Pancreastatin, a novel pancreatic peptide that inhibits insulin secretion

In mammalian tissues the C-terminal amide structure has been found to occur only in neuroactive or hormonally-active peptides. About half known neuropeptide and peptide hormones have this unique chemical feature. Using a chemical detection method, a search for previously unknown peptides that possess the C-terminal amide structure in extracts of brain and intestine was carried out and a number of novel neuropeptides and hormonal peptides, designated neuropeptide Y, PHI, peptide YY, galanin and neuropeptide K were isolated. We recently performed a similar search in porcine pancreas and found a high concentration of a peptide having a glycine amide at its C-terminus. Here we report the isolation, primary structure and biological activity of this novel peptide. The 49-residue peptide strongly inhibits glucose-induced insulin release from the isolated perfused pancreas and was therefore named pancreastatin. It may be important in the regulation of insulin secretion and in the pathogenesis and treatment of diabetes mellitus.     

狗小肠新生物活性肽的分离纯化及结构测定

研究了一种新的胃肠肽的分离纯化及其部分氨基酸序列测定．沸水处理后的狗小肠经醋酸提取、海藻酸吸附、盐酸洗脱、氯化钠盐析和乙醇沉淀，再经Sephadex G-25（fine）层析和两次RP-HPLC分离，从中纯化出一个热稳定多肽．用Tris-Tricine-SDS-PAGE鉴定其相对分子质量约为4 kD．该肽经胰酶水解，产物片断经RP-HPLC分离后，取其中之一主峰经CapLC-ESI-MS-MS（Q-TOF2）质谱仪测定氨基酸顺序为：T-E-Y-T-A-L-N-V-L-A-T-T-E-E-N-G．蛋白质数据库（Gen Bank和SWISS-PROT）查寻证明：此肽为首次发现的新多肽，正在进一步研究其生物学功能．     

Two types of cholinergic innervation in cortex, one co-localized with vasoactive intestinal polypeptide

The existence of cholinergic neuronal cell bodies in mammalian cerebral cortex was long the subject of much controversy (see ref. 1 for review). Recently, however, a specific cholinergic marker, the acetylcholine synthesizing enzyme, choline acetyltransferase (ChAT, E.C.2.3.1.6), was demonstrated by immunohistochemical methods to be present in bipolar neurones in rat cortex. Here we show that at least 80% of these intrinsic cholinergic neurones also contain immunoreactivity for vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP), a neuroactive peptide found to be present in a subpopulation of cortical neurones. On the other hand, we find that the ChAT-positive cells in the basal forebrain, which are another major source of cholinergic innervation of the cortex, contain no detectable VIP-immunoreactivity. In addition, we have observed by both light and electron microscopy that some VIP- and some ChAT-positive structures in cortex are closely associated with blood vessels.     

Isolation and structure of a novel C-terminally amidated opioid peptide, amidorphin, from bovine adrenal medulla

Biologically active peptide hormones and neurotransmitters have been shown to be enzymatically liberated from larger, inactive precursor molecules by tissue-specific post-translational processing, particularly at the typical cleavage signals of paired basic residues. Subsequent N-terminal or C-terminal modifications may be of importance in regulating the biological activities of these peptides. C-terminal alpha-amidation is considered to be essential for the biological function of several non-opioid peptides. Here we present the isolation and structure of a novel C-terminally amidated opioid peptide, amidorphin, from bovine adrenal medulla. Amidorphin and the recently isolated octapeptide metorphamide (adrenorphin) are the only endogenous opioid peptides in mammals known to possess a C-terminal amide group. The amino acid sequence of amidorphin corresponds to the sequence 104-129 of bovine proenkephalin A. Very high concentrations of amidorphin were detected in bovine adrenal medulla and in a further endocrinological system, the hypothalamic-neurohypophyseal axis. Amidorphin may therefore be considered to be a major gene product of the opioid peptide precursor proenkephalin A in these endocrine tissues.     

Human nectin-like 1, a novel membrane protein interacting with protein 4.1 R

Human nectin-like 1 (NECL1) full-length cDNA was cloned by bioinformatics method when searching for candidate membrane proteins interacting with members of protein 4.1 family. The cytoplasmic and extracellular regions of NECL1 were expressed in and purified from E. coli, and the polyclonal antibody was produced. Interaction between the cytoplasmic region of NECL1 and the 30 kD membrane binding domain of protein 4.1 on red blood cell (4. 1R) was demonstrated by IAsys-biosensor system and GST pull-down experiment. Results of biotin-labeled peptide ELISA further demonstrated the key amino acids for the binding. The interaction research of NECL1's cytoplasmic domain provides basis for further study of the functions of NECL1 in nervous system.     

