Nematodes neuropeptides

Although immunocytochemical screening of neurochemical diversity provides only an indication that a neuropeptide may be present, antisera that interact specifically with known nematode neuropeptides are likely... 

The rapid and relatively recent determination of the structures of so many nematode neuropeptides has resulted in a huge disparity between available structural and functional data indeed, currently the physiological function of any of the known nematode neuropeptides remains unknown. Most of the accumulated data on nematode neuropeptide activities have been obtained using muscle strips of A. suum and, as a result, only provide a glimpse of the putative role for many of the peptides involved. 

Brownlee, D.J.A., Holden-Dye, L., Fairweather, I. and Walker, R.J. (1995) The action of serotonin and the nematode neuropeptide KSAYMRFam ide on the pharyngeal muscle of the parasitic nematode, Ascaris suum. Parasitology 111, 379-384. 

The evolution of understanding of the roles of classical neurotransmitters versus those of neuropeptides is perhaps best displayed by research in nematodes. For many years, cutting-edge research on the physiology of nematodes focused on the actions of the classical... 

The vast majority of neuropeptides that have been structurally characterized from nematodes are FaRPs. One other peptide, TKQELE,... 

Bowman, J.W., Winterrowd, C.A., Friedman, A.R., Thompson, D.P., Klein, R.D., Davis, J.P., Maule, A.G. and Geary, T.G. (1995) Nitric oxide mediates the inhibitory effects of SDPNFLRFamide, a nematode FMRFamide-like neuropeptide, in Ascaris suum. Journal of Neurophysiology 74, 1880-1888. 

Cowden, C. and Stretton, A.O.W. (1995) Eight novel FMRFamide-like neuropeptides isolated from the nematode Ascaris suum. Peptides 16, 491-500. 

Edison, A.S., Messinger, L.A. and Stretton, AO.W. (1997) A gene encoding multiple transcripts of a new class of FMRFamide-like neuropeptides in the nematode, Ascaris suum. Peptides 18, 929-935. 

Smart, D.S., Shaw, C., Johnston, C.F., Halton, D.W., Fairweather, I. and Buchanan, K.D. (1992a) Chromatographic and immunological characterisation of immunoreactivity towards pancreatic polypeptide and neuropeptide Y in the nematode Ascaris suum. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology 102C, 477—481. 

Wikgren, M.C. and Fagerholm, H.P. (1993) Neuropeptides in sensory structures of nematodes. Acta Biologia Hungarica 44, 133-136. 

The cardioacceleratory peptide FMRFamide (Table 30-5), which was discovered in 1977, was the first in a large series of related neuropeptides that are found in organisms ranging from the nematode Caenorhobditis... 

Unlike the situation in nematodes and arthropods, where hundreds of neuropeptides have been elucidated using biochemical, physiological and molecular techniques, flatworm neuropeptide discovery is still in its infancy. This is despite the characterization of the first flat-worm neuropeptide almost 15 years ago (Maule et al., 1991). Progress has been hindered by the inability to obtain large quantities of flatworm neuronal tissues and the absence, until recently, of a significant body of genomic and/or EST data for flatworms. Nevertheless, the available evidence does provide a snapshot of what appear to be the most abundant and widespread flatworm neuropeptides. 

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