IMMUNOREACTIVE ENDORPHINS, LIPOTROPINS AND CORTICOTROPINS IN A HUMAN NONPITUITARY TUMOR: EVIDENCE FOR A COMMON PRECURSOR

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Abstract
The immunoreactive (RIA) ACTH, LPH, αendorphin (αEnd) and βEnd in an extract of a human pancreatic islet cell carcinoma causing the ectopic ACTH syndrome were assayed after gel exclusion chromatography. In addition to “big”, “intermediate” and “little” ACTHs, βlipotropin (βLPH) and γLPH, the eluate fractions contained RIA-αEnd and -βEnd. The major RIA-βEnd component appeared to be hβLPH, which has βEnd as its carboxy-terminus, but significant concentrations of a component that coeluted with synthetic pβEnd were also found. Small amounts of RIA-αEnd were found in two peaks, one that may have represented 1–76 hβLPH, with αEnd as its carboxy-terminus, and one probably representingaEnd itself. RIA-ACTH, -LPK and -βEnd were found in the void volume fractions. Thus, a human nonpituitary tumor that produced ACTH and LPHs also produced endorphins, all perhaps deriving from a common precursor.

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