The NH2-Terminal Tridecapeptide Fragment of Gastrin-17 in Serum from Duodenal Ulcer Patients

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Abstract
The concentration of gastrin in serum from 47 fasting patients with duodenal ulcer was measured with 2 radioimmunoassays, one specific for the COOH- and the other specific for NH2-terminal sequence of gastrin-17. The COOH-terminal assay measured 13 .+-. 2 pmol and the NH2-terminal 42 .+-. 7 pmol-equivalent gastrin-17/l (mean .+-. S.E.M.). This result, corroborated by gel chromatography, shows that an NH2-terminal fragment of gastrin-17, presumably the tridecapeptide, circulates in concentrations higher than those of the 4 known gastrin components. The abundance of NH2-terminal fragment in serum suggests that the complementary COOH-terminal tetrapeptide fragment of gastrin-17 is also produced in large quantities.