Determination of immunoreactive antiarrhythmic peptide (AAP) in rats

A sensitive and specific radioimmunoassay for antiarrhythmic peptide (AAP) has been developed, utilizing 3-(4-hydroxy, 5-[125I]iodophenyl)propionyl AAP and guinea pig anti-AAP serum. Synthetic AAP was used as a standard and the polyethylene glycol method was employed to separate free AAP from antibody-bound AAP. The minimum detectable dose of AAP was 0.2 pmol. In the assay system, immunoreactivity was shown not to be attributable to fragments derived from AAP, gelatin or collagen peptides, which sequences differ only by one amino acid from those of AAP. Immunoreactive (IR) AAP extracted from rat tissues and serum gave parallel dose-response curves to those of AAP. Thus, the AAP equivalents per g or ml of tissues measured in adult male rats were 203 pmol in heart, 166 pmol in kidney, 4 pmol in serum, and 2 to 6 pmol in the other tissues. IR-AAP was separated into two fractions by Sephadex G-25 chromatography. Fr. I was considered to have a larger molecular mass than AAP, while Fr. II appeared to have a molecular mass equal to AAP. Ratios of Fr. II in total IR-AAP were 50% in heart and 10% in kidney, while serum IR-AAP gave only Fr. II. The IR-AAP level in heart showed a positive correlation increase with age in rats.