CHARACTERIZATION OF NEUROTENSIN-LIKE IMMUNOREACTIVITY IN HUMAN CEREBROSPINAL-FLUID BY HIGH-PERFORMANCE LIQUID-CHROMATOGRAPHY COMBINED WITH MASS-SPECTROMETRY

This report describes the recovery and characterization of neurotensin -like immunoreactivity (NT-LI) in human cerebrospinal fluid (hCSP). A large quantity of the fluid was fractionated by gel filtration, and su bsequently separated and analysed by different high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) systems. The recovered material was analysed by mu LC continuous-flow fast atom bombardment mass spectrometry, where a close similarity between one active CSF component and native neurote nsin was confirmed. It was also found that, although a certain amount of the total NT-LI behaved as authentic neurotensin, the major part of the immunoreactive material was likely to be due to prestages and met abolites of the active peptide. The present finding is of importance f or the development of efficient procedures for the quantitative analys is of neurotensin in hCSF samples.