Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UNIPROT:P01178 (oxytocin)
 15,767 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The vasopressin-oxytocin family of peptides is of very ancient lineage, found in organisms as diverse as hydra and man. Although these peptides have been intensively studied in vertebrates, the presumably more extensive invertebrate series was defined primarily by immunological methods. In this report, we describe the purification and structures of two peptides of the vasopressin-oxytocin family from molluscs ("Conopressins"), which were found in the venom of fish-hunting marine snails of the genus Conus. The biological activity observed when the two snail peptides are injected intracerebrally into mice is very similar to that elicited by the vertebrate neurohypophyseal hormones and presumably reflects their actions upon a common receptor in the brain. The sequences of the purified peptides reveal unique features not found in the vertebrate peptide series, most notably an additional positive charge. These are the first members of the invertebrate series of the vasopressin-oxytocin family to be characterized biochemically. The sequences of these peptides are: from Conus geographus venom, Lys-conopressin-G, Cys-Phe-Ile-Arg-Asn-Cys-Pro-Lys-Gly-NH2; and from Conus striatus venom, Arg-conopressin-S, Cys-Ile-Ile-Arg-Asn-Cys-Pro-Arg-Gly-NH2.
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PMID:Invertebrate vasopressin/oxytocin homologs. Characterization of peptides from Conus geographus and Conus straitus venoms. 368 Feb 28

Neurosecretory granule lysate from bovine posterior pituitary was shown to contain both carboxypeptidase B and amidating activities. The former sequentially releases COOH-terminal basic residues from the oxytocin biosynthetic precursor fragment oxytocinyl-GKR (CYIQNCPLGKR) to form oxytocinyl-GK and then oxytocinyl-G. The amidating enzyme converts the resulting oxytocinyl-G into oxytocin (CYIQNCPLG-NH2). The carboxypeptidase B was separated from a less specific carboxypeptidase present in granule lysate by gel filtration on Sephacryl S-300. Percoll density gradient centrifugation (after preliminary differential centrifugation) also yielded granule fractions enriched in the specific carboxypeptidase B activity. The carboxypeptidase B which converts the oxytocinyl peptides showed a fairly sharp pH dependence with an optimum of 5.5-6, was activated by cobalt ion, and was inhibited by cupric ion, EDTA, and a thiol protease inhibitor, p-chloromercuribenzoate. The amidating activity which converts oxytocinyl-G to oxytocin was competed by degradation due to proteases and/or peptidases present in lysate of Percoll gradient-derived granules. Oxytocinyl-GKR was shown by analytical affinity chromatography to bind noncovalently to neurophysin with an affinity close to that of mature oxytocin. This binding activity and the observation of carboxypeptidase B activity in the presence of large concentrations of neurophysin are consistent with the view that the exoproteolytic processing and amidation steps which occur after initial endoproteolysis of pro-oxytocin/neurophysin likely take place on oxytocin intermediate peptides which are bound in noncovalent complexes with the neurophysin domain from the precursor.
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PMID:Pituitary enzyme conversion of putative synthetic oxytocin precursor intermediates. 401 3

Synthetic bovine parathyroid hormone containing the 1-34 NH2 terminal amino acids [bPTH-(1-34)] is capable of inhibiting stimulated uterine contraction. The purpose of the present investigation is to determine whether the inhibitory action of bPTH-(1-34) is a direct action of the hormone fragment. The effect of different synthetic preparations of bPTH-(1-34), salmon calcitonin, corticotropin-inhibiting peptide and bovine serum albumin on oxytocin-stimulated uterine contraction was determined. In addition, the effects of atropine, propranolol, phentolamine, pyrilamine, cimetidine and the prostaglandin synthetase inhibitor indomethacin on the inhibitory action of bPTH-(1-34) on uterine contraction was determined. Both synthetic preparations of bPTH-(1-34) inhibited oxytocin-initiated contractions similarly. Salmon calcitonin, corticotropin-inhibiting peptide, and bovine serum albumin did not alter oxytocin-stimulated uterine contractions. The salmon calcitonin also did not alter the ability of bPTH-(1-34) to exert its inhibitory effect on uterine contraction. Cholinergic, alpha and beta adrenergic, histaminergic (H1 and H2) and prostaglandin synthetase inhibitors did not alter the action of bPTH-(1-34). These results suggest that the action of bPTH-(1-34) is 1) not due to the presence of a contaminant in the synthetic hormone preparation and 2) that the effect could be due to a direct action effect of the hormone fragment on uterine tissue.
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PMID:Direct effect of parathyroid hormone on rat uterine contraction. 608 71

