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Peptides from Frog Skin

Peptides from Frog Skin Why a review about frog skin peptides? The pioneering work of Vittorio Erspamer and colleagues, covering some 30 years of effort, has established that the frog skin is an extraordinary source of biologically active peptides [for reviews see (1-10)]. Several striking features characterize the frog skin peptides. Frequently, they are present in enormous quantities in skin, far in excess of what is seen for analogous substances in any tissue of mammalian origin. As such, the frog skin is a readily accessible source of peptides awaiting discovery, purification, and characterization. Secondly, what has become evident from studies of hundreds of amphibian species is that differ­ ent species store different classes of pharmacologically active molecules within their skin (11-13). Thus, the studies of numerous species have yielded an unexpected diversity in the catalogue of discovered peptides. Finally, Erspamer predicted that every peptide present in the frog skin will be found in mammals, a prediction that is very much supported by cumulative ex­ perimental evidence (Table 1). Thus, the frog, with its extraordinary diversity of abundant, readily characterizable, biologically active peptides, provides a means of discovering hormones, neuropeptides, and agents that might not be as readily found with mammalian model systems. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Annual Review of Biochemistry Annual Reviews

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References (2)

Publisher
Annual Reviews
Copyright
Copyright 1990 Annual Reviews. All rights reserved
Subject
Review Articles
ISSN
0066-4154
eISSN
1545-4509
DOI
10.1146/annurev.bi.59.070190.002143
pmid
2197979
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Why a review about frog skin peptides? The pioneering work of Vittorio Erspamer and colleagues, covering some 30 years of effort, has established that the frog skin is an extraordinary source of biologically active peptides [for reviews see (1-10)]. Several striking features characterize the frog skin peptides. Frequently, they are present in enormous quantities in skin, far in excess of what is seen for analogous substances in any tissue of mammalian origin. As such, the frog skin is a readily accessible source of peptides awaiting discovery, purification, and characterization. Secondly, what has become evident from studies of hundreds of amphibian species is that differ­ ent species store different classes of pharmacologically active molecules within their skin (11-13). Thus, the studies of numerous species have yielded an unexpected diversity in the catalogue of discovered peptides. Finally, Erspamer predicted that every peptide present in the frog skin will be found in mammals, a prediction that is very much supported by cumulative ex­ perimental evidence (Table 1). Thus, the frog, with its extraordinary diversity of abundant, readily characterizable, biologically active peptides, provides a means of discovering hormones, neuropeptides, and agents that might not be as readily found with mammalian model systems.

Journal

Annual Review of BiochemistryAnnual Reviews

Published: Jul 1, 1990

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