scholarly journals An ancient FMRFamide-related peptide–receptor pair induces defence behaviour in a brachiopod larva

Open Biology ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (8) ◽  
pp. 170136 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Thiel ◽  
Philipp Bauknecht ◽  
Gáspár Jékely ◽  
Andreas Hejnol
Keyword(s):  
Nervous System ◽  
Animal Behaviour ◽  
Peptide Receptor ◽  
Behavioural Responses ◽  
Related Peptide ◽  
Larval Behaviour ◽  
Apical Lobe ◽  
Defence Behaviour ◽  
Trunk Musculature

Animal behaviour often comprises spatially separated sub-reactions and even ciliated larvae are able to coordinate sub-reactions of complex behaviours (metamorphosis, feeding). How these sub-reactions are coordinated is currently not well understood. Neuropeptides are potential candidates for triggering larval behaviour. However, although their immunoreactivity has been widely analysed, their function in trochozoan larvae has only been studied for a few cases. Here, we investigate the role of neuropeptides in the defence behaviour of brachiopod larvae. When mechanically disturbed, the planktonic larvae of Terebratalia transversa protrude their stiff chaetae and sink down slowly. We identified endogenous FLRFamide-type neuropeptides (AFLRFamide and DFLRFamide) in T. transversa larvae and show that the protrusion of the chaetae as well as the sinking reaction can both be induced by each of these peptides. This also correlates with the presence of FLRFamidergic neurons in the apical lobe and adjacent to the trunk musculature. We deorphanized the AFLRFamide/DFLRFamide receptor and detected its expression in the same tissues. Furthermore, the ability of native and modified FLRFamide-type peptides to activate this receptor was found to correspond with their ability to trigger behavioural responses. Our results show how FLRFamide-type neuropeptides can induce two coherent sub-reactions in a larva with a simple nervous system.

scholarly journals The Heat Shock Protein 26 Gene is Required for Ethanol Tolerance in Drosophila

2011 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. JEN.S6280 ◽  
Author(s):  
Awoyemi A. Awofala ◽  
Susan Jones ◽  
Jane A. Davies
Keyword(s):  
Nervous System ◽  
Heat Shock ◽  
Heat Shock Protein ◽  
Ethanol Tolerance ◽  
Stress Proteins ◽  
Ethanol Exposure ◽  
P Element ◽  
Behavioural Responses ◽  
Percentage Difference

Stress plays an important role in drug- and addiction-related behaviours. However, the mechanisms underlying these behavioural responses are still poorly understood. In the light of recent reports that show consistent regulation of many genes encoding stress proteins including heat shock proteins following ethanol exposure in Drosophila, it was hypothesised that transition to alcohol dependence may involve the dysregulation of the circuits that mediate behavioural responses to stressors. Thus, behavioural genetic methodologies were used to investigate the role of the Drosophila hsp26 gene, a small heat shock protein coding gene which is induced in response to various stresses, in the development of rapid tolerance to ethanol sedation. Rapid tolerance was quantified as the percentage difference in the mean sedation times between the second and first ethanol exposure. Two independently isolated P-element mutations near the hsp26 gene eliminated the capacity for tolerance. In addition, RNAi-mediated functional knockdown of hsp26 expression in the glial cells and the whole nervous system also caused a defect in tolerance development. The rapid tolerance phenotype of the hsp26 mutants was rescued by the expression of the wild-type hsp26 gene in the nervous system. None of these manipulations of the hsp26 gene caused changes in the rate of ethanol absorption. Hsp26 genes are evolutionary conserved, thus the role of hsp26 in ethanol tolerance may present a new direction for research into alcohol dependency.

Role of the extracellular regions of the parathyroid hormone (PTH)/PTH-related peptide receptor in hormone binding.

Endocrinology ◽  
1994 ◽  
Vol 135 (4) ◽  
pp. 1488-1495 ◽  
Author(s):  
C Lee ◽  
T J Gardella ◽  
A B Abou-Samra ◽  
S R Nussbaum ◽  
G V Segre ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Parathyroid Hormone ◽  
Hormone Binding ◽  
Peptide Receptor ◽  
Related Peptide

scholarly journals Anorectic effect of amylin is not transmitted by capsaicin-sensitive nerve fibers

1998 ◽  
Vol 274 (6) ◽  
pp. R1777-R1782 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas A. Lutz ◽  
Janine Althaus ◽  
Rinaldo Rossi ◽  
Erwin Scharrer
Keyword(s):  
Central Nervous System ◽  
Nervous System ◽  
Area Postrema ◽  
Nerve Fibers ◽  
Solitary Tract ◽  
Related Peptide ◽  
Calcitonin Gene ◽  
Anorectic Effect ◽  
The Central Nervous System

Abdominal vagal and splanchnic afferents play an important role in the control of food intake in that they transmit various satiety signals to the central nervous system. Inasmuch as previous studies have shown that the anorectic effect of intraperitoneally injected amylin was not abolished by subdiaphragmatic vagotomy, the aim of the present study was to elucidate the role of splanchnic afferents in mediating amylin’s anorectic effect after intraperitoneal injection. Rats were pretreated intraperitoneally with the neurotoxin capsaicin, which destroys primary sensory (vagal and splanchnic) afferents. Sham-treated rats served as control. Capsaicin-pretreatment had no influence on the anorectic effects of amylin (5 μg/kg) and the related peptide, calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP; 5 μg/kg), in 24-h food-deprived rats. Abolition of cholecystokinin’s (3 μg/kg) anorectic effect agrees with previous studies and confirmed the effectiveness of the capsaicin pretreatment. In conclusion, the anorectic effects of intraperitoneally injected amylin and CGRP are not mediated by capsaicin-sensitive primary sensory neurons. Both anorectic peptides are, therefore, most likely to act within the central nervous system. Previous studies suggest that the relevant receptors might be located in neurons of the area postrema-nucleus of the solitary tract region.

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