NMR study of five N-terminal peptide fragments of the vasoactive intestinal peptide: crucial role of aromatic residues.

Abstract

Five peptides related to the N-terminal sequence of the vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) have been synthesized. Two-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance (2D-NMR) experiments (i.e., correlated spectroscopy [COSY]) and low temperature coefficient measurements for particular NH chemical shifts suggest the presence of hydrogen bondings in both VIP (1-7, and VIP (1-11) fragments. Nuclear Over-hauser enhancement spectroscopy (NOESY) show that aromatic interactions stabilize a preferred conformation. The crucial role of the first histidine residue, which is a determinant for the biological activity, is explained by specific interactions with the aromatic protons of Phe6 and Tyr10.