Mechanisms of catabolism of corticotrophin-(1--24)-tetracosapeptide in the rat in vivo

Abstract

The fragmentation of corticotrophin-(1--24)-tetracosapeptide in vivo has been studied, using tritium-labelled hormone and chromatography, in the rat. After intravenous injection the levels of peptide in the circulation declined rapidly caused by its distribution to the tissues and from 2 min after injection a range of different cleavage products appeared. Many of the fragments in the circulation after 2 min have been identified and in this way cleavage has been shown to occur after residues 1, 2, 8, 15, 16, 17, 19, 20 and 21. It is believed that this is the result of aminopeptidase attack at the NH2 terminal, and of attack on the basic region of the molecule by trypsin-like endopeptidase followed by carboxypeptidase. The sulphoxide has been identified as a major metabolite in some experiments but the extent of its formation was very variable. Seventy per cent of the dose was distributed to the tissue beds by 1 min. Part of this was present, mainly as intact peptide, in liver and kidney but the greater proportion was found in muscle, skin and intestine where extensive degradation had already occurred. Further characterization of the fragments formed in the muscle provided good evidence that this tissue may have been the site of generation of many of the fragments which later appeared in the circulation.