Premium
Insect prothoracicotropic hormone: a new member of the vertebrate growth factor superfamily
Author(s) -
Noguti Tosiyuki,
Adachi-Yamada Takashi,
Katagiri Teruhiko,
Kawakami Atsushi,
Iwami Masafumi,
Ishibashi Jun,
Kataoka Hiroshi,
Suzuki Akinori,
Gō Mitiko,
Ishizaki Hironori
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
febs letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.593
H-Index - 257
eISSN - 1873-3468
pISSN - 0014-5793
DOI - 10.1016/0014-5793(95)01296-8
Subject(s) - biology , growth factor , platelet derived growth factor receptor , structural motif , structural similarity , genetics , biochemistry , microbiology and biotechnology , receptor
Prothoracicotropic hormone (PTTH) is a brain neurosecretory protein that controls insect development. PTTH of the silkmoth Bombyx mori is a homodimeric protein, the subunit of which consists of 109 amino acids. Clear‐cut sequence similarity to any other proteins has not been observed. By disulfide‐bond pattern analysis and modeling of the PTTH structure based on the known three‐dimensional (3D) structures of growth factor family with cystine‐knot motif, we propose that the PTTH protomer adopts the fold unique to the structural superfamily of the growth factors, β‐nerve growth factor (β‐NGF), transforming growth factor‐β2 (TGF‐β2), and platelet‐derived growth factor‐BB (PDGF‐BB). The insect neurohormone PTTH appears to be a member of the growth factor superfamily, sharing a common ancestral gene with the three vertebrate growth factors, β‐NGF, TGF‐β2 and PDGF‐BB.