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Phylogenetic Aspects of Nucleobindin-2/Nesfatin-1

[ Vol. 19 , Issue. 39 ]

Author(s):

Haneesha Mohan and Suraj Unniappan   Pages 6929 - 6934 ( 6 )

Abstract:


Nesfatin-1 is an eighty two amino acid, naturally occurring multifunctional protein encoded in the precursor nucleobindin-2 (NUCB2). A comparison of sequences indicates that NUCB2 is present in a number of animals, from hydra to humans. The 30 amino acid mid-segment of nesfatin-1 is considered to be the bioactive core of the protein, and this region displays the highest identity among nesfatin-1 sequences reported thus far. Similar to the sequence relationships observed, the tissue-specific expression and biological actions of nesfatin-1 also appear to be highly conserved across species. For example, brain is a major tissue abundantly expressing nesfatin- 1 in several species. It has been shown that various key regions of the rat, mouse and goldfish brain, which are involved in the regulation of feeding and metabolism express nesfatin-1. Exogenous administration of nesfatin-1 results in a decrease in the food intake of rats, mice and goldfish. In addition, nesfatin-1 has been shown to regulate a number of other physiological processes including hormone secretion from the pancreatic islets and pituitary gland, stress and behavior. While nesfatin-1 research still remains an emerging area in physiology, the literature available thus far clearly shows that nesfatin-1 is an important regulator of homeostasis in animals.

Keywords:

Food intake, metabolism, brain, pancreas, fish, rats, mice, humans.

Affiliation:

, Department of Veterinary Biomedical Sciences, Laboratory of Integrative Neuroendocrinology, Western College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, 52 Campus Drive, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 5B4 Canada



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