Mast cell degranulating peptide

MCD mast-cell degranulating peptide from bee Apis mellifera... 

Of this family of peptides containing two intramolecular disulfide bonds the most studied in terms of oxidative refolding are a-conotoxins with two adjacent cysteine residues, i.e. with m = 0, the bee venom toxins, for example apamin and mast cell degranulating peptide, and snake venom toxins, exemplified by sarafotoxins, and endothelins, mammalian peptide hormones with the characteristic Cys-(Xaa)rCys/Cys-(Xaa)3-Cys motif (Scheme 2). With m = 0 or 1 all these peptides are expected to show a weak tendency to form the isomer 3 with a disulfide bond between two proximal cysteine residues. This was fully confirmed by oxidative refolding experiments. 

Mast cell degranulating peptide Enzymes Histamine release from mast cells... 

Taylor, J., et al. (1984). The Characterization of High-affinity Binding Sites in Rat Brain for the Mast Cell Degranulating Peptide from Bee Venom Using the Purified Monoiodinated Peptide, J. Biol. Chem. 259 13957-13967. 

M. and related peptides promote, similar to the mast cell degranulating peptide of bee venom, the release of histamine. 

Schmidt, R. R., Betz, H., and Rehm, H. (1988). Inhibition of P-bungarotoxin binding to brain membranes by mast cell degranulating peptide, toxin 1, and ethylene glycol bis(P-aminoethyl ether)-N,N,N ,N -tetraacetic acid. Biochemistry 27 963-967. 

Argiolas, A., and Pisano, J.J., 1985, Bombolitins, a new class of mast cell degranulating peptides from the venom of the bumble bee Megabombus pennsylvanicus. J. Biol Chem. 260 1437-1444. 

Hirai, Y, Kuwada, M., Yasuhara, T., Yoshida, H., and Nakajima, T, 1979, A new mast cell degranulating peptide homologous to mastoparan in the venom of the Japanese hornet Vespa xanthoptera) Chem. Pharm. Bull 27 1945-1946. 

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