Enkephalin
Chr. 8 q23-q24 | |||||||
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An enkephalin is a pentapeptide involved in regulating nociception (pain sensation) in the body. The enkephalins are termed endogenous ligands, as they are internally derived and bind to the body's opioid receptors. Discovered in 1975, two forms of enkephalin have been found, one containing leucine ("leu"), and the other containing methionine ("met"). Both are products of the proenkephalin gene.[2]
- Met-enkephalin is Tyr-Gly-Gly-Phe-Met.
- Leu-enkephalin is Tyr-Gly-Gly-Phe-Leu.
Endogenous opioid peptides
There are three well-characterized families of
POMC
) also contains the met-enkephalin sequence on the N-terminus of beta-endorphin, but the endorphin peptide is not processed into enkephalin.
Effects on stress
Enkephalin is also considered a
downregulated during stress. Stressors may impact neuropeptides whose action is localized to a specific brain region.[5]
Enkephalin receptor
The receptors for enkephalin are the
endorphins (mu receptors), endomorphins, and nociceptin/orphanin FQ. The opioid receptors are ~40% identical to somatostatin receptors (SSTRs).[citation needed
]
See also
- Endorphin
- Enkephalinase
- Opioid peptide
- Racecadotril
- RB-101
References
- PMID 14990485.
- S2CID 4371340.
- ^ Opioid peptides: Molecular pharmacology, biosynthesis and analysis Archived 2009-08-26 at the Wayback Machine, R.S. Rapaka and R. L. Hawks (editors) in a National Institute on Drug Abuse Research Monograph (#70), 1986.
- .
- PMID 28781901.
External links
- Enkephalins at the U.S. National Library of Medicine Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)
- Nosek, Thomas M. "Section 6/6ch2/s6ch2_36". Essentials of Human Physiology. Archived from the original on 2016-03-24.
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