Premium
Isolation and structural characterization of enkephalins in the brain of the Rhynchobdellid leech Theromyzon tessulatum
Author(s) -
Salzet Michel,
Bulet Philippe,
Verger-Bocquet Martine,
Malecha Jean
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
febs letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.593
H-Index - 257
eISSN - 1873-3468
pISSN - 0014-5793
DOI - 10.1016/0014-5793(94)01358-8
Subject(s) - leech , edman degradation , chemistry , chromatography , high performance liquid chromatography , enkephalin , peptide , biochemistry , met enkephalin , peptide sequence , receptor , world wide web , computer science , opioid , gene
This paper reports the purification of four peptides related to enkephalins from the brain of the leech Theromyzon tessulatum . After reverse‐phase HPLC purification, the sequence of the enkephalins (YGGFM, YGGFL, FM, FL) was established by a combination of automated Edman degradation, electrospray mass spectrometry measurement, and co‐elution experiments in reverse‐phase HPLC with synthetic peptides. ELISA titrations performed on each purified peptide indicated that the major amount was borne by the leucine‐enkephalin. The ratio of leucine‐enkephalin and methionine‐enkephalin of 2:1 is in line with previous immunocytochemical data obtained on T. tessulatum brains. The presence of enkephalins in T. tessulatum , an animal belonging to the oldest group of coelomate metazoans (the Annelida) establishes the very ancient phylogenetic origin of opioids and their conservation in the course of evolution.