AI Article Synopsis
- Researchers identified the relaxin-like gonad-stimulating peptide (RGP) in starfish, particularly in Astropecten scoparius, which features an amidation signal and two predicted cleavage sites.
- Four analogs of Asc-RGP were hypothesized based on the structure of the peptide.
- The study found that Asc-RGP-NH(S) effectively stimulated specific cellular processes for spawning, while the activity of its synthetic analogs was similar, suggesting that the structural details of the B-chain may not significantly impact its spawning-inducing ability.
Article Abstract
A relaxin-like gonad-stimulating peptide (RGP) in starfish was the first identified invertebrate gonadotropin, consisting of A- and B-chain. Recently, an RGP ortholog (Asc-RGP) from Astropecten scoparius in the order Paxillosida was found to harbor an amidation signal (Gly-Arg) at the C-terminus of the B-chain (Mita et al., 2020a). Two cleavage sites were also predicted within the signal peptide of the Asc-RGP precursor. Thus, four kinds of analogs (Asc-RGP-NH(S), Asc-RGP-GR(S), Asc-RGP- NH(L), Asc-RGP-GR(L) were hypothesized as natural Asc-RGPs. To identify the natural Asc-RGP, an extract of radial nerve cords from A. scoparius was analyzed using reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography and MALDI-TOF-mass spectrometry. The molecular weight of Asc-RGP was 4585.3, and those of A- and B-chains were 2511.8 and 2079.8, respectively. This strongly suggests that natural RGP in A. scoparius is Asc-RGP-NH(S). Asc-RGP-NH(S) stimulated 1-methyladenine and cyclic AMP production in isolated ovarian follicle cells of A. scoparius. On the other hand, the concentrations of four synthetic Asc-RGP analogs required for the induction of spawning in 50% of ovarian fragments were almost the same. The size and C-terminal amidation of the B-chain might not be important for spawning-inducing activity. C-terminally amidated RGPs in the B-chain were also observed in other species of starfish belonging to the order Paxillosida, particularly the family Astropectinidae, but not the family Luidiidae.
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| http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ygcen.2023.114226 | DOI Listing |
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