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Investigation of pituitary adenylate cyclase activating polypeptide in human gynecological and other biological fluids by using MALDI TOF mass spectrometry
Author(s) -
Brubel R.,
Reglodi D.,
Jambor E.,
Koppan M.,
Varnagy A.,
Biro Zs.,
Kiss P.,
Gaal V.,
Matkovits A.,
Farkas J.,
Lubics A.,
Bodis J.,
Bay Cs.,
Veszpremi B.,
Tamas A.,
Nemeth J.,
Mark Laszlo
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
journal of mass spectrometry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.475
H-Index - 121
eISSN - 1096-9888
pISSN - 1076-5174
DOI - 10.1002/jms.1884
Subject(s) - follicular fluid , chemistry , amniotic fluid , radioimmunoassay , adenylate kinase , saliva , body fluid , cyclase , neuropeptide , immunoassay , biological fluids , endocrinology , medicine , chromatography , oocyte , biochemistry , embryo , antibody , receptor , immunology , pregnancy , biology , fetus , microbiology and biotechnology , genetics
Pituitary adenylate cyclase activating polypeptide (PACAP) is a multifunctional and pleiotropic neuropeptide. PACAP has diverse effects in the endocrine system, among others, it plays important roles in oogenesis, implantation and development of the nervous system. However, it is not known whether PACAP is present in the fluids of the human reproductive organs. The aim of the present study was to determine, by means of mass spectrometry and radioimmunoassay, whether PACAP is present in human amniotic fluid, ovarian follicular fluid and cervico‐vaginal fluid. Samples were obtained from healthy adult volunteers. Our MALDI TOF and MALDI TOF/TOF spectrometry results show that PACAP38 is present in all of the follicular fluid samples, and PACAP‐like immonoreactivity was also measured by radioimmunoassay. However, we did not find the characteristic peak representing the unmodified 38 amino acid form of the peptide in normal cervico‐vaginal smear and amniotic fluid samples. Furthermore, we analyzed other body fluids for comparison, such as human nasal fluid, saliva and aqueous humor. PACAP was not found in these latter samples. In summary, the present study provides evidence for the presence of PACAP in human follicular fluid, suggesting a role in oocyte function, but determination of the exact physiological significance awaits further investigation. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.