Rapid identification of NH2-terminal myristyl peptides by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography

NH2-terminal myristyl peptides in mixtures of other peptides having the NH2-terminal blocked with acetyl, formyl or pyroglutamyl groups were selectively determined by high-performance liquid chromatography using a poly(vinyl alcohol) resin column eluted with 50 mM sodium hydrogen carbonate, pH 8.3, and a linear gradient of acetonitrile. This method was applied to the analysis of an NH2-terminal blocked peptide from a peptic digest of the catalytic subunit of adenosine 3':5'-phosphate-dependent protein kinase type II from bovine heart, showing that the peptide has a sequence myristyl-Gly-Asn-Ala.