1H n.m.r. conformational studies on the C-terminal octapeptide of oxyntomodulin, a β-turn locked by a salt bridge

The octapeptide Lys-Arg-Asn-Lys-Asn-Asn-Ile-Ala (Arg4 in the human sequence) is the C-terminal part of porcine oxyntomodulin, an endogeneous peptide which is a potent inhibitor of stimulated acid secretion. This octapeptide exhibits the whole range of biological activities of the parent hormone. In the present work we report an 1H n.m.r. investigation of the conformational properties of the octapeptides of pig and human sequences in dimethylsulfoxide-d6 (DMSO) solution. The various resonances were assigned on the basis of two-dimensional COSY and NOESY experiments. Other experiments such as (i) temperature and concentration dependence of the amide proton chemical shifts, (ii) effects of ionic strength, (iii) comparison of the spectra with different analogues, were performed. We showed that in DMSO, the conformation of the octapeptide is directly related to the ionisation state of the C-terminus carboxyl group of alanine. In carboxylic state, the peptide adopts an extended conformation, while in the carboxylate state the four last residues (Asn-Asn-Ile-Ala) are involved in a type II β-turn structure probably locked by a salt bridge between the carboxyl group of Ala8 and the e ammonium group of Lys4 (or the guanidinium group of Arg4). These observations provide an insight into the possible conformational tendencies of this peptide in biological media.