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RSC Med Chem
December 2024
Department of Chemical, Pharmaceutical and Agricultural Sciences, University of Ferrara 44121 Ferrara Italy
The N/OFQ-NOP receptor is a fascinating peptidergic system with the potential to be exploited for the development of analgesic drugs devoid of side effects associated with classical opioid signalling modulation. To date, up to four X-ray and cryo-EM structures of the NOP receptor in complex with the endogenous peptide agonist N/OFQ and three small molecule antagonists have been solved and released. Despite the available structural information, the details of selective small molecule agonist binding to the NOP receptor in the active state remain elusive.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Neurosci
January 2025
Department of Biology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL 33143 USA
Neuroendocrine cells react to physical, chemical, and synaptic signals originating from tissues and the nervous system, releasing hormones that regulate various body functions beyond the synapse. Neuroendocrine cells are often embedded in complex tissues making direct tests of their activation mechanisms and signaling effects difficult to study. In the nematode worm , four uterine-vulval (uv1) neuroendocrine cells sit above the vulval canal next to the egg-laying circuit, releasing tyramine and neuropeptides that feedback to inhibit egg laying.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPLoS Biol
January 2025
Department of Biological Sciences, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Columbia University, New York, New York, United States of America.
Throughout the animal kingdom, several members of the basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) family act as proneural genes during early steps of nervous system development. Roles of bHLH genes in specifying terminal differentiation of postmitotic neurons have been less extensively studied. We analyze here the function of 5 Caenorhabditis elegans bHLH genes, falling into 3 phylogenetically conserved subfamilies, which are continuously expressed in a very small number of postmitotic neurons in the central nervous system.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFront Mol Neurosci
December 2024
Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, United States.
Introduction: The prostate is densely innervated like many visceral organs and glands. However, studies to date have focused on sympathetic and parasympathetic nerves and little attention has been given to the presence or function of sensory nerves in the prostate. Recent studies have highlighted a role for sensory nerves beyond perception of noxious stimuli, as anterograde release of neuropeptides from sensory nerves can affect vascular tone and local immune responses.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAdv Gerontol
January 2025
Belgorod State National Research University, 85 build. 10 Pobedy str., Belgorod 308015, Russian Federation, e-mail:
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