Calcitonin Gene-related Peptide
Calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) is a member of the calcitonin family of peptides consisting of calcitonin, amylin, adrenomedullin, adrenomedullin 2 ( intermedin) and calcitonin‑receptor‑stimulating peptide. Calcitonin is mainly produced by thyroid C cells whilst CGRP is secreted and stored in the nervous system. This peptide, in humans, exists in two forms: CGRP alpha (α-CGRP or CGRP I), and CGRP beta (β-CGRP or CGRP II). α-CGRP is a 37-amino acid neuropeptide and is formed by alternative splicing of the calcitonin/CGRP gene located on chromosome 11. β-CGRP is less studied. In humans, β-CGRP differs from α-CGRP by three amino acids and is encoded in a separate, nearby gene. The CGRP family includes calcitonin (CT), adrenomedullin (AM), and amylin (AMY). Function CGRP is produced in both peripheral and central neurons. It is a potent peptide vasodilator and can function in the transmission of nociception. In the spinal cord, the function and expression of CGRP ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Calcitonin
Calcitonin is a 32 amino acid peptide hormone secreted by parafollicular cells (also known as C cells) of the thyroid (or endostyle) in humans and other chordates. in the ultimopharyngeal body. It acts to reduce blood calcium (Ca2+), opposing the effects of parathyroid hormone (PTH). Its importance in humans has not been as well established as its importance in other animals, as its function is usually not significant in the regulation of normal calcium homeostasis. It belongs to the calcitonin-like protein family. Historically calcitonin has also been called thyrocalcitonin. Biosynthesis and regulation Calcitonin is formed by the proteolytic cleavage of a larger prepropeptide, which is the product of the CALC1 gene (). It is functionally an antagonist with PTH and Vitamin D3. The CALC1 gene belongs to a superfamily of related protein hormone precursors including islet amyloid precursor protein, calcitonin gene-related peptide, and the precursor of adrenomedullin. Secretion of ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Dorsal Horn Of The Spinal Cord
The posterior grey column (posterior cornu, dorsal horn, spinal dorsal horn, posterior horn, sensory horn) of the spinal cord is one of the three grey columns of the spinal cord. It receives several types of sensory information from the body, including fine touch, proprioception, and vibration. This information is sent from receptors of the skin, bones, and joints through sensory neurons whose cell bodies lie in the dorsal root ganglion. Anatomy The posterior grey column is subdivided into six layers termed Rexed laminae I-VI *Marginal nucleus of spinal cord (lamina I) *Substantia gelatinosa of Rolando (lamina II) *Nucleus proprius (laminae III, IV) *Spinal lamina V, the neck of the posterior horn *Spinal lamina VI, the base of the posterior horn. The other four Rexed laminae are located in the other two grey columns in the spinal cord. Additional images File:Gray687.png, Section of the medulla oblongata through the lower part of the decussation of the pyramids See also * Po ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Respiratory System
The respiratory system (also respiratory apparatus, ventilatory system) is a biological system consisting of specific organs and structures used for gas exchange in animals and plants. The anatomy and physiology that make this happen varies greatly, depending on the size of the organism, the environment in which it lives and its evolutionary history. In land animals the respiratory surface is internalized as linings of the lungs. Gas exchange in the lungs occurs in millions of small air sacs; in mammals and reptiles these are called alveoli, and in birds they are known as atria. These microscopic air sacs have a very rich blood supply, thus bringing the air into close contact with the blood. These air sacs communicate with the external environment via a system of airways, or hollow tubes, of which the largest is the trachea, which branches in the middle of the chest into the two main bronchi. These enter the lungs where they branch into progressively narrower secondary and tert ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
RAMP1
Receptor activity modifying protein 1 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''RAMP1'' gene. The protein encoded by this gene is a member of the RAMP family of single-transmembrane-domain proteins, called receptor (calcitonin) activity modifying proteins (RAMPs). RAMPs are type I transmembrane proteins with an extracellular N terminus and a cytoplasmic C terminus. RAMPs are required to transport calcitonin-receptor-like receptor (CALCRL) to the plasma membrane. CALCRL, a receptor with seven transmembrane domains, can function as either a calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) receptor or an adrenomedullin receptor, depending on which members of the RAMP family are expressed. In combination with the RAMP1 protein, CALCRL functions as the CGRP receptor. The RAMP1 protein is involved in the terminal glycosylation, maturation, and presentation of the CGRP receptor to the cell surface. The RAMP1 protein can also interact with the calcitonin receptor (CT) protein, where heterom ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Receptor Activity-modifying Protein
Receptor activity-modifying proteins (RAMPs) are a class of protein that interact with and modulate the activities of several Class B G protein-coupled receptors including the receptors for secretin, calcitonin (CT), glucagon, and vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP). There are three distinct types of RAMPs in mammals (though more in fish), designated RAMP1, RAMP2, and RAMP3, each encoded by a separate gene. Function Currently, the function of RAMPs is divided into classes of activities. When associated with the Calcitonin receptor (CTR) or Calcitonin receptor-like (CALCRL) (below), RAMPs can change the selectivity of the receptor for a specific hormone. In the cases of the other receptors mentioned, however, there is no evidence that they can do this, but instead function to regulate trafficking of receptors from the ER / golgi to the membrane. These functions appear to be ones where there is redundancy, as neither RAMP1 nor RAMP3 knockout mice (KO) have grossly abnorma ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
CALCRL