Vasoactive intestinal peptide regulates mitosis, differentiation and survival of cultured sympathetic neuroblasts

Although acute, millisecond-to-millisecond actions of neurotransmitters are well documented, diverse longer-term effects have been discovered only recently. Emerging evidence indicates that these signals regulate a variety of neuronal processes, from phenotypic expression to neurite outgrowth. Here we show that a single putative transmitter, vasoactive intestinal peptide, can exert multiple, long-term effects simultaneously: it stimulates mitosis, promotes neurite outgrowth and enhances survival of sympathetic neuron precursors in culture. As the peptide seems to be a normal presynaptic transmitter in the sympathetic system, synaptic transmission may exert hitherto unexpected effects.     

Identification of AtSM34, a novel tonoplast intrinsic protein-interacting polypeptide expressed in response to osmotic stress in germinating seedlings

Aquaporins are implicated in a wide variety of plant physiological processes, although the mechanisms involved in their regulation are not fully understood. To gain further insight into the regulatory factors involved in this process, we used a yeast two-hybrid system to screen for potential binding partners to the Arabidopsis tonoplast intrinsic protein (TIP) AtTIP1;1. This was the first protein identified to be associated with high water permeability in vacuolar membranes from Arabidopsis thaliana. Using ...     

苦瓜籽中一种抗胰蛋白肽的分离及抗真菌作用观察

利用凝胶过滤层析Sephadex G-75、强阳离子交换色谱SP-650M,从苦瓜籽中分离纯化出一种活性多肽.该多肽在Tricine-SDS-PAGE上显示为单一的谱带,分子量约为6.8 kDa.在经还原剂二硫苏糖醇(DTT)处理后的电泳结果表明该多肽不含有分子间的二硫键.此多肽是一种胰蛋白酶抑制剂,同时具有抗植物致病菌活性,是一种具有双功能作用的多肽.     

Isolation of a novel antifungal peptide from the bark of Eucommia ulmoides Oliv

A novel Eucommia antifungal peptide, named EAFP3, was isolated from the bark of Eucommia ul- moides by NaC1 extract, gel filtration and reverse phase high performance liquid chromatography. The molecular mass of EAFP3 is 4157.3 Da, and its partial amino acid sequence is -. LYQQLIAGITLNK.-. EAFP3 exerts an inhibitory activity against Candida albicans in vitro and the drug concentration required for 50% growth inhibition （IC50） is 31.25μg/mL.     

Calcitonin gene-related peptide acts as a novel vasodilator neurotransmitter in mesenteric resistance vessels of the rat

Systemic blood pressure is controlled by changes in the resistance of the peripheral vascular bed for example in the mesenteric blood vessels. The tone of peripheral blood vessels is primarily maintained by sympathetic vasoconstrictor nerves. Although vasodilator innervation has been identified in certain isolated elastic arteries, it is not known whether vasodilator nerves contribute to the regulation of the peripheral resistance vessels. We present pharmacological evidence for the existence of nonadrenergic, noncholinergic (NANC) vasodilator nerves in the mesenteric resistance vessel of the rat and that the resistance is controlled by not only sympathetic vasoconstrictor nerves but also NANC vasodilator nerves. We also show that the neurogenic vasodilation was selectively abolished by depleting endogenous calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), a potent vasodilator neuropeptide, from perivascular nerves. This indicates that CGRP is a novel vasodilator neurotransmitter and may play a role in control of the total peripheral resistance of systemic circulation through a local reflex mechanism.     

A novel peptide,selected from phage display library of random peptides,can efficiently target into human breast cancer cell

To develop a targeting vector for breast cancer biotherapy, MDA-MB-231 cell, a human breast cancer cell line, was co-cultured with pC89 （9 aa） phage display library of random peptides. In multiple inde-pendent peptide-presenting phage screening trials, subtilisin was used as a protease to inactivate extra-cellular phages. The internalized phages were collected by cell lysising and amplified in E. coli XLI-Blue. Through five rounds of selection, the pepUde-presenting phages which could be internalized in MDA-MB-231 cells were isolated. A comparison was made between internalization capacities of peptide-presenting phages isolated from MDA-MB-231 cells and RGD-integrin binding phage by coculturing them with other human tumor cell lines and normal cells. The nucleoUde sequences of isolated peptide-presenting phages were then determined by DNA sequencing. To uncover whether phage coat protein or amino acid order was required for the character of the pepUde to MDA-MB-231 cells, three peptides were synthesized. They are CASPSGALRSC, ASPSGALRS and CGVIFDHSVPC （the shifted sequence of CASPSGALRSC）, and after coculturing them with different cell lines, their targeting capacities to MDA-MB-231 cells were detected. These data suggested that the internalization process was highly selective, and capable of capturing a specific peptide from parent peptide variants. Moreover, the targeting internalization event of pepUdes was an amino acid sequence dependent manner. The results demonstrated the feasibility of using phage display library of random peptides to develop new targeting system for intracellular delivery of macromolecules, and the peptide we obtained might be modified as a targeting vector for breast cancer gene therapy.     

