The degradation of a nonapeptide, sleep inducing peptide, in rat brain: comparison with enkephalin breakdown.
Huang. J T JT; Lajtha. A A
Key Findings
- About 30% of DSIP’s N‑terminal tryptophan is released after just 7.5 minutes in brain homogenate.
- Breakdown of DSIP (and enkephalin) speeds up dramatically during the first 10 days after birth when measured per gram of brain.
- The optimal pH for peptide degradation is 7.35, and neither morphine nor REM‑sleep deprivation alters the degradation rate.
Practical Outcomes
- DSIP is rapidly degraded in the brain, suggesting that simple oral or injectable doses may have a short window of activity. For biohackers interested in using DSIP for sleep or performance, strategies that protect the peptide (e.g., intranasal delivery, peptide analogs, or enzyme inhibitors) could be more effective. The findings also imply that age and brain chemistry, not external factors like morphine or REM loss, drive how quickly DSIP disappears.
Summary
In rat brain tissue, the sleep‑inducing peptide DSIP breaks down quickly, especially its front‑end tryptophan, and this breakdown speeds up as the brain matures. The best pH for this degradation is about 7.35, and things like morphine or lack of REM sleep don’t change the rate.
Abstract
The degradation of delta sleep inducing peptide (DSIP) was studied and compared with that of Met-enkephalin in brain homogenates. After 7.5 minutes of incubation of 2.5% (w/v) homogenate, 30% of N-terminal tryptophan was released from DSIP, while 75% of N-terminal tyrosine was released from Metenkephalin. The optimal pH of degradation of both peptides was pH 7.35. A rapid increase of breakdown of the peptides was observed during the 10 days of postnatal growth, with breakdown expressed per unit weight of brain. Neither morphine nor deprivation of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep affected the degradation of peptides.
Study Information
pubmed
1978