De Marco V, Possenti R, Vita F, Rapposelli B, D'Alagni M, Roda L G
Neurochem Res. 1985 Oct;10(10):1355-69. doi: 10.1007/BF00964978.
Enkephalins are released into the bloodstream of mammals by the adrenal medulla. Once they are in the blood, these peptides undergo a fairly rapid hydrolysis by several plasma-contained enzymes. However, a fraction of the enkephalins present in the plasma are bound to the serum albumin, and the bound peptides are almost completely intact even after a long incubation in the presence of serum enzymes. Therefore, it seems possible that the interaction with serum albumin can maintain the functional integrity of the circulating enkephalins. Moreover, serum albumins are extremely well characterized proteins and, therefore, a suitable model for the study of protein-enkephalin interaction in general. The present work is a first step in the study of the mechanism of serum albumin-enkephalin interaction. Apparently, ionic parameters are important in the binding phenomenon. Furthermore, the serum albumin conformational status seems to be relevant in the binding. Finally, the binding is followed by a limited rearrangement of the protein molecule.
脑啡肽由肾上腺髓质释放到哺乳动物的血液中。一旦进入血液，这些肽会被几种血浆中的酶迅速水解。然而，血浆中存在的一部分脑啡肽会与血清白蛋白结合，即使在血清酶存在的情况下长时间孵育，结合的肽几乎仍完全完整。因此，与血清白蛋白的相互作用似乎可以维持循环脑啡肽的功能完整性。此外，血清白蛋白是特征非常明确的蛋白质，因此总体上是研究蛋白质 - 脑啡肽相互作用的合适模型。目前的工作是研究血清白蛋白 - 脑啡肽相互作用机制的第一步。显然，离子参数在结合现象中很重要。此外，血清白蛋白的构象状态似乎与结合有关。最后，结合后蛋白质分子会发生有限的重排。
