A C-terminal fragment of hemoglobin beta-chains in extracts of porcine upper intestine.

A 32-residue peptide has been isolated from extracts of porcine upper intestine. Amino acid sequence determination showed that the peptide is a fragment of hemoglobin, corresponding to the C-terminal part of the beta-chain. The region in the beta-chain which precedes the isolated fragment is hydrophobic (8 Leu/Val/Ile) and has no charges at 10 preceding positions. It therefore, to some extent, resembles the structure of 'signal sequences' which may suggest a specific cleavage site in hemoglobin beta-chains.