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What is a Peptide?

Peptides are compounds which are formed by linking one or more amino acids with a covalent bond. These compounds are classified as polymers, because they typically link together in long chains. All animals on Earth have peptides in their body, and in a way, peptides are one of the building blocks of life. When a peptide chain gets especially long, it turns into a protein. Peptides and proteins represent a wide world of possibilities, and many molecular biologists spend years researching the functions of single peptides and proteins to learn more about how the body works.

When discussing peptides, a lot of scientific terminology tends to get thrown around, and it can help to know what various terms mean. A covalent bond is a type of chemical bond which occurs when atoms share electrons. The specific type of covalent bond formed in peptides is known as a peptide bond or amide bond, and it forms when the carboxl group of one amino acid attaches to another. Carboxyl groups are clusters of carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen molecules, in case you're curious.

The classification of a peptide as a polymer is sometimes confusing to people who are not familiar with this use of the term “polymer.” While many people mean “plastics” when they talk about polymers, in chemistry, a polymer is any sort of repeating chain connected with covalent bonds. Polymers can get extremely complex, as one might imagine.

A peptide can perform a wide range of functions in the body, depending on which amino acids are involved. Some can regulate hormones, for example, while others can have an antibiotic function. The body is also equipped to break down and reuse peptides; if you eat meat, for example, the enzymes in your intestines break down the protein at its amide bonds to create an assortment of peptides which may be digested or excreted, depending on the needs of your body.

The dividing line between a peptide and a protein is somewhat fluid. Proteins are much more complex than peptides, because they are so much longer, and most proteins are folded into complex structures to accommodate all of their amino acids. As a general rule of thumb, if more than 50 amino acids are involved, the compound is a protein, while shorter chains are considered peptides.

Peptide synthesis

 Peptide synthesis is the production of peptides, which are organic compounds in which multiple amino acids are linked via amide bonds which are also known as peptide bonds. The biological process of producing long peptides (proteins) is known as protein biosynthesis.

Gluten / Casein Peptides Test

General Description

Urinary peptides are incompletely broken down pieces of protein. The peptides from gluten and casein are important because they can react with opiate receptors in the brain, thus mimicking the effects of opiate drugs like heroin and morphine. These compounds, called neuropeptides, have been shown to react with areas of the brain such as the temporal lobes, which are involved in speech and auditory integration. Neuropeptides also decrease the ability to feel pain and affect cognitive function.

Most people that have food allergies to milk and wheat also have problems with peptides from milk and wheat interacting with their brain and causing an opiate-like effect. However, there are some people that may not show a food allergy to milk or wheat, but have the peptide problem and vice versa so it is a good idea to have both the peptides and food allergy testing done.

Gliadorphin (or gluteomorphin) is a peptide derived from the wheat protein gluten. Other related grains such as rye, barley and oats also contain the sequence of amino acids found in gluten. Gliadorphin is very similar to casomorphin. Gliadorphin has been verified by mass spectrometry techniques to be present in urine samples of children with autism.

Casomorphin is a peptide derived from the milk protein casein. Casein is one of the major proteins in the milk of all mammals including cows, goats and humans.

C-peptide Test

How is it used?
C-peptide is used to monitor insulin production and to help determine the cause of low blood sugar (hypoglycemia). The test is not ordered to help diagnose diabetes, but when a person has been newly diagnosed with diabetes, it may be ordered by itself or along with an insulin level to help determine how much insulin a person's pancreas is still producing.

Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune process that often starts in early childhood and involves the almost complete destruction of the beta cells over time. Eventually, little or no insulin is produced, leading to a complete dependence on exogenous insulin.

In type 2 diabetes, there is insulin resistance and a compensatory increase in insulin production and release that can also lead to beta cell damage. Type 2 diabetics usually are treated with oral drugs to stimulate their body to make more insulin and/or to cause their cells to be more sensitive to the insulin that is already being made. Eventually, because of the beta cell damage, type 2 diabetics may make very little insulin and require injections. Any insulin that the body does make will be reflected in the C-peptide level; therefore, the C-peptide test can be used to monitor beta cell activity and capability over time and to help the doctor determine when to begin insulin treatment.