N.M.R. studies of myelin basic protein. XII. Spectra in aqueous solution of a synthetic octapeptide encephalitogenic in the Lewis rat

Abstract

A synthetic peptide Ala-Gln-Arg-Pro-Gln-Asp-Glu-Asn encephalitogenic in the Lewis rat has been studied in aqueous solutions by ¹H and ¹³C n.m.r. The configuration about the Arg-Pro peptide bond is > 99% trans. The temperature dependences and titration shifts of NH resonances areconsistent with occurrence of a number of intramolecular hydrogen bonds, leading to an unusually compact structure for a linear peptide in aqueous solution.