Corticotropin-like intermediary peptide

Some of the peptides mentioned are overlapping in the POMC sequence. For example, additional cleavage of ACTH gives rise to a-MSH and corticotropin-like intermediary peptide (CLIP). Proteolytic degradation of p-LPH provides y-LPH and p-endorphin. The latter can be further broken down to yield met-enkephalin, while y-LPH can still give rise to p-MSH (not shown). Due to the numerous derivative products with biological activity that it has, POMC is also known as a polyprotein. Which end product is formed and in what amounts depends on the activity of the proteinases in the ER that catalyze the individual cleavages. 

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