Preparation of biologically active and site specifically radioiodinated recombinant human insulin-like growth factor-I.

Recombinant human insulin-like growth factor-I (rhIGF-I) was iodinated using a lactoperoxidase-catalyzed labeling method. The labeled products were separated into more than five fractions by ion-paired reverse-phase high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). A fraction (peak 1), which showed the highest yield and radioactivity, was found to be biologically active in the BALB/c 3T3 cell proliferating system. The site of the iodination was investigated by S-pyridylethylation followed by trypsinization and separation with HPLC using reverse phase columns. From the amino acid analysis of the peaks which were radioactive, the iodination site of peak 1 was revealed to be Tyr-24 and Tyr-60. This is the first report of the biological activity of radioactive peptide hormone with a defined labeled site.