Impaired α‐carboxyamidation of gastrin in vitamin C‐deficient guinea pigs

Abstract
The biosynthetic activation of many hormonal peptides requires enzymatic a‐carboxyamidation via glycine‐extended intermediate forms. By specific radioimmunochemical measurement on extracts of guinea pig antra, we found that vitamin C deficiency induced a 30‐fold increase in glycine‐extended (i.e. inactive) gastrins. The results indicate that ascorbic acid is neccessary for α‐carboxyamidation in vivo, and thus, that the biosynthetic activation of hormonal peptides can be modified by simple dietary means.

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