Presence of enkephalin precursor in molluscan neural tissue extract

Mytilus pedal ganglia extract was treated sequentially with TPCK-trypsin and carboxypeptidase B. The treated sample and an untreated sample were purified separately with Sep-Pak C18 and subjected to HPLC. Fractions with Rt's corresponding to the Met-, Leu-enkephalin and Met-enkephalin-Arg6-Phe7 were assayed for enkephalin activities by displacement studies using pedal ganglia membrane and 3H-DAMA. The data showed the activities in the regions of Met-, Leu-enkephalin and Met-enkephalin-Arg6-Phe7 of the treated sample increased over that of the untreated sample by 2.3, 2.5 and 1.6 folds respectively. These results provided strong evidence for the presence of enkephalin precursor material in Mytilus.