Design, synthesis and characterisation of a 34-residue polypeptide that interacts with nucleic acids

Based on secondary structure prediction rules and model building a neutral artificial 34-residue polypeptide with potential nucleic acid-binding activity was synthesised. This peptide and its covalent dimer showed strong interaction with cytidine phosphates and single-stranded DNA. The dimer had considerable ribonuclease activity with high preference for cleavage at the 3'-end of C.     

SCFP,a novel fiber-specific promoter in cotton

To investigate the expression pattern of GhSCFP which was isolated from cotton fiber cDNA library, a 1006 bp upstream fragment of the gene was cloned by chromosome walking and fused to GUSand GFP respectively. Histochemical GUS and GFP fluorescence analysis revealed that the expression of the report genes driven by the promoter sequence was detectable only in outer layer cells during the seed development in the transgentic tobaccos. In transgenic cotton, strong GUS activity was observed in spherical protrusions on 0 dpa （days post anthesis） ovule surface, and in the 2-36 dpa fiber cells, while no GUS signals were detected in the root, leaves, stem, corolla, anther and stigma. Our data demonstrated that GhSCFP upstream sequence is a cotton fiber-specific promoter and this promoter will be useful in the molecular research on fiber cell development and in cotton fiber improvements by genetic modification.     

Z3, a novel antisense snoRNA fromSaccharomyces cerevisiae

Small nucleolar RNA (snoRNA) is one of the most important elements participating in eukaryotic ribosomal biogenesis. The present report describes the results of the identification of a novel snoRNA, Z3, from yeast S. cerevisiae. Z3 snoRNA is 106 nts in length. It contains box C, D elements and a 13 nt complementarity to 25S rRNA. This antisense segment, together with the downstream box D, guides a 2′-O-ribose methylation of cytidine acid at position 2956th in yeast 25 S rRNA. Z3 snoRNA, encoded by an independent transcribed gene on the chromosome  of yeast, possesses the same functional elements responsible for the rRNA methylation site as that of the intron-encoded U35 snoRNA of vertebrate.     

A CHASE domain containing protein kinase OsCRL4, represents a new AtCRE1-like gene family in rice

AtCRE1 is known to be a cytokinin receptor inArabidopsis. The AtCRE1 protein contains CHASE domain at the N-terminal part, followed by a transmitter (histidine kinase) domain and two receiver domains. The N-terminal CHASE domain of AtCRE1 contains putative recognition sites for cytokinin. Five CHASE domains containing proteins were found in rice, OsCRLla, OsCRLlb, OsCRL2, OsCRL3, and OsCRL4. OsCRL1a, OsCRL1b, OsCRL2 and OsCRL3 contain the four domains existing in CRE1, whereas OsCRL4 only contains the CHASE domain and a putative Ser/Thr protein kinase domain The authors cloned the encoding gene OsCRL4 and found that it represents a new member of the cytokinin receptor protein in rice.     

人神经节苷脂诱导分化相关蛋白cDNA的克隆、染色体定位和初步功能研究

通过构建,筛选人18周胎脑cDNA文库,克隆到一条与神经节苷脂诱导分化相关蛋白高度同源的新基因,经HUGO／GDB人类基因命名委员会的同意命名为GDAP1L1,进行新基因的全序列测定,RH定位分析,Blast分析及生物学信息分析,Northern杂交提示GDAP1L1基因在胎脑中高度表达,但在成人脑组织中低表达,新的神经节甙脂诱导分化相关蛋白的表达和功能研究初步提示：全长新神经节苷脂诱导分化相关基因核苷酸序列长1163bp,RH定位分析新基因定位在染色体20q12区,BLASTN,BLASTP,TBLASTN分析新基因的蛋白质序列与人和鼠“神经节甘脂诱导分化相关蛋白1”有58％的同源性,而与人的另一条“类似神经节苷脂诱导分化相关蛋白1”的部分蛋白序列（47－253aa)的同源性达100％,新基因蛋白在3,5端分别多出46aa和114aa的长度,生物学住处分析证实神经节苷脂诱导分化相关基因与神经营养与细胞凋亡有密切关系,全长新神经节苷脂诱导分化相关基因是一个神经营养与发育及细胞周期调控,信号传导有关的基因,可能在肿瘤的发生中具有重要作用,其功能的进一步研究将为肿瘤机理的阐明提供思路。