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The AVIT protein family. Secreted cysteine-rich vertebrate proteins with diverse functions.

ABSTRACT: Homologues of a protein originally isolated from snake venom and frog skin secretions are present in many vertebrate species. They contain 80-90 amino acids, 10 of which are cysteines with identical spacing. Various names have been given to these proteins, such as mamba intestinal protein 1 (MIT1), Bv8 (Bombina variegata molecular mass approximately 8 kDa), prokineticins and endocrine-gland vascular endothelial growth factor (EG-VEGF). Their amino-terminal sequences are identical, and so we propose that the sequence of their first four residues, AVIT, is used as a name for this family. From a comparison of the sequences, two types of AVIT proteins can be discerned. These proteins seem to be distributed widely in mammalian tissues and are known to bind to G-protein-coupled receptors. Members of this family have been shown to stimulate contraction of the guinea pig ileum, to cause hyperalgesia after injection into rats and to be active as specific growth factors. Moreover, the messenger RNA level of one of these AVIT proteins changes rhythmically in the region of the brain known as the suprachiasmatic nucleus. This shows that members of this new family of small proteins are involved in diverse biological processes.

SUBMITTER: Kaser A

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1319185 | biostudies-literature | 2003 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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The AVIT protein family. Secreted cysteine-rich vertebrate proteins with diverse functions.

Kaser Alexandra A Winklmayr Martina M Lepperdinger Günther G Kreil Günther G

EMBO reports 20030501 5

Homologues of a protein originally isolated from snake venom and frog skin secretions are present in many vertebrate species. They contain 80-90 amino acids, 10 of which are cysteines with identical spacing. Various names have been given to these proteins, such as mamba intestinal protein 1 (MIT1), Bv8 (Bombina variegata molecular mass approximately 8 kDa), prokineticins and endocrine-gland vascular endothelial growth factor (EG-VEGF). Their amino-terminal sequences are identical, and so we prop ...[more]

PMID: 12728244

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Project description:Peptide toxins isolated from animal venom secretions have proven to be useful pharmacological tools for probing the structure and function of a number of molecular receptors. Their molecular structures are stabilized by posttranslational formation of multiple disulfide bonds formed between sidechain thiols of cysteine residues, resulting in high thermal and chemical stability. Many of these peptides have been found to be potent modulators of ion channels, making them particularly influential in this field. Recently, several peptide toxins have been described that have an unusual tandem repeat organization, while also eliciting a unique pharmacological response toward ion channels. Most of these are two-domain peptide toxins from spider venoms, such as the double-knot toxin (DkTx), isolated from the Earth Tiger tarantula (Haplopelma schmidti). The unusual pharmacology of DkTx is its high avidity for its receptor (TRPV1), a property that has been attributed to a bivalent mode-of-action. DkTx has subsequently proven a powerful tool for elucidating the structural basis for the function of the TRPV1 channel. Interestingly, all tandem repeat peptides functionally characterized to date share this high avidity to their respective binding targets, suggesting they comprise an unrecognized structural class of peptides with unique structural features that result in a characteristic set of pharmacological properties. In this article, we explore the prevalence of this emerging class of peptides, which we have named Secreted, Cysteine-rich REpeat Peptides, or "SCREPs." To achieve this, we have employed data mining techniques to extract SCREP-like sequences from the UniProtKB database, yielding approximately sixty thousand candidates. These results indicate that SCREPs exist within a diverse range of species with greatly varying sizes and predicted fold types, and likely include peptides with novel structures and unique modes of action. We present our approach to mining this database for discovery of novel ion-channel modulators and discuss a number of "hits" as promising leads for further investigation. Our database of SCREPs thus constitutes a novel resource for biodiscovery and highlights the value of a data-driven approach to the identification of new bioactive pharmacological tools and therapeutic lead molecules.

Dataset Information

The AVIT protein family. Secreted cysteine-rich vertebrate proteins with diverse functions.

Publications

The AVIT protein family. Secreted cysteine-rich vertebrate proteins with diverse functions.

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