Abstract

γMSH-like, ACTH-like, and β-endorphin-like immunoreactivities (γMSH-LI, ACTH-LI, and β-endorphin-LI, respectively) were detected in water extracts of four human gastric antral mucosa. The concentrations of γMSH-LI, ACTHLI, and β-endorphin-LI in the boiling water extracts were 9.9 ± 3.3, 6.2 ± 1.8, and 3.9 ± 1.3 ng/g (mean ± SE), respectively. Gel exclusion chromatography on a Bio-Gel P-60 column showed that most ACTH-LI and β-endorphin-LI were eluted at the elution positions of human ACTH andβ-endorphin, respectively. The major peak of γMSH-LI was eluted at the elution position of big yMSH-LI, but another peak was eluted at the elution position of small γMSH-LI, as in bovine intermediate pituitary. Concanavalin A-agarose affinity chromatography showed that 52% of γMSH-LI was specifically bound to the column, but only 8% of ACTH-LI and none of β-endorphin-LI were specifically bound.

These results suggest that there exists an ACTH/β-lipotropin common precursor protein in human antral mucosa and that the processing of the precursor is accelerated as in bovine intermediate pituitary, indicating possible roles of these peptides in the function of the gastrointestinal tract.

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