Isolation and primary structure of urotensin II from the brain of a tetrapod, the frog Rana ridibunda.

A peptide related to urotensin II has been isolated in pure form from an extract of the brain of the European green frog, Rana ridibunda. The primary structure of the peptide was established as Ala-Gly-Asn-Leu-Ser-Glu-Cys-Phe-Trp-Lys-Tyr-Cys-Val and this sequence was confirmed by chemical synthesis. Frog urotensin II contains an additional amino acid residue compared with fish urotensin II peptides but the structure of the cyclic region of the molecule has been fully conserved. The data show that urotensin II is not confined to the caudal neurosecretory system of fish but is present in the central nervous system of a tetrapod.