A specific radioimmunoassay for the opioid peptide dynorphin B in neural tissues.

Dynorphin-32 was recently isolated from porcine pituitary and shown to consist of dynorphin A (the originally isolated dynorphin heptadecapeptide) at the amino terminus, followed by Lys-Arg (a putative signal for proteolytic cleavage) and then a tridecapeptide, dynorphin B, at the carboxyl terminus. Dynorphin B, like dynorphin A, contains leucine enkephalin. The present report describes and validates a radioimmunoassay for dynorphin B using an antiserum, "13S", that does not crossreact with other known opioid peptides. Immunoreactive dynorphin B was estimated in rat and porcine neural tissues and found to be 2-3 fold higher than reported values for dynorphin A. Distribution based on tissue concentration was similar to that of dynorphin A, with very high concentrations in neurointermediate pituitary. Small quantities of antiserum "13S" are available to investigators upon request.