Calcitonin receptor-like (CALCRL), also known as the calcitonin receptor-like receptor (CRLR), is a human protein; it is a receptor for calcitonin gene-related peptide. Function The protein encoded by the CALCRL gene is a G protein-coupled receptor related to the calcitonin receptor. CALCRL is linked to one of three single transmembrane domain receptor activity-modifying proteins (RAMPs) that are essential for functional activity. The association of CALCRL with different RAMP proteins produces different receptors: * with RAMP1: produces a CGRP receptor * with RAMP2: produces an adrenomedullin (AM) receptor, designated AM1 * with RAMP3: produces a dual CGRP/AM receptor designated AM2 These receptors are linked to the G protein Gs, which activates adenylate cyclase and activation results in the generation of intracellular cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP). CGRP receptors are found throughout the body, suggesting that the protein may modulate a variety of physiological funct ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
G Protein-coupled Receptor
G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), also known as seven-(pass)-transmembrane domain receptors, 7TM receptors, heptahelical receptors, serpentine receptors, and G protein-linked receptors (GPLR), form a large group of evolutionarily-related proteins that are cell surface receptors that detect molecules outside the cell and activate cellular responses. Coupling with G proteins, they are called seven-transmembrane receptors because they pass through the cell membrane seven times. Text was copied from this source, which is available under Attribution 2.5 Generic (CC BY 2.5) license. Ligands can bind either to extracellular N-terminus and loops (e.g. glutamate receptors) or to the binding site within transmembrane helices (Rhodopsin-like family). They are all activated by agonists although a spontaneous auto-activation of an empty receptor can also be observed. G protein-coupled receptors are found only in eukaryotes, including yeast, choanoflagellates, and ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Heteromeric
A heteromer is something that consists of different parts; the antonym of homomeric. Examples are: Biology * Spinal neurons that pass over to the opposite side of the spinal cord. * A protein complex that contains two or more different polypeptides. Pharmacology * Ligand-gated ion channels such as the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor and GABAA receptor are composed of five subunits arranged around a central pore that opens to allow ions to pass through. There are many different subunits available that can come together in a wide variety of combinations to form different subtypes of the ion channel. Sometimes the channel can be made from only one type of subunit, such as the α7 nicotinic receptor, which is made up from five α7 subunits, and so is homomerrather than a heteromer, but more commonly several different types of subunit will come together to form a heteromeric complex (e.g., the α4β2 nicotinic receptor, which is made up from two α4 subunits and three β2 subunit ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Paracrine
Paracrine signaling is a form of cell signaling, a type of cellular communication in which a cell produces a signal to induce changes in nearby cells, altering the behaviour of those cells. Signaling molecules known as paracrine factors diffuse over a relatively short distance (local action), as opposed to cell signaling by endocrine factors, hormones which travel considerably longer distances via the circulatory system; juxtacrine interactions; and autocrine signaling. Cells that produce paracrine factors secrete them into the immediate extracellular environment. Factors then travel to nearby cells in which the gradient of factor received determines the outcome. However, the exact distance that paracrine factors can travel is not certain. Although paracrine signaling elicits a diverse array of responses in the induced cells, most paracrine factors utilize a relatively streamlined set of receptors and pathways. In fact, different organs in the body - even between different spec ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Pituitary Hormones
In vertebrate anatomy, the pituitary gland, or hypophysis, is an endocrine gland, about the size of a chickpea and weighing, on average, in humans. It is a protrusion off the bottom of the hypothalamus at the base of the brain. The hypophysis rests upon the hypophyseal fossa of the sphenoid bone in the center of the middle cranial fossa and is surrounded by a small bony cavity (sella turcica) covered by a dural fold (diaphragma sellae). The anterior pituitary (or adenohypophysis) is a lobe of the gland that regulates several physiological processes including stress, growth, reproduction, and lactation. The intermediate lobe synthesizes and secretes melanocyte-stimulating hormone. The posterior pituitary (or neurohypophysis) is a lobe of the gland that is functionally connected to the hypothalamus by the median eminence via a small tube called the pituitary stalk (also called the infundibular stalk or the infundibulum). Hormones secreted from the pituitary gland help to c ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Temperature Homeostasis
Thermoregulation is the ability of an organism to keep its body temperature within certain boundaries, even when the surrounding temperature is very different. A thermoconforming organism, by contrast, simply adopts the surrounding temperature as its own body temperature, thus avoiding the need for internal thermoregulation. The internal thermoregulation process is one aspect of homeostasis: a state of dynamic stability in an organism's internal conditions, maintained far from thermal equilibrium with its environment (the study of such processes in zoology has been called physiological ecology). If the body is unable to maintain a normal temperature and it increases significantly above normal, a condition known as hyperthermia occurs. Humans may also experience lethal hyperthermia when the wet bulb temperature is sustained above for six hours. The opposite condition, when body temperature decreases below normal levels, is known as hypothermia. It results when the homeostatic ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Appetite Suppressant
An anorectic or anorexic is a drug which reduces appetite, resulting in lower food consumption, leading to weight loss. By contrast, an appetite stimulant is referred to as orexigenic. The term is (from the Greek ''ἀν-'' (an-) = "without" and ''ὄρεξις'' (órexis) = "appetite"), and such drugs are also known as anorexigenic, anorexiant, or appetite suppressant. History Used on a short-term basis clinically to treat obesity, some appetite suppressants are also available over-the-counter. Most common natural appetite suppressants are based on ''Hoodia'', a genus of 13 species in the flowering plant family Apocynaceae, under the subfamily Asclepiadoideae. Several appetite suppressants are based on a mix of natural ingredients, mostly using green tea as its basis, in combination with other plant extracts such as fucoxanthin, found naturally in seaweed. Drugs of this class are frequently stimulants of the phenethylamine family, related to amphetamine. The German and Finnish ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |