Phylogeny of the neurohypophysial hormones. The active peptides of a primitive fish, the sturgeon (Acipenser sp.)

Oxytocin analogs with substitutions in postions 3 and 4

Synthesis and biological properties are reported for some analogs of oxytocin with replacements of the isoleucine residue in position 3, i.e., (3-proline)oxytocin and(3-D-alanine)oxytocin, and the glutamine residue in position 4, i.e., (4-D-alanine)-oxytocin and (4-D-leucin)oxytocin. (3-Proline)oxytocin exhibited smaller than0.02 U/MG oxytocic activity, 0.005 plus or minus smaller than 0.001 U/mg rat pressor activity and 0.003 plus or minus 0.0001 U/mg antidiuretic activity. (3-D-Alanine)oxytocin had no agonistic activity in the bioassays tested except for the rat antidiuretic assay (smaller than 0.0005 U/mg). The 4-D-alanine analog showed 0.05 plus or minus 0.003 U/mg oxytocic activity, 0.07 plus or minus 0.01 U/mg avian vasodepressor activity, and smaller than 0.001 U/mg rat antidiuretic activity. (4-D-Leucine)oxytocin possessed 0.001 plus or minus U/mg rat pressor activity, and showed slight inhibitory properties in the oxytocic and avian vasodepressor assays, inhibiting the oxytocin response in the latter assay by about 60% at a girnibe-to-analog ratio of 1:5000. The activity profiles of the analogs are compared to that of oxytocin and are discussed on the basis of the proposed solution conformation of oxytocin.

Neuropeptide families: evolutionary perspectives

Examination of neuropeptide families can provide information about phyletic relationships and evolutionary processes. In this article the oxytocin/vasopressin family, growth hormone releasing factor (GRF) superfamily and the substance P/tachykinin family have been considered in detail because they have been isolated from an extraordinarily diverse array of species from several vertebrate classes and invertebrate phyla. More important is that the nucleotide sequence of mRNA or cDNA encoding many of these peptides has been determined, which has allowed evolutionary distances to be estimated based on the DNA mutation rate. The origin of a given family lies in a primordial gene that arose many millions of years ago, and through time, exon duplication and insertion, gene duplication, point mutation and exon loss, the family developed into the forms that are now recognised. For example, in birds, GRF and pituitary adenylate cyclase activating peptide (PACAP) are encoded by the same gene, which probably arose as a result of exon duplication and tandem insertion of the ancestral GRF gene. In mammals GRF is the sole product on one gene, and PACAP is the product of a gene that also produces PACAP-related peptide (PRP), which is homologous to GRF. Thus it appears that between birds and mammals the GRF/PACAP gene duplicated: exon loss gave rise to the mammalian GRF gene, while mutation led to the formation of the mammalian PRP/PACAP gene. The neuropeptide Y superfamily is considered briefly, as is cionin, which is an invertebrate peptide that is closely related to the mammalian gastrin/cholecystokinin family.

Mesotocin and vasotocin, two neurohypophysial hormones in the ostrich, Struthio camelus

Two neurohypophysial hormones have been isolated from an avian species, the ostrich, Struthio camelus. Both have been characterized by amino acid analysis and sequence determination. The data obtained suggest that the oxytocin-like hormone is [Ile8-oxytocin] (mesotocin) and the vasopressin-like hormone is [Ile3-vasopressin] (vasotocin). Bioactivity measurements based on urinary conductivity showed vasotocin to be about five times as active as mesotocin.

The hypothalamo-hypophysial system in acipenseridae. VII. The functional morphology of the peptidergic neurosecretory cells in the preoptic nucleus of the sturgeon, Acipenser güldenstädti Brandt. A quantitative study

The peptidergic neurosecretory cells (NSC) of the nucleus praeopticus (NP) of male and female sturgeons, A. güldenstädti Brandt, were studied light microscopically at different stages of their life cycle and under experimental conditions. Four main NSC types reflecting different phases of secretory cycle and life course of the cell have been tentatively distinguished. The maximum percentage of the high and moderate active NSC are found in juvenile animals in the sea (stages I and I-II of gonadal maturity, sgm), in upstream migrating fish in spring before spawning, in down-stream migrating fish 1-1.5 months after spawning, and in experimental fish kept for 8.5 hours in a 32% sodium chloride solution. The least active NSC accumulating neurosecretory material (NSM) are characteristic of juvenile fish (sgm II) in the sea, sturgeons maintained in a sodium chloride solution for 3.5 or 6 hours and fish which remained in a net, thrown to the sea, for some hours before fixation. The lowest percentage of these cells is observed in autumn migrants, in females soon after spawning (sgm VI) and in fish kept for 8.5 hours in a sodium chloride solution. Cells rich in basophilic substance and poor in NSM occur in juvenile and in down-stream migrating fish. Cells reflecting the state of exhaustion after hyperactivity and "ageing" cells are seen in adults, expecially in sgm VI fish, and in autumn migrants. Pyknomorphous NSC are constantly present in all fish; they are most numerous in sturgeons found in a net. A diagram demonstrating the life course and the secretory cycle of the NSC is presented and the role of the hypothalamo-hypophysial neurosecretory system (HHNS) under stress conditions is discussed.