A 50000-dalton anorexigenic protein from urine

A potent, homogeneous, 50 kDa protein which transiently depresses food intake of rats up to 24 h after injection was isolated from rat urine. It was prepared from an ethanolic benzoic acid precipitate of urine. The material was subjected to DEAE-Sephacel chromatography, whereupon four fractions (DEAE pools a, b, c, and d) were obtained. The latter three contained anorexigenic activity. DEAE pools b and c were subjected to further purification on columns of Sephacryl S-300 eluted with buffer containing 8 M urea. One of the subfractions of DEAE pool b contained only one protein as judged by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in sodium dodecyl sulfate. This protein had a molecular weight of 50,000 and was active in reducing 24 h food intake at a dose of 130 micrograms/100 g bodyweight.