Abstract
In this study, a cDNA precursor encoding a tachykinin peptide was identified from the skin secretion of the Chinese bamboo odorous frog, Odorrana versabilis, through use of molecular cloning. The peptide was named QUB-1678 because of its molecular mass and constituent 14 amino acid residues, DDTEDMTNKFYGLM-NH2. This peptide was considered to be a member of the tachykinin peptide family. Next, QUB-1678 was synthesised by SPPS and used to conduct many biological assays.QUB-1678 displayed strong smooth muscle activity on the two kinds of tissues tested, namely the rat bladder and uterus, with EC50 values of 2.413×10-7 M and 3.161×10-8 M, respectively. Meanwhile, no significant cytotoxicity to horse red blood cells was observed with QUB-1678 with a haemolysis of less than 10% at concentrations up to 512 µM in cytotoxicity experiments.
As a consequence of the widespread use of neuropeptides, these compounds are used in critical physiological processes in the nervous, immune, gastrointestinal, respiratory, urogenital, and dermal systems. Tachykinin peptides are an important neuropeptide family, which have been attracting increased research attention as members may have some clinical effects in some diseases.
| Date of Award | 07 Aug 2018 |
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| Original language | English |
| Awarding Institution |
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| Supervisor | Mei Zhou (Supervisor), Lei Wang (Supervisor), Christopher Shaw (Supervisor) & Tianbao Chen (Supervisor) |