Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UNIPROT:P61278 (somatostatin)
 22,083 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Urotensin-II (U-II) is a vasoactive 'somatostatin-like' cyclic peptide which was originally isolated from fish spinal cords, and which has recently been cloned from man. Here we describe the identification of an orphan human G-protein-coupled receptor homologous to rat GPR14 and expressed predominantly in cardiovascular tissue, which functions as a U-II receptor. Goby and human U-II bind to recombinant human GPR14 with high affinity, and the binding is functionally coupled to calcium mobilization. Human U-II is found within both vascular and cardiac tissue (including coronary atheroma) and effectively constricts isolated arteries from non-human primates. The potency of vasoconstriction of U-II is an order of magnitude greater than that of endothelin-1, making human U-II the most potent mammalian vasoconstrictor identified so far. In vivo, human U-II markedly increases total peripheral resistance in anaesthetized non-human primates, a response associated with profound cardiac contractile dysfunction. Furthermore, as U-II immunoreactivity is also found within central nervous system and endocrine tissues, it may have additional activities.
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PMID:Human urotensin-II is a potent vasoconstrictor and agonist for the orphan receptor GPR14. 1049 87

Urotensin II (UII) is a neuropeptide with potent cardiovascular effects. Its sequence is strongly conserved among different species and has structural similarity to somatostatin. No receptor for UII has been molecularly identified from any species so far. GPR14 was cloned as an orphan G protein-coupled receptor with similarity to members of the somatostatin/opioid receptor family. We have now demonstrated that GPR14 is a high affinity receptor for UII and designate it UII-R1a. HEK293 cells and COS-7 cells transfected with rat GPR14 showed strong, dose-dependent calcium mobilization in response to fish, frog, and human UII. Radioligand binding analysis showed high affinity binding of UII to membrane preparations isolated from HEK293 cells stably expressing rat GPR14. In situ hybridization analysis showed that GPR14 was expressed in motor neurons of the spinal cord, smooth muscle cells of the bladder, and muscle cells of the heart. The identification of the first receptor for UII will allow better understanding of the physiological and pharmacological roles of UII.
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PMID:Identification of urotensin II as the endogenous ligand for the orphan G-protein-coupled receptor GPR14. 1058 Nov 85

Urotensin II (U-II) is a disulfide-bridged undecapeptide recently identified as the ligand of an orphan G-protein-coupled receptor. Human U-II (H-Glu-Thr-Pro-Asp-cyclo[Cys-Phe-Trp-Lys-Tyr-Cys]-Val-OH) has been described as the most potent vasoconstrictor compound identified to date. With the aim of elucidating the active conformation of hU-II, we have performed a spectroscopic analysis of hU-II minimal active fragment hU-II(4-11) in different environmental conditions. The analysis indicated that hU-II(4-11) was highly structured in the anisotropic membrane mimetic SDS solution, showing a type II' beta-turn structure, which is almost unprecedented for L-amino acid peptides. Micelle bound structure of hU-II(4-11) was then compared with those of four synthetic analogues recently synthesized in our lab, bearing modified Cys residues at position 5 and/or position 10 and characterized by different levels of agonist activity. The structures of the active compounds were found to be very similar to that of hU-II(4-11), while a barely active compound does not show any propensity to beta-turn formation. Furthermore, distances among putative pharmacophoric points in the structures of the active compounds obtained in SDS solution are in good agreement with those found in a recently described non-peptide agonist of the hU-II receptor. A type II' beta-turn structure was already found for the somatostatin analogue octreotide. On the basis of the similarity of the primary and 3D structures of U-II and somatostatin analogues and on the basis of the sequence homology between the GPR14/UT-II receptor and members of the somatostatin receptor family, a common evolutionary pathway for the signal transmission system activated by these peptide can be hypothesized.
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PMID:Unraveling the active conformation of urotensin II. 1502 56

The pronounced pharmacodynamic effects of human urotensin-II (U-II), a 'somatostatin-like' cyclic undecapeptide, are mediated via the G protein-coupled receptor UT (formerly known as GPR14). Emerging clinical studies implicate U-II in the etiology of several cardiorenal and metabolic disease states in humans. Although the specific pathogenic role(s) of U-II remain to be clearly defined, existing data warrant further clinical investigation. The therapeutic development of specific U-II/UT inhibitors will assist in establishing a causative role for U-II in the progression and/or maintenance of hypertension, heart failure, renal tubular disease and diabetes.
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PMID:Urotensin-II as a novel therapeutic target in the clinical management of cardiorenal disease. 1508 93

Urotensin II (UII) is an 11 amino acid cyclic peptide originally isolated from the goby fish. The amino acid sequence of UII is exceptionally conserved across most vertebrate taxa, sharing structural similarity to somatostatin. UII binds to a class of G protein-coupled receptor known as GPR14 or the urotensin receptor (UT). UII and its receptor, UT, are widely expressed throughout the cardiovascular, pulmonary, central nervous, renal, and metabolic systems. UII is generally agreed to be the most potent endogenous vasoconstrictor discovered to date. Its physiological mechanisms are similar in some ways to other potent mediators, such as endothelin-1. For example, both compounds elicit a strong vascular smooth muscle-dependent vasoconstriction via Ca(2+) release. UII also exerts a wide range of actions in other systems, such as proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells, fibroblasts, and cancer cells. It also 1) enhances foam cell formation, chemotaxis of inflammatory cells, and inotropic and hypertrophic effects on heart muscle; 2) inhibits insulin release, modulates glomerular filtration, and release of catecholamines; and 3) may help regulate food intake and the sleep cycle. Elevated plasma levels of UII and increased levels of UII and UT expression have been demonstrated in numerous diseased conditions, including hypertension, atherosclerosis, heart failure, pulmonary hypertension, diabetes, renal failure, and the metabolic syndrome. Indeed, some of these reports suggest that UII is a marker of disease activity. As such, the UT receptor is emerging as a promising target for therapeutic intervention. Here, a concise review is given on the vast physiologic and pathologic roles of UII.
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PMID:Role of urotensin II in health and disease. 2042 34