and insulin have been studied. A careful optimization of the instrumental parameters was necessary to allow the transfer of the fragile adducts into vacuum for mass analysis. Particularly, dissociation of the adducts in the ion sampling process and pH changes in ESI must be minimized. With these precautions, levels of carbamino group formation of angiotensin II and bradykinin determined from mass spectra agree with those expected to be in solution, calculated from literature equilibrium constants. Thus, ESI MS can quantitatively measure ratios of carbamino adduct to total peptide concentration in solution. Values of equilibrium constants for carbamino group formation with substance P (pK_c = 4.77 ± 0.18) and insulin (pK_c = 4.99 ± 0.05) are reported for the first time.     

缓激肽多肽片段间非共价作用的质谱研究

以缓激肽(R¹P²P³G⁴F⁵S⁶P⁷F⁸R⁹)分子作为研究模型, 用电喷雾质谱研究缓激肽分子碎片片段之间的非共价相互作用, 探讨了影响气相多肽分子构象稳定的氢键作用. 合成了与缓激肽分子在位置1断裂形成的碎片一致的RPPGFS和PFR多肽序列, 与在位置2断裂形成碎片一致的RPPGF和SPFR多肽, 以及N端或者C端去掉精氨酸的相应碎片多肽. 实验结果表明, 上述两个断裂位置产生的碎片多肽分别进行反应后, 都能发生非共价作用. 在断裂方式1下, PFR多肽在去掉C端的精氨酸R后, 与其他大多数多肽不发生非共价结合, 表明PFR中的R在缓激肽气相分子的构象中发挥重要的作用. 而在断裂方式2下, 去掉N端或者C端精氨酸的多肽之间都存在非共价结合, 即C端带有丝氨酸的SPF或SPFR多肽碎片仍然可以与N端碎片发生氢键结合, 表明丝氨酸很可能处于转角的位置. 通过对碰撞诱导解离(CID)的碰撞能量分析, 发现多肽RPPGFS和PFR, 以及多肽RPPGF和SPFR之间氢键结合较强, 而同时去掉N端和C端精氨酸得到的多肽之间的氢键结合较弱. 质谱滴定法定量测得的RPPGFS和PFR的结合常数为3.53×10³, 与RPPGF和SPFR的结合常数(3.16×10³)相接近,它们均大于去除精氨酸的PPGF和SPF的结合常数(1.25×10³). 质谱滴定实验结果进一步确认了碰撞诱导解离的分析结果, 表明缓激肽分子两端的精氨酸之间的氢键作用是气相缓激肽分子构象稳定的重要因素之一.     

High-field fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry for simultaneous trapping and gas-phase hydrogen/deuterium exchange of peptide ions

Gas-phase hydrogen/deuterium exchange of D₂O with [M+H]⁺ ions of angiotensin II, angiotensin I, [Sar¹]-angiotensin II, bradykinin, des-Arg¹-bradykinin, des-Arg⁹-bradykinin, luteinizing hormone releasing hormone (LH-RH), and substance P has been examined by Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry at 9.4 tesla. Because the FTICR dynamic range increases quadratically with magnetic field, parent ions from a mixture of several peptides may be confined simultaneously for long periods at high pressure (e. g., 1 h at 1×10^?5 torr) without quadrupolar axialization (and its attendant ion heating), for faster data acquisition and better controlled comparisons between different peptides. A high magnetic field also facilitates stored waveform inverse Fourier transform (SWIFT) isolation of monoisotopic [M+H]⁺ parent ions, so that deuterium incorporation patterns may be determined directly without the need for isotopic distribution deconvolution. Finally, a higher magnetic field provides for a greatly extending trapping period, for measurement of much slower rates. Angiotensin I, angiotensin II, and [Sar¹]-angiotensin II are found to undergo a rapid exchange. Angiotensin II and [Sar¹]-angiotensin II exhibit multiple deuterium uptake distributions, corresponding to multiple gas-phase conformations. In contrast, substance P exchanges slowly and LH-RH displays no observable exchange. Comparison of the relative H/D exchange rates for bradykinin and its des-Arg-derivatives supports the hypothesis that bradykinin adopts a folded gas-phase conformation that unfolds upon removal of either terminal arginine residue.     

