Maxadilan, the vasodilator from sand flies, is a specific pituitary adenylate cyclase activating peptide type I receptor agonist.
Maxadilan is a potent vasodilator peptide isolated from salivary gland lysates of the sand fly Lutzomyia longipalpis, a vector of leishmaniasis. The peptide aids the fly in obtaining blood from the skin of its vertebrate hosts but the mammalian receptor through which this insect ligand acts was unknown. We demonstrate that maxadilan is an agonist of the type I receptor for pituitary adenylate cyclase activating peptide, a neuropeptide with vascular activity. This surprising observation is a unique example of convergent evolution from a functional standpoint as these two peptides do not share significant sequence homology.
Moro
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Department of Dermatology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown 02129, USA.
Lerner
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EA
D000262:Adenylyl Cyclases / Q000378:metabolism*; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001667:Binding, Competitive; D019556:COS Cells; D000242:Cyclic AMP / Q000378:metabolism; D004789:Enzyme Activation; D007301:Insect Hormones / Q000378:metabolism*; D019476:Insect Proteins; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009479:Neuropeptides / Q000378:metabolism*; D018377:Neurotransmitter Agents / Q000378:metabolism*; D051219:Pituitary Adenylate Cyclase-Activating Polypeptide; D011576:Psychodidae; D051236:Receptors, Pituitary Adenylate Cyclase-Activating Polypeptide; D051237:Receptors, Pituitary Adenylate Cyclase-Activating Polypeptide, Type I; D011979:Receptors, Pituitary Hormone / Q000378:metabolism*; D018005:Receptors, Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide / Q000378:metabolism; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D014162:Transfection; D014660:Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide / Q000378:metabolism; D014665:Vasodilator Agents / Q000378:metabolism*
D007301:Insect Hormones; D019476:Insect Proteins; D009479:Neuropeptides; D018377:Neurotransmitter Agents; D051219:Pituitary Adenylate Cyclase-Activating Polypeptide; D051236:Receptors, Pituitary Adenylate Cyclase-Activating Polypeptide; D051237:Receptors, Pituitary Adenylate Cyclase-Activating Polypeptide, Type I; D011979:Receptors, Pituitary Hormone; D018005:Receptors, Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide; D014665:Vasodilator Agents; C069147:maxadilan protein, insect; D014660:Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide; D000242:Cyclic AMP; D000262:Adenylyl Cyclases