Low-molecular-mass surfactant protein type 1. The primary structure of a hydrophobic 8-kDa polypeptide with eight half-cystine residues.

The low-molecular-mass surfactant protein fraction, soluble in chloroform/methanol, contains at least two separate polypeptide chains. The 8-kDa form (type I) was isolated, [14C]carboxymethylated after reduction, and submitted to structural analysis. Its highly hydrophobic nature complicated purification, proteolytic cleavages, and sequence analysis. Acid hydrolysis in 6 M HCl for 7 days was necessary for release of branched-chain residues in full yield. Pepsin was the only enzyme found to cleave the surfactant protein and was used to complement peptide generation by chemical cleavage with CNBr. The primary structure deduced consists of 79 residues with 8 half-cystine residues, and a total of 39% branched-chain hydrophobic residues. However, 11 residues are charged at physiological pH, and all properties of the primary structure are not entirely outstanding in relation to those of other proteins. Hydrophobic segments, coupled with a presumably tight folding from the presence of disulfide bridges, probably explain the unusual properties and the solubility in organic solvents.