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. 1981 Dec;78(12):7290–7293. doi: 10.1073/pnas.78.12.7290

beta-Endorphin: demonstration of a tertiary structure in aqueous solution.

P Nicolas, T A Bewley, L Gráf, C H Li
PMCID: PMC349251  PMID: 6278466

Abstract

Difference spectra generated during thermolysin digestion of camel beta-endorphin at pH 8.2 or at pH 6.5 indicate rapid blue shifting of the near-UV absorption bands of the NH2-terminal tyrosine. A similar spectral change is not observed for the NH2-terminal tyrosine in [Met]enkephalin when it is digested under similar conditions. These results suggest that enzymatic digestion destroys or alters some structural interaction between the NH2-terminal tyrosyl residue of the endorphin and a residue(s) within the COOH-terminal segment of the molecule. Peptide mapping of the digest as a function of time suggests that cleavage of the bond linking the alanine-21 and isoleucine-22 residues produces most of the observed effect. These data provide evidence for the existence of a tertiary structure for beta-endorphin in aqueous solutions.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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