A method is reported for preparing oxidized and reduced iodinated Tyr4-bombesin. Iodogen was used to iodinate Tyr4-bombesin and the reaction products were separated by reverse-phase HPLC. The peak of oxidized label was then reduced by incubation with 725 mM dithiothreitol at 80 degrees C (pH 8.0) for one hour and the reaction products separated by HPLC as before. The reduced but not oxidized peaks of 125I-Tyr4-bombesin stimulated amylase release from rat pancreatic acini in vitro. We conclude that oxidation of bombesin producing C-terminal methionine sulfoxide destroys the biological activity of the peptide and that this form of oxidation can be reversed.