BENZOPHENONE-LINKED CRF AND CRF-LIKE PEPTIDES FOR COVALENT LABELING OF CORTICOTROPIN-RELEASING FACTOR (CRF) BINDING PROTEIN

摘要

The present invention relates to a ligand of the Corticotropin-Releasing Factor (CRF)-binding protein (CRFBP) selected from the group consisting of CRF, Urocortin (Ucn), and Urotensin, said ligand comprising a covalently linked benzophenone moiety. Further, the present invention relates to a process for the purification of a CRFBP which comprises reacting said CRFBP with the ligand of the invention, performing photoaffinity labeling, and purifying the resultant photoreaction products by HPLC. The present invention also relates to the use of the ligand of the invention for detecting CRFBP and for identifying the binding site within CRFBP. The present invention also relates to a method for identifying an inhibitor of the binding of ARF to CRFBP.