We have assessed the biological activity of salmon calcitonin I (sCT) using an in vivo biological assay of hypocalcemic activity in rats. The changes in biological activity observed are explained on the basis of changes in the conformational properties of the hormone analogues. Helical content in the presence and absence of lipids and detergents was assessed by using circular dichroism, and the section of the molecule that folds into a helix was predicted on the basis of the helix-coil transition theory of Mattice and co-workers. In the amino acid sequence of sCT, residue 8 is valine and residue 16 is leucine. The synthetic calcitonin derivatives [Gly8]sCT and [Ala16]sCT have higher biological activity than the native hormone although they have a lower helical content. The increased biological activity of these derivatives is ascribed to an increase in their conformational flexibility resulting from the substitution of amino acid residues with less bulky side chains and less tendency to form helical structures. The derivative [Met8]sCT has less substitution than sCT on the beta-carbon at position 8, but it has increased helix-forming potential in the region of residues 8-12. These two factors affect conformational flexibility in opposite ways, resulting in the biological activity of [Met8]sCT being slightly higher than that of sCT. However, increased conformational flexibility does not always increase biological activity. Substitution of the L-arginine at residue 24 for a D-arginine has little effect on the conformational properties or biological activity of sCT. However, [Gly8, D-Arg24]sCT is less active than sCT, [Gly8]sCT, or [D-Arg24]sCT.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

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Abstract-The anorectic potency of salmon, porcine and human calcitonins (sCT, pCT and hCT, respectively) and two sCT-fragments were compared in rats. Intraventricular injections of sCT (0.062 and 0.031 nmole/animal) significantly reduced the normal feeding and body weight. The effect appeared to be dose-dependent, reversible and lasted longer than 6 hr. No anorexia ensued, however, on injections of mammalian hormones though tested in relatively high doses (pCT: up to 3.7 nmole, hCT: 3.7 nmole). The C-terminal fragments of sCT, sCT (10-32) and sCT (22-32) were also found to be devoid of anorectic activity; but when administered with sCT, the longer fragment (1.2 nmole) significantly decreased the effect of sCT and even the shorter one (18 nmole) tended to act as an antagonist. This property was not recorded with pCT and hCT in the doses examined. On the one hand, these results indicate a novel specificity of the anorectic receptor in rat brain; and on the other hand, they seem to strongly argue against the hypothesis that in mammals thyroidal calcitonin secreted postprandially might participate in the regulation of subsequent feeding, unless the presence of the sCT-like molecule can be detected in mammals. All the more because detection of such a molecule must await development of a specific assay, the antagonistic property of the sCT fragment found herein would have use for clarifying the physiological significance of the anorectic receptor which is possibly in the hypothalamus.The anorectic effect of salmon calcitonin (sCT) was first reported by Freed et al. (1, 2). When injected subcutaneously, the fish hormone strongly reduced food intake in rats and rhesus monkeys and reduced the body potency by direct injection into rat brain has led them to suggest that the peptide would exert its effect by directly acting on the central nervous system. Later, using a synthetic derivative of eel calcitonin, Miyahara and Oomura (3) electrophysiologically identified a group of glucose-sensitive neurons in the rat hypothalamus as a possible locus of the anorectic effect. Since it has been demon strated that the calcitonin-like immuno activity increases postprandially in adult and

A series of deletion-substitution analogs of salmon calcitonin (SCT) have been prepared containing combinations of a glycine substitution in position 8 and deletions of serine-2 and tyrosine-22. Biological activity of the analogs with respect to native SCT were determined in the rat hypocalcemic assay and by studying stimulation of cAMP formation and competition for binding of 125I-labeled SCT in T47 D human breast cancer cells. It was found that each of the analogs retained full potency, irrespective of the means of assessment. It is suggested that conservation of the alpha-helical region of SCT, along with the overall tertiary structure, are more important for peptide potency than chain length per se.

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