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In this study, we evaluated the stability/bioavailability and in vivo antihypertensive activity of the tripeptide, Ala-Val-Phe, that was recently purified from insect protein (Spodoptera littoralis; Lepidoptera) and that showed in vitro angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory activity. This tripeptide is partly hydrolyzed by mucosal peptidases to Val-Phe, a more potent in vitro ACE inhibitor...
Neuropeptide F (NPF)-like immunoreactivity was previously found to be abundant in the eastern subterranean termite, Reticulitermes flavipes. Purification of the NPF from a whole body extract of worker termites was accomplished in the current study by HPLC and heterologous radioimmunoassay for an NPF-related peptide, Helicoverpa zea Midgut Peptide-I. A partial amino acid sequence allowed determination...
CAPA-peptides have been isolated from a broad range of insect species and are typical of the neurosecretory system of the abdominal ventral nerve cord. In Rhodnius prolixus, which is known to transmit Chagas’ disease, CAPA-peptides have potent antidiuretic effects. Recently, two capa-genes were isolated from this hemipteran insect; it was the first description of the occurrence of multiple capa-genes...
20-Hydroxyecdyone (20E), an active form of ecdysteroid, is the key hormone in insect growth and development. The biosynthesis of ecdysteroid is triggered and under the control of the neuropeptide, prothoracicotropic hormone (PTTH). To date, five cytochrome P450 enzymes, namely Spook (Spo), Phantom (Phm), Disembodied (Dib), Shadow (Sad) and Shade (Shd) related to ecdysteroid biosynthesis, are identified...
cDNA was prepared from the venom duct of a single Conus spurius specimen collected near the coast of Campeche, México. From it, PCR products were generated aiming to clone I-conotoxin precursors. Thirty clones were sequenced and predicted to encode ten distinct precursors: seven of I 2 -conotoxins and three of I 2 -like-conotoxins. These precursors contain three different, mature toxins,...
Juvenile hormone (JH) and methyl farnesoate (MF) play well-known roles in the development and reproduction of insects and crustaceans. Juvenile hormone acid O-methyltransferase (JHAMT) and farnesoic acid O-methyltransferase (FAMeT) are the enzymes responsible for catalyzing the biosynthesis of JH and MF, respectively. It is not clear whether the genes that encode these enzymes are present in animal...
The very first step in the study of the endocrine control of insect molting was taken in 1922. Stefan Kopec characterized a factor in the brain of the gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar which appeared to be essential for metamorphosis. This factor was later identified as the neuropeptide prothoracicotropic hormone (PTTH), the first discovery of a series of factors involved in the regulation of ecdysteroid...
This is the first report on the structural identity of a neuropeptide of the insect order Grylloblattodea. A peptide was isolated and sequenced from the retrocerebral corpora cardiaca–corpora allata complex of the ice crawler, Galloisiana yuasai. The sequence of the peptide was deduced from the multiple MS N electrospray mass data as that of an octapeptide: pGlu-Val-Asn-Phe-Ser-Pro-Thr-Trp...
Ecdysis triggering hormones (ETHs) from endocrine Inka cells initiate the ecdysis sequence through action on central neurons expressing ETH receptors (ETHR) in model moth and dipteran species. We used various biochemical, molecular and BLAST search techniques to detect these signaling molecules in representatives of diverse arthropods. Using peptide isolation from tracheal extracts, cDNA cloning or...
Members of the tachykinin peptide family have been well conserved during evolution and are mainly expressed in the central nervous system and in the intestine of both vertebrates and invertebrates. In these animals, they act as multifunctional messengers that exert their biological effects by specifically interacting with a subfamily of structurally related G protein-coupled receptors. Despite the...
A novel serine protease inhibitor (AmPI) was purified from larval hemolymph of tasar silkworm, Antheraea mylitta by two-step process of trypsin-affinity and gel-filtration (FPLC) chromatography. AmPI was active against larval midgut and commercial bovine trypsin and chymotrypsin. The extent of purification was determined by SDS and Native PAGE. The protease inhibitor had an apparent molecular weight...
The C-type allatostatin, Manduca sexta allatostatin (Manse-AS) and the analog δR 3 δR 5 Manse-AS, where R residues were replaced by their d-isomers, were tested for oral toxicity against the pea aphid Acyrthosiphon pisum (Harris) by incorporation into an artificial diet. Both peptides had significant dose-dependent feeding suppression effects, resulting in mortality, reduced growth...
The insect kinins are multifunctional neuropeptides found in a variety of arthropod species, including the pea aphid Acyrthosiphon pisum (Hemiptera: Aphidae). A series of biostable insect kinin analogs based on the shared C-terminal pentapeptide core region were fed in solutions of artificial diet to the pea aphid over a period of 3 days and evaluated for antifeedant and aphicidal activity. The analogs...
Sea anemone toxins bind to site 3 of the sodium channels, which is partially formed by the extracellular linker connecting S3 and S4 segments of domain IV, slowing down the inactivation process. In this work we have characterized the actions of BcIII, a sea anemone polypeptide toxin isolated from Bunodosoma caissarum, on neuronal sodium currents using the patch clamp technique. Neurons of the dorsal...
Plant sucking heteropteran bugs feed regularly on small amounts of K + -rich plant material, in contrast to their hematophagous relatives which imbibe large volumes of Na + -rich blood. It was anticipated that this would be reflected in the endocrine control of Malpighian tubule (MT) secretion. To explore this, neuroendocrine factors known to influence MT secretion were tested on MT...
In the marine opisthobranch mollusc, Aplysia, secreted peptides and proteins play an essential role in egg laying and mate attraction. Aplysia californica egg laying is initiated by secretion of the egg-laying hormone (ELH) peptide while mate attraction is made possible by protein pheromones, such as attractin, released into the surrounding seawater with the egg cordon. In this study, we investigated...
In the present work we describe the functional and molecular characterization of two Aedes aegypti allatostatin-C receptor paralogs (AeAS-CrA and AeAS-CrB) and provide a detailed quantitative study of the expression of the AS-C receptor genes in an adult insect. The tissue distribution of the two AS-C receptors differed significantly; the mRNA levels of AeAS-CrB in the Malpighian tubules were the...
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