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Xu JP, Ding XY, Guo SQ, Wang HY, Liu WJ, Jiang HM, Li YD, Fu P, Chen P, Mei YS, Zhang G, Zhou HB, Jing J. Characterization of an Aplysia vasotocin signaling system and actions of posttranslational modifications and individual residues of the ligand on receptor activity. Front Pharmacol 2023; 14:1132066. [PMID: 37021048 PMCID: PMC10067623 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2023.1132066] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/26/2022] [Accepted: 03/06/2023] [Indexed: 04/07/2023] Open
Abstract
The vasopressin/oxytocin signaling system is present in both protostomes and deuterostomes and plays various physiological roles. Although there were reports for both vasopressin-like peptides and receptors in mollusc Lymnaea and Octopus, no precursor or receptors have been described in mollusc Aplysia. Here, through bioinformatics, molecular and cellular biology, we identified both the precursor and two receptors for Aplysia vasopressin-like peptide, which we named Aplysia vasotocin (apVT). The precursor provides evidence for the exact sequence of apVT, which is identical to conopressin G from cone snail venom, and contains 9 amino acids, with two cysteines at position 1 and 6, similar to nearly all vasopressin-like peptides. Through inositol monophosphate (IP1) accumulation assay, we demonstrated that two of the three putative receptors we cloned from Aplysia cDNA are true receptors for apVT. We named the two receptors as apVTR1 and apVTR2. We then determined the roles of post-translational modifications (PTMs) of apVT, i.e., the disulfide bond between two cysteines and the C-terminal amidation on receptor activity. Both the disulfide bond and amidation were critical for the activation of the two receptors. Cross-activity with conopressin S, annetocin from an annelid, and vertebrate oxytocin showed that although all three ligands can activate both receptors, the potency of these peptides differed depending on their residue variations from apVT. We, therefore, tested the roles of each residue through alanine substitution and found that each substitution could reduce the potency of the peptide analog, and substitution of the residues within the disulfide bond tended to have a larger impact on receptor activity than the substitution of those outside the bond. Moreover, the two receptors had different sensitivities to the PTMs and single residue substitutions. Thus, we have characterized the Aplysia vasotocin signaling system and showed how the PTMs and individual residues in the ligand contributed to receptor activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ju-Ping Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for MicroRNA Biology and Biotechnology, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center, Institute for Brain Sciences, Advanced Institute for Life Sciences, School of Life Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Research Unit of Extracellular RNA, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
| | - Xue-Ying Ding
- State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for MicroRNA Biology and Biotechnology, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center, Institute for Brain Sciences, Advanced Institute for Life Sciences, School of Life Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Research Unit of Extracellular RNA, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
| | - Shi-Qi Guo
- State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for MicroRNA Biology and Biotechnology, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center, Institute for Brain Sciences, Advanced Institute for Life Sciences, School of Life Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Research Unit of Extracellular RNA, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
| | - Hui-Ying Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for MicroRNA Biology and Biotechnology, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center, Institute for Brain Sciences, Advanced Institute for Life Sciences, School of Life Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Research Unit of Extracellular RNA, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
| | - Wei-Jia Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for MicroRNA Biology and Biotechnology, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center, Institute for Brain Sciences, Advanced Institute for Life Sciences, School of Life Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Research Unit of Extracellular RNA, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
| | - Hui-Min Jiang
- State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for MicroRNA Biology and Biotechnology, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center, Institute for Brain Sciences, Advanced Institute for Life Sciences, School of Life Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Research Unit of Extracellular RNA, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
| | - Ya-Dong Li
- State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for MicroRNA Biology and Biotechnology, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center, Institute for Brain Sciences, Advanced Institute for Life Sciences, School of Life Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Research Unit of Extracellular RNA, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
| | - Ping Fu
- State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for MicroRNA Biology and Biotechnology, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center, Institute for Brain Sciences, Advanced Institute for Life Sciences, School of Life Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Research Unit of Extracellular RNA, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
| | - Ping Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for MicroRNA Biology and Biotechnology, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center, Institute for Brain Sciences, Advanced Institute for Life Sciences, School of Life Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Research Unit of Extracellular RNA, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
| | - Yu-Shuo Mei
- State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for MicroRNA Biology and Biotechnology, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center, Institute for Brain Sciences, Advanced Institute for Life Sciences, School of Life Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Research Unit of Extracellular RNA, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
| | - Guo Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for MicroRNA Biology and Biotechnology, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center, Institute for Brain Sciences, Advanced Institute for Life Sciences, School of Life Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Research Unit of Extracellular RNA, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
| | - Hai-Bo Zhou
- School of Electronic Science and Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
- Peng Cheng Laboratory, Shenzhen, China
| | - Jian Jing
- State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for MicroRNA Biology and Biotechnology, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center, Institute for Brain Sciences, Advanced Institute for Life Sciences, School of Life Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Research Unit of Extracellular RNA, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
- Peng Cheng Laboratory, Shenzhen, China
- Department of Neuroscience and Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, United States
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Odekunle EA, Elphick MR. Comparative and Evolutionary Physiology of Vasopressin/ Oxytocin-Type Neuropeptide Signaling in Invertebrates. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne) 2020; 11:225. [PMID: 32362874 PMCID: PMC7181382 DOI: 10.3389/fendo.2020.00225] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2019] [Accepted: 03/30/2020] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
The identification of structurally related hypothalamic hormones that regulate blood pressure and diuresis (vasopressin, VP; CYFQNCPRG-NH2) or lactation and uterine contraction (oxytocin, OT; CYIQNCPLG-NH2) was a major advance in neuroendocrinology, recognized in the award of the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1955. Furthermore, the discovery of central actions of VP and OT as regulators of reproductive and social behavior in humans and other mammals has broadened interest in these neuropeptides beyond physiology into psychology. VP/OT-type neuropeptides and their G-protein coupled receptors originated in a common ancestor of the Bilateria (Urbilateria), with invertebrates typically having a single VP/OT-type neuropeptide and cognate receptor. Gene/genome duplications followed by gene loss gave rise to variety in the number of VP/OT-type neuropeptides and receptors in different vertebrate lineages. Recent advances in comparative transcriptomics/genomics have enabled discovery of VP/OT-type neuropeptides in an ever-growing diversity of invertebrate taxa, providing new opportunities to gain insights into the evolution of VP/OT-type neuropeptide function in the Bilateria. Here we review the comparative physiology of VP/OT-type neuropeptides in invertebrates, with roles in regulation of reproduction, feeding, and water/salt homeostasis emerging as common themes. For example, we highlight recent reports of roles in regulation of oocyte maturation in the sea-squirt Ciona intestinalis, extraoral feeding behavior in the starfish Asterias rubens and energy status and dessication resistance in ants. Thus, VP/OT-type neuropeptides are pleiotropic regulators of physiological processes, with evolutionarily conserved roles that can be traced back to Urbilateria. To gain a deeper understanding of the evolution of VP/OT-type neuropeptide function it may be necessary to not only determine the actions of the peptides but also to characterize the transcriptomic/proteomic/metabolomic profiles of cells expressing VP/OT-type precursors and/or VP/OT-type receptors within the framework of anatomically and functionally identified neuronal networks. Furthermore, investigation of VP/OT-type neuropeptide function in a wider range of invertebrate species is now needed if we are to determine how and when this ancient signaling system was recruited to regulate diverse physiological and behavioral processes in different branches of animal phylogeny and in contrasting environmental contexts.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Maurice R. Elphick
- School of Biological & Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, United Kingdom
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