A New Cyclopeptide from Clausena anisum‐olens

A new cyclopeptide, clausenain I ( 1 ), has been isolated by a multi‐step chromatography procedure from Clausena anisum‐olens. Its structure was elucidated as cyclo (‐Gly¹‐Ile²‐Ile³‐Val⁴‐Leu⁵‐Ile⁶‐Ile⁷‐Leu⁸‐Leu⁹‐) by extensive 2D‐NMR spectroscopic methods and chemical evidence. It is the first time that a natural cyclic peptide has been isolated from the genus Clausena.     

Conformational Analysis of a 20‐Membered Cyclic Peptide Disulfide from Conus virgo with a WPW Segment: Evidence for an Aromatic–Proline Sandwich

A novel peptide containing a single disulfide bond, CIWPWC (Vi804), has been isolated and characterised from the venom of the marine cone snail, Conus virgo. A precursor polypeptide sequence derived from complementary DNA, corresponding to the M‐superfamily conotoxins, has been identified. The identity of the synthetic and natural peptide sequence has been established. A detailed analysis of the conformation in solution is reported for Vi804 and a synthetic analogue, CI^DWPWC (^DW3‐Vi804), in order to establish the structure of the novel WPW motif, which occurs in the context of a 20‐membered macrocyclic disulfide. Vi804 exists exclusively in the cis W3?P4 conformer in water and methanol, whereas ^DW3‐Vi804 occurs exclusively as the trans conformer. NMR spectra revealed a W3?P4 type VI β turn in Vi804 and a type II′ β turn in the analogue peptide, ^DW3‐Vi804. The extremely high‐field chemical shifts of the proline ring protons, together with specific nuclear Overhauser effects, are used to establish a conformation in which the proline ring is sandwiched between the flanking Trp residues, which emphasises a stabilising role for the aromatic–proline interactions, mediated predominantly by dispersion forces.     

Insights into the mechanism of methionine oxidation catalyzed by metal (Cu2+, Zn2+, and Fe3+)—Amyloid beta (Aβ) peptide complexes: A computational study

In this DFT study, a mechanism of the oxidation of methionine (Met) amino acid residue catalyzed by the metal (Cu²⁺, Zn²⁺, and Fe³⁺) bound amyloid beta (Aβ) peptide has been proposed. Based on experimental information, two different mechanisms: (1) stepwise and (2) concerted mechanisms for this important process have been investigated. The B3LYP calculations suggest that in the stepwise mechanism, the two separate pathways leading to the same sulfoxide product [Met(O)] go through prohibitively high barriers of 27.3 and 35.1 kcal/mol, therefore it is ruled out. In the concerted mechanism, the Cu²⁺‐Aβ complex has been found to be the most efficient catalyst with the computed barrier of 14.3 kcal/mol. The substitutions of Cu²⁺ by Zn²⁺ and Fe³⁺ increase barriers to 19.6 and 16.9 kcal/mol, respectively and make the reaction thermodynamically less favorable. It was also found that, in comparison with the cysteine (Cys) residue, Met is more susceptible toward oxidation. Its substitution with Cys slightly increased the barrier to 15.8 kcal/mol for the Cu²⁺‐Aβ complex. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comput Chem 2009     

Rate and extent of gas-phase hydrogen/deuterium exchange of bradykinins: evidence for peptide zwitterions in the gas phase

The gas-phase H/D exchange of bradykinin [M + H]⁺, [M + Na]⁺, [M + 2H]²⁺, and [M + H + Na]²⁺ ions; des-Arg¹-bradykinin, des-Arg⁹-bradykinin, and bradykinin fragment 2-7 [M + H]⁺ ions; and O-methylbradykinin [M + H]⁺ and [M + 2H]²⁺ ions with D₂O have been examined by electrospray ionization Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry at 9.4 T. The different peptides vary widely in exchange rate and extent of deuterium incorporation. H/D exchange was slowest and deuterium incorporation was least for bradykinin [M + H]⁺, [M + H + Na]²⁺ and bradykinin methyl ester [M + 2H]²⁺ ions. In contrast, H/D exchange and extent of deuteration are higher for des-Arg¹-bradykinin, des-Arg⁹-bradykinin, and bradykinin fragment 2-7 [M + H]⁺ ions; and highest for bradykinin [M + Na]⁺ and [M + 2H]²⁺, and O-methylbradykinin [M + H]⁺. Because the most likely site of protonation is the guanidino group of arginine, the above reactivity pattern strongly supports a zwitterion form for protonated gas-phase bradykinin.     

