Micropurification and amino acid sequence of beta-casomorphin-8 in milk from a woman with postpartum psychosis.

Milk was obtained from a woman with acute postpartum psychosis and with ongoing lactation. Defatted samples were subjected to micropurification and collected fractions were analyzed by means of their beta-casomorphin-8 immunoreactivity. Immunoreactive material with the same chromatographic properties as synthetic human beta-casomorphin-8 was determined by amino acid sequence analysis to be Tyr-Pro-Phe-Val-Glu-Pro-Ile-Pro. Its molecular mass was determined by fast atom bombardment-mass spectrometry to be 962.3 Da. These determinations, which ultimately identify the immunoreactive material as human beta-casomorphin-8, represent the first structural identification of a beta-casomorphin peptide from a body fluid.