Neuropeptide

peptide released by neurons as intercellular messengers

Neuropeptides are chemical messengers made up of small chains of amino acids. When they bind to receptors, they cause nerve activity. They also act on other tissues like the gut, muscles, and heart. There are over a hundred different types in our bodies.

Peptides are ancient signalling systems that are in almost all animals on Earth (sponges are the exception).[1][2][3][4][5][6]

Neuropeptide signalling may predate the development of nervous tissues or neurotransmitters.[7][8] They are the largest and most varied type of signalling molecules in the nervous system.

References change

  1. Schoofs L, De Loof A, Van Hiel MB (January 2017). "Neuropeptides as regulators of behavior in insects". Annual Review of Entomology. 62: 35–52. doi:10.1146/annurev-ento-031616-035500. PMID 27813667.
  2. Jékely G (March 2021). "The chemical brain hypothesis for the origin of nervous systems". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences. 376 (1821): 20190761. doi:10.1098/rstb.2019.0761. PMC 7935135. PMID 33550946.
  3. Sachkova MY, Nordmann EL, Soto-Àngel JJ, Meeda Y, Górski B, Naumann B, et al. (December 2021). "Neuropeptide repertoire and 3D anatomy of the ctenophore nervous system". Current Biology. 31 (23): 5274–5285.e6. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2021.09.005. PMID 34587474. S2CID 238210404.
  4. Takahashi T, Takeda N (January 2015). "Insight into the molecular and functional diversity of cnidarian neuropeptides". International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 16 (2): 2610–2625. doi:10.3390/ijms16022610. PMC 4346854. PMID 25625515.
  5. Mirabeau O, Joly JS (May 2013). "Molecular evolution of peptidergic signaling systems in bilaterians". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 110 (22): E2028–E2037. Bibcode:2013PNAS..110E2028M. doi:10.1073/pnas.1219956110. PMC 3670399. PMID 23671109.
  6. Elphick MR, Mirabeau O, Larhammar D (February 2018). "Evolution of neuropeptide signalling systems". The Journal of Experimental Biology. 221 (Pt 3): jeb151092. doi:10.1242/jeb.151092. PMC 5818035. PMID 29440283.
  7. Yañez-Guerra LA, Thiel D, Jékely G (April 2022). "Premetazoan origin of neuropeptide signaling". Molecular Biology and Evolution. 39 (4): msac051. doi:10.1093/molbev/msac051. PMC 9004410. PMID 35277960.
  8. Varoqueaux F, Williams EA, Grandemange S, Truscello L, Kamm K, Schierwater B, et al. (November 2018). "High cell diversity and complex peptidergic signaling underlie placozoan behavior". Current Biology. 28 (21): 3495–3501.e2. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2018.08.067. PMID 30344118. S2CID 53044824.