Grafting vinyl monomers onto silk fibers. IX. Graft copolymerization of methyl methacrylate onto silk using peroxydiphosphate-thiourea redox system

The graft copolymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA) onto silk in aqueous media initiated by the potassium peroxydiphosphate-thiourea redox system was studied at 50°C. The rate of grafting was determined by changing [monomerl], [thiourea], [initiator], acidity of the medium, reaction medium, and temperature. A significant increase percent of grafting was noticed with increasing monomer concentration to 84.49 × 10^?2 mole/liter and the further increase is associated with the decrease of graft yield. The graft yield increases with an increase of thiourea (Tu) concentration to 25 × 10^?5 mole/liter; then it decreases. A measurable increase in graft yield was observed with an increase in acidity of the medium. Graft yield increases to a certain temperature, i.e., 50°C, and then it decreases. The graft yield increases with an increase of initiator concentration to 60 × 10^?4 mole/liter; then it decreases. The graft yield is medium dependent. A suitable kinetic path has been proposed and the rate equation has been derived.     

Are Pro<Superscript>8</Superscript>/Pro<Superscript>18</Superscript> really critical for functional dynamic behavior of human endostatin N-terminal peptide? A comparative molecular dynamics study

Endostatin which is derived from the non-collagenous domain 1 of collagen XVIII and is a recently identified broad spectrum anti-angiogenesis agent, inhibits 65 different tumor types. The N-terminal fragment of endostatin protein (ES) has the same antitumor, antimigration and antipermeability effects as the entire protein. In the current study, we modeled two mutant variants of ES with two mutation sites (M1-ES (Pro⁸ → Ala) and M2-ES (Pro¹⁸ → Ala)) and tried to understand proline’s effect on the peptide structure/stability by introducing P⁸A/P¹⁸A mutations, and then in order to gain functional insight into mutation caused by amino acid substitution to the peptide structure/function, these effects were predicted using computational tools. From the RMSD analyses, it can be concluded that dynamic behavior of wild-type and mutant structures was not significantly different from each other and all systems reached equilibrium. The RMSF analysis also revealed that the M2-ES has smaller overall flexibility than the WT-ES and M1-ES structures. The radius of gyration analysis then confirmed the structure of M2-ES compared to wild-type and M1 variant becomes more compact during simulation of our systems. Finally, molecular dynamics simulation analysis shows that replacement of Pro residue with Ala is able to induce a distinct β-sheet in both mutant structures. Indeed, the docking analysis shows the WT-ES and M2-ES bind to the same region of α_vβ₃ integrin, suggesting similar interaction pattern with a relatively equal binding energy into this receptor. Our results speculated that the P⁸A/P¹⁸A replacements confer no improvement (or no tangible weakness) in the peptide biological activity although is able to change structural conformation of N-terminal fragment of human endostatin protein.     

Purification of nerve growth factor from the venom of the Central Asian cobraNaja oxiana

A highly purified electrophoreticaly homogeneous protein with a NGF activity of 10·10⁵ BU/mg of protein have been isolated from the venom of the Central Asian cobra by gel-filtration and ion-exchange chromatography followed by preparative isolectric focusing in a thin layer of Sephadex. It has been shown that the NGF isolated is characterized by a molecular weight in the range of 20–30 kD and a pI value of about 7.0.     

Design and synthesis of polytripeptide (leuglnpro)n based upon the matrix protein amelogenin

A linear neutral repetitive peptide, (Leu-Gln-Pro)_n (n = 1-100), an analog of the Ca²⁺ ion-binding domain of the matrix protein, amelogenin, has been synthesized. The polypeptide is mostly unordered in trifluoroethanol (TFE) at 25°C and its circular dichroism (CD) spectrum resembles that of the protein itself. In TFE the CD spectrum of (Leu-Gln-Pro)_n reveals that the polypeptide interacts strongly with divalent cations Mg²⁺, Ca²⁺, Sr²⁺, and Ba²⁺ accompanied by conformational rearrangement from a random to a more-ordered one. In the presence of Li⁺, Na⁺ and K⁺ ions no such conformational change has been observed. The CD curves of the complexes suggest the presence of type I β-turns and reinforce the hypothesis that the region Gln₁₁₂-Leu₁₃₈ in amelogenin is the Ca²⁺-binding domain. In the solid state, powder X-ray diffraction suggests that the polymeric (LQP)_n may exist as isolated “rigid rods”.