Endomorphin-1
Endomorphin-1 (EM-1) (amino acid sequence Tyr-Pro-Trp-Phe-NH2) is an endogenous opioid peptide and one of the two endomorphins. It is a high affinity, highly selective agonist of the μ-opioid receptor, and along with endomorphin-2 (EM-2), has been proposed to be the actual endogenous ligand of the μ-receptor. EM-1 produces analgesia in animals and is equipotent with morphine in this regard. The gene encoding for EM-1 has not yet been identified, and it has been suggested that endomorphins could be synthesized by an enzymatic, non-ribosomal mechanism. By combining N-terminal guadino modifications, a new class of endonmorphin-1 was synthesized, the range of their bioactivities were measured by radioligand binding assay in order to conclude its potency as an opioid. Endomorphin-1 has high affinity and specificity for opioid receptors for behavioral, physiological and pharmacological assays, it is also a potent analgesic agent which brings effects on cardiovascular, respiratory an ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Endomorphin
Endomorphins are considered to be natural opioid neurotransmitters central to pain relief. The two known endomorphins, endomorphin-1 and endomorphin-2, are tetrapeptides, consisting of Tyr-Pro-Trp-Phe and Tyr-Pro-Phe-Phe amino acid sequences respectively. These sequences fold into tertiary structures with high specificity and affinity for the μ-opioid receptor, binding it exclusively and strongly. Bound μ-opioid receptors typically induce inhibitory effects on neuronal activity. Endomorphin-like immunoreactivity exists within the central and peripheral nervous systems, where endomorphin-1 appears to be concentrated in the brain and upper brainstem, and endomorphin-2 in the spinal cord and lower brainstem. Because endomorphins activate the μ-opioid receptor, which is the target receptor of morphine and its derivatives, endomorphins possess significant potential as analgesics with reduced side effects and risk of addiction. Opioids and receptors Endomorphins belong to ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Opioid Peptide
Opioid peptides are peptides that bind to opioid receptors in the brain; opiates and opioids mimic the effect of these peptides. Such peptides may be produced by the body itself, for example endorphins. The effects of these peptides vary, but they all resemble those of opiates. Brain opioid peptide systems are known to play an important role in motivation, emotion, attachment behaviour, the response to stress and pain, control of food intake, and the rewarding effects of alcohol and nicotine. Opioid-like peptides may also be absorbed from partially digested food ( casomorphins, exorphins, and rubiscolins). The opioid food peptides have lengths of typically 4–8 amino acids. The body's own opioids are generally much longer. Opioid peptides are released by post-translational proteolytic cleavage of precursor proteins. The precursors consist of the following components: a signal sequence that precedes a conserved region of about 50 residues; a variable-length region; an ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Amino Acid Sequence
Protein primary structure is the linear sequence of amino acids in a peptide or protein. By convention, the primary structure of a protein is reported starting from the amino-terminal (N) end to the carboxyl-terminal (C) end. Protein biosynthesis is most commonly performed by ribosomes in cells. Peptides can also be synthesized in the laboratory. Protein primary structures can be directly sequenced, or inferred from DNA sequences. Formation Biological Amino acids are polymerised via peptide bonds to form a long backbone, with the different amino acid side chains protruding along it. In biological systems, proteins are produced during translation by a cell's ribosomes. Some organisms can also make short peptides by non-ribosomal peptide synthesis, which often use amino acids other than the standard 20, and may be cyclised, modified and cross-linked. Chemical Peptides can be synthesised chemically via a range of laboratory methods. Chemical methods typically synthe ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Analgesia
Pain management is an aspect of medicine and health care involving relief of pain (pain relief, analgesia, pain control) in various dimensions, from acute and simple to chronic and challenging. Most physicians and other health professionals provide some pain control in the normal course of their practice, and for the more complex instances of pain, they also call on additional help from a specific medical specialty devoted to pain, which is called pain medicine. Pain management often uses a multidisciplinary approach for easing the suffering and improving the quality of life of anyone experiencing pain, whether acute pain or chronic pain. Relief of pain in general (analgesia) is often an acute affair, whereas managing chronic pain requires additional dimensions. The typical pain management team includes medical practitioners, pharmacists, clinical psychologists, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, recreational therapists, physician assistants, nurses, and de ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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β-Endorphin