The hypothalamic peptide MIF-1 (Pro-Leu-Gly-NH2) was coupled to thyroglobulin and injected into rabbits. The resulting antiserum reacted with the tetrapeptide Tyr-MIF-1 to a greater extent than with the tripeptide MIF-1, presumably because of a better conformation for antibody binding. By radioimmunoassay (RIA), immunoreactive MIF-1/Tyr-MIF-1-like material was found in the pineal gland of each of the 100 rats examined. The tendencies for slightly higher levels in pineals obtained from rats kept in constant darkness for two weeks, from rats in a normal light cycle decapitated at noon, or from rats which had been hypophysectomized were not statistically significant. Gel filtration of pineal extracts on a column of Sephadex G-10 revealed that by RIA one immunoreactive peak eluted near MIF-1 and oxytocin, and another peak near Tyr-MIF-1. The results suggest the presence in pineal tissue of an MIF-1-like material as well as a novel peptide containing Tyr-Pro-Leu-Gly-NH2 or a closely related structure for which oxytocin is unlikely to be the precursor.
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PMID:Radioimmunoassay of MIF-1/Tyr-MIF-1-like material in rat pineal. 611 Oct 86

A test situation was developed in which the effects of drugs on habituation of exploratory behavior (head-poke responses) could be assessed independently of their effects on general activity (locomotion and rearing). Habituation, spontaneous recovery from habituation and stimulus specificity of habituation were studied. An amphetamine-barbiturate mixture attenuated habituation of the head-poke response without influencing general activity. Pro-Leu-Gly-NH2 (PLG), an oxytocin fragment, increased locomotor activity and did not alter the course of habituation of the head-poke response. Since exploratory behavior and general activity can be pharmacologically dissociated in the test situation used, it is concluded that the test situation is suitable for studying the effects of drugs on habituation of exploratory behavior. The amphetamine-barbiturate mixture did not influence the stimulus specificity of habituation of the head-poke response. Fenfluramine however increased the effects of stimulus change on the head-poke response while not influencing habituation of this response. These results show that habituation and stimulus specificity of habituation of exploratory behavior can be pharmacologically dissociated.
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PMID:Habituation of the head-poke response: effects of an amphetamine-barbiturate mixture, PLG and fenfluramine. 611 22

Pro-Leu-Gly-NH2 (PLG), which is the C-terminal tripeptide tail of oxytocin, has been reported to possess melanocyte-stimulating hormone (MSH)-release-inhibiting activity. Although it has been isolated from bovine hypothalamus, little is known about the CNS distribution of this peptide in other species. In this report, we describe the development of a radioimmunoassay which can be used to measure both PLG and oxytocin following chromatographic separation by high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC). Using this method, we are unable to demonstrate the presence of any endogenous PLG in rat hypothalamus, preoptic area, pituitary, or eye tissue. However, synthetic PLG, which is added to tissue homogenates as an internal standard, is consistently recovered from all areas. We conclude that the PLG tripeptide is not present in the rat brain and thus cannot be the physiological regulator of MSH secretion.
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PMID:Development of a radioimmunoassay for Pro-Leu-Gly-NH2 (PLG or MIF-I): evidence that PLG is not present in rat brain. 612 41

The gene encoding the precursor protein to the hormone oxytocin and its associated neurophysin has been isolated from a rat genomic library, and its sequence has been determined. The small gene (approximately equal to 850 base pairs) predicts a mRNA of approximately equal to 500 bases [without the poly(A) tail]. The exon-intron organization is similar to that of the vasopressin gene, with two splice sites in the protein-coding region. The first exon (A) comprises the 5' noncoding promoter region, a putative signal peptide, the nonapeptide hormone oxytocin, and the NH2-terminal, variable region of neurophysin. The second exon (B) encodes the central, conserved region of neurophysin, and the third exon (C) encodes the remaining COOH terminus of neurophysin, with an additional arginine residue at its end, presumably cleaved off during post-translational processing. A stretch of 143 nucleotides within exon B, except for a single base change, is entirely homologous to the equivalent part of the rat vasopressin gene, offering support for a gene conversion event having recently affected the two genes.
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PMID:Structure and comparison of the oxytocin and vasopressin genes from rat. 632 97

