Dental enamel matrix--isolation and partial sequence of a peptide component.

Chromatography of demineralized bovine fetal enamel matrix proteins on 'Biogel P6' was shown to yield a trailing peak which contained a single electrophoretic component. This polypeptide, further purified by chromatography on 'Biogel P4', was found to be homogeneous by disc electrophoresis and gel isoelectric focussing. Amino acid analyses indicated this component (designated: "E5') to be similar to some of the phosphopeptides previously described. Cyanogen bromide cleavage of E5 yielded three principal products whose amino acid compositions and N-terminal residues were investigated. A partial sequence for component E5 was proposed and comparison with previous bovine matrix isolates was made.