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

Dwyer has suggested that peptide receptors evolved from self-aggregating peptides so that peptide receptors should incorporate regions of high homology with the peptide ligand. If one considers self-aggregation to be a particular manifestation of molecular complementarity in general, then it is possible to extend Dwyer's hypothesis to a broader set of peptides: complementary peptides that bind to each other. In the latter case, one would expect to find homologous copies of the complementary peptide in the receptor. Thirteen peptides, 10 of which are not known to self-aggregate (amylin, ACTH, LHRH, angiotensin II, atrial natriuretic peptide, somatostatin, oxytocin, neurotensin, vasopressin, and substance P), and three that are known to self-aggregate (insulin, glucagon, and gastrin), were chosen. In addition to being self-aggregating, insulin and glucagon are also known to bind to each other, making them a mutually complementary pair. All possible combinations of the 13 peptides and the extracellular regions of their receptors were investigated using bioinformatic tools (a total of 325 combinations). Multiple, statistically significant homologies were found for insulin in the insulin receptor; insulin in the glucagon receptor; glucagon in the glucagon receptor; glucagon in the insulin receptor; and gastrin in gastrin binding protein and its receptor. Most of these homologies are in regions or sequences known to contribute to receptor binding of the respective hormone. These results suggest that the Dwyer hypothesis for receptor evolution may be generalizable beyond self-aggregating to complementary peptides. The evolution of receptors may have been driven by small molecule complementarity augmented by modular evolutionary processes that left a "molecular paleontology" that is still evident in the genome today. This "paleontology" may allow identification of peptide receptor sites.
 ...
PMID:Molecular complementarity III. peptide complementarity as a basis for peptide receptor evolution: a bioinformatic case study of insulin, glucagon and gastrin. 1229 71

We have demonstrated that chicken lines which have undergone intense divergent selection for either low (LWS) or high (HWS) body weight (anorexic and obese containing, respectively) have differential food intake threshold responses to a range of intracerebroventricular injected neurotransmitters. The study reported herein was designed to measure endogenous appetite-associated factor mRNA profiles between these lines in an effort to further understand the molecular mechanisms involved in their differential eating patterns. Whole hypothalamus was collected from 5 day-old chicks that had been fasted for 180 min or had free access to food. Total RNA was isolated, reverse transcribed, and real-time PCR performed. Although mRNAs encoding orexigenic neuropeptides including agouti-related peptide, neuropeptide Y (NPY), prolactin-releasing peptide, and visfatin did not differ in expression between the lines, NPY receptor 5 mRNA was greater in fed LWS than HWS chicks, but fasting decreased the magnitude of difference. Anorexigenic factors including amylin, corticotropin releasing factor (CRF) and ghrelin were not differentially expressed between lines, while mRNA abundance of calcitonin, CRF receptor 1, leptin receptor, neuropeptide S, melanocortin receptor 3, and oxytocin were greater in LWS than HWS chicks. Pro-opiomelanocortin mRNA was lower in LWS than HWS chicks, while fasting decreased its expression in both lines. These results suggest that there are differences in gene expression of appetite-associated factors between LWS and HWS lines that might be associated with their differential food intake and thus contribute to differences in severity of anorexia, body weight, adiposity, and development of obesity.
 ...
PMID:Fed and fasted chicks from lines divergently selected for low or high body weight have differential hypothalamic appetite-associated factor mRNA expression profiles. 2567 48