J. Biol. Chem., Vol. 263, Issue 15, 7147-7152, 05, 1988
N-linked glycosylation of a proenkephalin A-derived peptide. Evidence for the glycosylation of an NH2-terminally extended Met-enkephalin Arg6- Gly7-Leu8 variant
A Watkinson, GJ Dockray and J Young
Physiological Laboratory, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom.
To investigate the possibility that the opioid peptide precursor
proenkephalin A was glycosylated, we utilized an antiserum raised against
the COOH terminus of Met-enkephalin Arg6-Gly7-Leu8 (MERGL) to identify and
characterize enkephalin-containing peptides from extracts of bovine adrenal
medulla. Sephadex G-50 gel filtration separated two immunoreactive peaks
which had apparent masses of 9 and 6 kDa. Anion- exchange chromatography
and reverse-phase high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) revealed that
the 9-kDa material was a heterogenous mixture of immunoreactive peptides,
of which one (9K-MERGL Ia) was purified to homogeneity. The 6-kDa material
separated into two major immunoreactive peaks (6K-MERGL I and 6K-MERGL II)
on anion- exchange chromatography, and these were obtained in an homogenous
form after reverse-phase HPLC. Amino acid sequencing, together with
immunological characterization, indicated that the three peptides were
identical in chain length, and corresponded to proenkephalin A 116-165.
They contained the sequence Asn-Ser-Ser which is a potential N-
glycosylation site. In 9K-MERGL Ia, but not the others, automated Edman
amino acid sequencing was unable to detect the relevant asparagine residue,
suggesting that this residue has been chemically modified. Further
investigation of the 9K-MERGL material using lectin affinity chromatography
provided direct evidence of glycosylation. Verification of this result was
obtained using the specific enzyme glycopeptidase F
(glycopeptide-N-glycosidase) which demonstrated that 9K-MERGL contained, in
part, N-linked oligosaccharide chains. These results show that an NH2
terminally extended Met-enkephalin Arg6-Gly7-Leu8 variant was
N-glycosylated, and hence indicate that the precursor polypeptide
proenkephalin A can be glycosylated during translation in the rough
endoplasmic reticulum.