1. Glycyl-L-leucyl-L-tyrosine dihydrate 2-propanol solvate
B Dalhus, C H Görbitz Acta Crystallogr C. 1996 Aug 15;52 ( Pt 8):2087-90. doi: 10.1107/s0108270196002041.
The asymmetric unit (C17H25N3O5.C3H8O.2H2O) consists of two crystallographically independent peptide molecules, A and B, with different conformations, chi 1(2) being trans and gauche- for the Leu residues in molecules A and B, respectively. The backbone conformation of both peptide molecules resembles that of the beta-pleated sheet arrangement found in proteins. Comparison with two other structures containing the tripeptide Gly-L-Leu-L-Tyr reveals almost identical molecular conformations, and in one instance also a common packing pattern.
2. Preparation of mixed-mode stationary phase for separation of peptides and proteins in high performance liquid chromatography
Sarah Alharthi, Ashraf Ali, Muzaffar Iqbal, Aliya Ibrar, Bashir Ahmad, Sobia Nisa, Fazal Mabood Sci Rep. 2022 Mar 8;12(1):4061. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-08074-7.
Porous silica particles were prepared by sol-gel method with some modification to get wide-pore particles. These particles were derivatized with N-phenylmaleimide-methylvinylisocyanate (PMI) and styrene by reversible addition fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization to prepare N-phenylmaleimide embedded polystyrene (PMP) stationary phases. Narrow bore stainless steel column (100 × 1.8 mm i.d) was packed by slurry packing method. The chromatographic performance of PMP column was evaluated for the separation of synthetic peptides mixture composed of five peptides (Gly-Tyr, Gly-Leu-Tyr, Gly-Gly-Tyr-Arg, Tyr-Ile-Gly-Ser-Arg, Leucine enkephalin) and tryptic digest of human serum albumin (HAS) respectively. Number of theoretical plates as high as 280,000 plates/m were obtained for peptides mixture at optimum elution condition. Separation performance of the developed column was compared with commercial Ascentis Express RP-Amide column and it was observed that separation performance of PMP column was better than commercial column in terms of separation efficiency and resolution.
3. Dipeptide tyrosyl-leucine exhibits antidepressant-like activity in mice
Takafumi Mizushige, Tomoki Uchida, Kousaku Ohinata Sci Rep. 2020 Feb 10;10(1):2257. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-59039-7.
Depression is a worldwide health problem. In the present study, we found that a dipeptide, tyrosyl leucine (Tyr-Leu, YL), administered orally, intracerebroventricularly, or intraperitoneally exhibited a potent antidepressant-like activity in the forced swim and tail suspension tests in naïve mice. YL increased the amount of cells expressing c-Fos, a marker for neuronal activity, in the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus. YL increased bromo-2'-deoxyuridine-positive cells and doublecortin expression in the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus, suggesting that YL enhanced the proliferation of hippocampal progenitor cells in vivo and in vitro. YL did not affect hippocampal mRNA and protein expression of BDNF, which is a regulatory factor of both neurogenesis and depression-like behavior. Intriguingly, YL suppressed activation of the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis by forced swim stress. Moreover, other aromatic amino acid-leucines, Phe-Leu and Trp-Leu, also exhibited antidepressant-like activities, suggesting that the structure of aromatic amino acid-leucine may be important for antidepressant activity. In addition, bovine milk casein-derived peptide, Tyr-Leu-Gly (YLG), an anxiolytic peptide, exhibited an antidepressant-like activity. Our findings demonstrate that YL exhibits an antidepressant-like effect, moderates the stress response, and induces hippocampal neuronal proliferation through a signal pathway independent of BDNF.