This study concerned the fragmentation of the nonapeptides arginine-vasopressin (AVP-(1-9)) and oxytocin (OXT-(1-9)) by proteolytic enzymes present in a brain synaptic membrane preparation. The peptides formed during digestion of arginine-vasopressin and oxytocin were isolated by high pressure liquid chromatography and chemically characterized by amino acid composition, NH2-terminal amino acid residues, and the presence of 14C radioactivity in tyrosine-2 and glycinamide-9. The major peptide fragments of arginine-vasopressin were [Cyt6]-AVP-(2-9), [Cyt6]-AVP-(3-9), [less than Glu4, Cyt6]-AVP-(4-9), and a peptide having the AVP-(4-8) sequence. The characterized fragments of oxytocin were [Cyt6]-OXT-(2-9), [Cyt6]-OXT-(3-9), [Cyt6]-OXT-(4-9), [less than Glu4, Cyt6]-OXT-(4-9), and [Cyt6] OXT-(5-9). Employing differentially 14C-labeled arginine-vasopressin and oxytocin, the proteolysis of the two peptides into fragments was followed with time. The results showed the sequential formation of peptide fragments by proteolytic cleavage from the NH2 terminus onward, demonstrating the action of an aminopeptidase-like enzyme. Arginine-vasopressin was converted significantly more rapidly by the amino-peptidase activity than oxytocin. In contrast to known brain aminopeptidases, the synaptic membrane-associated activity cleaved the nonapeptides without prior reduction of the disulfide bridge. From the present data it is concluded that aminopeptidases predominate in the proteolytic mechanism by which brain synaptic membranes convert arginine-vasopressin and oxytocin. The role of the proteolytic events and the significance of formed peptide fragments is discussed in view of the concept that arginine-vasopressin and oxytocin are precursors for neuropeptides in brain.
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PMID:Proteolytic conversion of arginine-vasopressin and oxytocin by brain synaptic membranes. Characterization of formed peptides and mechanisms of proteolysis. 633 40

The influence of a i.v. injection of 2 I.U. of synthetic oxytocin (Oxy, Syntocinon) on plasma cortisol has been tested in 6 normal volunteers (age 22 to 33) and compared to a similar saline injection in a blind, cross-over design. Before injection basal cortisol is similar in Oxy (12.1 +/- 2.3 micrograms/100 ml M +/- Se) and saline (11.7 +/- 3.5) groups; in the Oxy group a significant (2 p less than 0.01) decrease of cortisol was noticed from the 45th min until the end of the test (120 min): the last mean level being 5.2 +/- 0.9 in the Oxy group compared to 12.9 +/- 1.8 in the saline group (2 p less than 0.005). Although the mechanism of action of Oxy on cortisol plasma levels remains to be investigated our results are in agreement with a proper action of Oxy and vasopressin at the level of the corticotroph cells or with a proper action of Oxy or of one of its metabolite (Pro-Leu-Gly-NH2 for example) on proopiomelanocorticotropic function.
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PMID:[Intravenous injection of synthetic oxytocin induces a decrease of cortisol plasma level in normal man]. 645 79

Synthetic bovine parathyroid hormone containing the NH2 terminal 34 amino acids [bPTH-(1-34)] was recently demonstrated to inhibit oxytocin stimulated uterine contraction in vitro. The parathyroid hormone analogues [Nle8, Nle18, Tyr34]bPTH-(3-34)amide [NTA-(3-34)] and [Tyr34]bPTH-(7-34)amide [NTA-(7-34)] have been reported to act as inhibitors of antagonists of parathyroid hormone (PTH) in numerous assays. In the present study the effects of these PTH analogues on uterine contraction and the ability of these analogues to act as antagonists to the uterine inhibitory action of bPTH-(1-34) in vitro were investigated. The NTA-(3-34) fragment had no effect on oxytocin stimulated uterine contractions. However, the NTA-(3-34) fragment was able to alter the ability of bPTH (1-34) to reduce oxytocin stimulated uterine contraction in a dose-related manner. Bovine PTH(1-34) (0.3 microgram/ml) reduced the contractile response obtained with oxytocin (0.5 mU/ml) by 20%. A dose of 15 micrograms/ml) of NTA-(3-34) abolished this inhibitory action of bPTH-(1-34) on oxytocin stimulated uterine contraction. In contrast the NTA-(7-34) caused a change in itself, stimulated contraction of resting uterine horns in a dose-related manner; 3.0 micrograms/ml of NTA-(7-34) caused a change in gram tension of + 1.5 grams. Bovine PTH-(1-34) was able to reduce the uterine contraction stimulated by NTA-(7-34) and 0.3 microgram/ml of bPTH-(1-34) reduced the contractile response obtained with 3.0 micrograms/ml of NTA-(7-34) by as much as 70%.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:Effects of bPTH fragments (1-34), (3-34) and (7-34) on uterine contraction. 647 69


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