Mass spectrometric identification of pyroglutamic acid in peptides following selective hydrolysis

Mandal, Amit Kumar and Balaram, Padmanabhan (2007) Mass spectrometric identification of pyroglutamic acid in peptides following selective hydrolysis. In: Analytical Biochemistry, 370 (1). pp. 118-120.

PDF Mass_spectrometric_identification.pdf Restricted to Registered users only Download (179kB) | Request a copy

Abstract

The formation of a pyroglutamyl residue by enzymatic cyclization of an amino terminus glutamine residue is a common posttranslational modification [1–3]. Several biologically active peptides, most notably the thyrotropinreleasing hormone $(TRH)^1$ and gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH), were among the first examples where the N-terminal modification was characterized. The widespread occurrence of glutaminyl cyclase in both plants and animals has ensured that the number of naturally occurring pyroglutamyl peptides is rapidly growing. A recent report established formation of pyroglutamic acid (Z) from N-terminal glutamic acid in recombinant monoclonal antibodies [4]. An N-terminus pyroglutamic acid residue impedes Edman sequencing, necessitating the use of a specific enzyme, pyroglutamate aminopeptidase, to liberate a peptide with a free amino terminus, which is then amenable to automated sequence analysis [5]. During the course of studies aimed at characterizing the peptide components of Conus venom, we encountered several examples of pyroglutamyl peptides. We describe here the serendipitous finding of mild hydrolysis conditions, which permit opening of the pyroglutamyl ring, without significant cleavage of primary and secondary amide bonds.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Publication:	Analytical Biochemistry
Publisher:	Elsevier
Additional Information:	Copyright of this article belongs to Elsevier.
Department/Centre:	Division of Biological Sciences > Molecular Biophysics Unit
Date Deposited:	18 Jul 2008
Last Modified:	19 Sep 2010 04:47
URI:	http://eprints.iisc.ac.in/id/eprint/15101

Actions (login required)

View Item