Trefoil peptides

Babyatsky, M.W., deBeaumont, M., Thim, L. and Podolsky, D.K. (1996) Oral trefoil peptides protect against ethanol- and indomethacin-induced gastric injury in rats. Gastroenterology 110, 489-497. 

Kindon, H., Pothoulakis, C., Thim, L., Lynch-Devaney, K. and Podolsky, D.K. (1995) Trefoil peptide protection of intestinal epithelial barrier function cooperative interaction with mucin glycoprotein. Gastroenterobgy 109, 516-523. 

Trefoil peptides constitute a rapidly growing family of peptides containing one or more characteristic trefoil domains. A trefoil domain is defined as a sequence of 38 or 39 amino acid residues in which 6 cysteine residues are disulfide-linked in the configuration 1-5, 1-A, and 3-6 when the cysteines are numbered from the N-terminal end of the peptide. The amino acid sequence together with the disulfide bonds thus forms a distinctive three-leafed structure giving the peptide family its name. 

In many cases, newly introduced medications, such as the use of melatonin for sleep disorders, have been included. Discussion of some novel medications, such as tizanmidine for the treatment of spasticity or urapidel for the treatment of hypertension, has been provided. Discussion of the rapidly growing family of peptides, such as trefoil peptides, with a possible healing factor for peptic ulcers and inflammatory bowel diseases, and many other novel avenues of therapeutics have been introdnced. Whenever possible, the descriptions of medications have been given in concise form and in a nngget fashion. 

Trefoil factor family peptides, (TFF peptides), secretory mucin-associated peptides (trefoil peptides) largely found in ep-ithelia of the gastrointestinal tract. They share the TFF domain, a Cys-rich protein module with a consensus structure of 42 amino acids and six conserved Cys residues forming three intramolecular disulfide bridges between Cys -Cys, Cys -Cys, and Cys -Cys ". The TFF pep-... 

Ulaganathan, M., Familari, M., Yeomans, N.D., Giraud, A.S., and Cook, G.A. 2001. Spatio-temporal expression of trefoil peptide following severe gastric ulceration in the rat implicates it in late-stage repair processes. J Gastroenterol Hepatol 16(5) 506-512. 

Modlin IM, Poulsom R. Trefoil peptides mitogens, motogens or mirages J Clin Gastroenterol 1997 25(Suppl. 1) S94-S100. 

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