The purification and sequence analysis of an avian neuromedin U

In this study we have purified an avian homologue of neuromedin U from the chicken. Each step of the purification process was followed by a specific radioimmunoassay developed using porcine neuromedin U. Microsequence analysis characterised the peptide to be 25 amino acid residues long with the following sequence: Y-K-V-D-E-D-L-Q-G-A-G-G-I-Q-S-R-G-Y-F-F-F-R-P-R-N. Chicken neuromedin U has marked sequence similarity with the porcine peptide at its bioactive C-terminal region. Our findings demonstrate that the amino acid sequence of neuromedin U is markedly conserved in species which have diverged millions of years ago in evolutionary terms.