Enzymatic inactivation of peptide hormones possessing a C-terminal amide group.

A partially purified enzyme extracted from the bladder of the toad, Bufo marinus L., was found to cleave the glycine amide moiety from oxytocin, 8-lysine-vasopressin, 8-arginine-vasopressin, and other hormone analogs terminating in a primary carboxamide group; however, this enzyme does not attack hormone analogs terminating with a methylamide, dimethylamide, or carboxyl group. Preliminary experiments indicate that a functionally similar enzyme is also present in the mammalian kidney, the major target organ of neurohypophyseal antidiuretic hormones. This enzyme, besides inactivating oxytocin and 8-lysine-vasopressin, also cleaves the phenylalanine amide moiety from a tetrapeptide analog of gastrin, another hormone terminating in a primary carboxamide group. Attention is drawn to the possible general significance of "carboxamidopeptidases" for the termination of the action of peptide hormones in which the C-terminal amino acid residue bears a carboxamide group.