Category: Hypothalamic-Pituitary
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Oxytocin: The Molecular Maestro of Love and Labor
Buckle up, hormone enthusiasts! We’re about to take a wild ride into the world of oxytocin, the “love hormone” that’s been playing Cupid in our bodies since the dawn of mammalian evolution. This tiny peptide packs a punch that would make even Hercules jealous! Picture this: a molecule barely 1007 Da in size, strutting around…
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The Yolk’s On Us: Unraveling the Secrets of Vitellogenesis
Hold onto your ovaries, folks! We’re about to dive into the wild world of Vitellogenesis – the cellular rave where eggs get their groove on! Picture this: You’re a lonely liver cell, minding your own business, when suddenly – BAM! – you’re hit with a tsunami of estradiol. It’s like Mother Nature’s Red Bull, and…
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The PVN Powerhouse: How the Paraventricular Nucleus Rules Hormone Secretion
Hold onto your hypothalamus, folks! We’re about to dive into the wild world of the Paraventricular Nucleus (PVN), where tiny cells pack a mighty hormonal punch! Picture this: deep in the brain’s control center, the hypothalamus, sits the PVN – a cluster of cells that’s like the body’s own hormone factory. But we’re not talking…
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The lactating birds and the bees (gastrin, pepsin, etc)
Crop milk is a secretion from the lining of the crop of parent birds that is regurgitated to young birds. It is found among all pigeons and doves where it is referred to as pigeon milk. An analog to crop milk is also secreted from the esophagus of flamingos and the male emperor penguin. Description Crop milk bears little physical resemblance to mammalian milk. Crop milk is a…
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Corticotropin-like intermediate [lobe] peptide (CLIP)
Corticotropin-like intermediate [lobe] peptide (CLIP), also known as adrenocorticotropic hormone fragment 18-39 (ACTH(18-39)), is a naturally occurring, endogenous neuropeptide with a docosapeptide structure and the amino acid sequence Arg-Pro-Val-Lys-Val-Tyr-Pro-Asn-Gly-Ala-Glu-Asp-Glu-Ser-Ala-Glu-Ala-Phe-Pro-Leu-Glu-Phe. CLIP is generated as a proteolyic cleavage product of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), Gianoulakis C, Seidah NG, Routhier R, Chrétien M (December 1979). “Biosynthesis and characterization of adrenocorticotropic hormone, alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone, and an NH2-terminal fragment of the adrenocorticotropic hormone/beta-lipotropin precursor from rat pars intermedia”. The…
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Melanin-concentrating hormone (MCH) aka PMCH
Melanin-concentrating hormone (MCH), also known as pro-melanin stimulating hormone (PMCH), is a cyclic 19-amino acid orexigenic hypothalamicpeptide originally isolated from the pituitary gland of teleost fish, where it controls skin pigmentation. Barson JR, Morganstern I, Leibowitz SF (2013). “Complementary roles of orexin and melanin-concentrating hormone in feeding behavior”. International Journal of Endocrinology. 2013: 983964. doi:10.1155/2013/983964. PMC 3727095. PMID 23935621. In mammals it is involved in the regulation of feeding behavior, mood,…
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Pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC)
Pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) is a precursor polypeptide with 241 amino acid residues. POMC is synthesized in corticotrophs of the anterior pituitary from the 267-amino-acid-long polypeptide precursor pre-pro-opiomelanocortin (pre-POMC), by the removal of a 26-amino-acid-long signal peptide sequence during translation. “pro-opiomelanocortin preproprotein [Homo sapiens] – Protein – NCBI”. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. Retrieved 30 December 2020. POMC is part of the central melanocortin system. Function POMC is cut (cleaved) to give rise to multiple peptide hormones. Each of these peptides is packaged…
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Oxytocin
Oxytocin (Oxt or OT) is a peptide hormone and neuropeptide normally produced in the hypothalamus and released by the posterior pituitary. Gray’s Anatomy: The Anatomical Basis of Clinical Practice (41 ed.). Elsevier Health Sciences. 2015. p. 358. ISBN 978-0-7020-6851-5. It plays a role in social bonding, reproduction, childbirth, and the period after childbirth. Audunsdottir K, Quintana DS (2022-01-25). “Oxytocin’s dynamic role across the lifespan”. Aging Brain: 100028. doi:10.1016/j.nbas.2021.100028. ISSN 2589-9589. S2CID 246314607. Leng G, Leng RI (November 2021). “Oxytocin: A…
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Prolactin (PRL)
In mammals, prolactin is associated with milk production; in fish it is thought to be related to the control of water and salt balance. Prolactin also acts in a cytokine-like manner and as an important regulator of the immune system. It has important cell cycle-related functions as a growth-, differentiating- and anti-apoptotic factor. As a growth factor,…
