FIND ARTICLE

INSECT PEPTIDE HORMONES A REVIEW OF MAJOR FAMILIES

Neuropeptides produced in neuro-endocrine system are involved in many vital processes of insects the most numerous group of animals. In last ten years many new neuropeptides have been identified in this group of animals. In many cases they have pleiotropic action and play a crucial role as neurotransmitters, neuromodulators and classical hormones.

NEUROENDOCRINE FUNCTION OF SKIN

The skin constitutes the metabolically active biological barrier separating the internal milieu of mammalian organism and the external environment. The skin is continuously exposed to hostile environmental factors, therefore the anatomic localization determines its many functions. Both, the central endocrine system and the cutaneous endocrine system control and integrate the functions. All factors controlling the activity of the hypothalamus-pituitary-target organ axis are expressed in the skin.

Neurokinins and their receptors

Neurokinins are a group of peptide compounds occurring in the nervous system of mammals. They are characterized by a common sequence of four amino acids at the C-terminal of a peptide chain. The neurokinins include substance P (SP), neurokinin A (NKA) and neurokinin B (NKB). The neurokinins bind to their specific receptors NK1, NK2 and NK3. An amino acid sequence of these receptors is over 65 per cent homologous. SP is a ligand of the NK1 receptor, NKA - of the NK2 receptor, and NKB - of the NK3 receptor. Each of them is simultaneously an agonist of neurokinin receptors of every type.

The Editorial Board
Andrzej Łukaszyk - przewodniczący, Zofia Bielańska-Osuchowska, Szczepan Biliński, Mieczysław Chorąży, Aleksander Koj, Włodzimierz Korochoda, Leszek Kuźnicki, Aleksandra Stojałowska, Lech Wojtczak

Editorial address:
Katedra i Zakład Histologii i Embriologii Uniwersytetu Medycznego w Poznaniu, ul. Święcickiego 6, 60-781 Poznań, tel. +48 61 8546453, fax. +48 61 8546440, email: mnowicki@ump.edu.pl

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