''beta''-Endorphin (β-endorphin) is an endogenous opioid neuropeptide and peptide hormone that is produced in certain neurons within the central nervous system and peripheral nervous system. It is one of three endorphins that are produced in humans, the others of which include α-endorphin and γ-endorphin. The amino acid sequence is: tyrosine, Tyr-Glycine, Gly-Gly-Phenylalanine, Phe-Methionine, Met-Threonine, Thr-Serine, Ser-glutamic acid, Glu-Lysine, Lys-Ser-Glutamine, Gln-Thr-Proline, Pro-Leucine, Leu-Valine, Val-Thr-Leu-Phe-Lys-Asparagine, Asn-Alanine, Ala-Isoleucine, Ile-Ile-Lys-Asn-Ala-Tyr-Lys-Lys-Gly-Glu (31 amino acids). The first 16 amino acids are identical to α-endorphin. β-Endorphin is considered to be a part of the endogenous opioid and endorphin classes of neuropeptides; all of the established endogenous opioid peptides contain the same N-terminal amino acid sequence, Tyr-Gly-Gly-Phe, followed by either or . Function of β-endorphin has been known to be assoc ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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N-terminus
The N-terminus (also known as the amino-terminus, NH2-terminus, N-terminal end or amine-terminus) is the start of a protein or polypeptide, referring to the free amine group (-NH2) located at the end of a polypeptide. Within a peptide, the amine group is bonded to the carboxylic group of another amino acid, making it a chain. That leaves a free carboxylic group at one end of the peptide, called the C-terminus, and a free amine group on the other end called the N-terminus. By convention, peptide sequences are written N-terminus to C-terminus, left to right (in LTR writing systems). This correlates the translation direction to the text direction, because when a protein is translated from messenger RNA, it is created from the N-terminus to the C-terminus, as amino acids are added to the carboxyl end of the protein. Chemistry Each amino acid has an amine group and a carboxylic group. Amino acids link to one another by peptide bonds which form through a dehydration reaction ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Gene
In biology, the word gene (from , ; "... Wilhelm Johannsen coined the word gene to describe the Mendelian units of heredity..." meaning ''generation'' or ''birth'' or ''gender'') can have several different meanings. The Mendelian gene is a basic unit of heredity and the molecular gene is a sequence of nucleotides in DNA that is transcribed to produce a functional RNA. There are two types of molecular genes: protein-coding genes and noncoding genes. During gene expression, the DNA is first copied into RNA. The RNA can be directly functional or be the intermediate template for a protein that performs a function. The transmission of genes to an organism's offspring is the basis of the inheritance of phenotypic traits. These genes make up different DNA sequences called genotypes. Genotypes along with environmental and developmental factors determine what the phenotypes will be. Most biological traits are under the influence of polygenes (many different genes) as well as g ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Morphine
Morphine is a strong opiate that is found naturally in opium, a dark brown resin in poppies ('' Papaver somniferum''). It is mainly used as a pain medication, and is also commonly used recreationally, or to make other illicit opioids. There are numerous methods used to administer morphine: oral; sublingual; via inhalation; injection into a muscle; by injection under the skin; intravenously; injection into the space around the spinal cord; transdermal; or via rectal suppository. It acts directly on the central nervous system (CNS) to induce analgesia and alter perception and emotional response to pain. Physical and psychological dependence and tolerance may develop with repeated administration. It can be taken for both acute pain and chronic pain and is frequently used for pain from myocardial infarction, kidney stones, and during labor. Its maximum effect is reached after about 20 minutes when administered intravenously and 60 minutes when administered ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Equipotent
In mathematics, two sets or classes ''A'' and ''B'' are equinumerous if there exists a one-to-one correspondence (or bijection) between them, that is, if there exists a function from ''A'' to ''B'' such that for every element ''y'' of ''B'', there is exactly one element ''x'' of ''A'' with ''f''(''x'') = ''y''. Equinumerous sets are said to have the same cardinality (number of elements). The study of cardinality is often called equinumerosity (''equalness-of-number''). The terms equipollence (''equalness-of-strength'') and equipotence (''equalness-of-power'') are sometimes used instead. Equinumerosity has the characteristic properties of an equivalence relation. The statement that two sets ''A'' and ''B'' are equinumerous is usually denoted :A \approx B \, or A \sim B, or , A, =, B, . The definition of equinumerosity using bijections can be applied to both finite and infinite sets, and allows one to state whether two sets have the same size even if they are infinite. Georg Cant ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ligand (biochemistry)
In biochemistry and pharmacology, a ligand is a substance that forms a complex with a biomolecule to serve a biological purpose. The etymology stems from ''ligare'', which means 'to bind'. In protein-ligand binding, the ligand is usually a molecule which produces a signal by binding to a site on a target protein. The binding typically results in a change of conformational isomerism (conformation) of the target protein. In DNA-ligand binding studies, the ligand can be a small molecule, ion, or protein which binds to the DNA double helix. The relationship between ligand and binding partner is a function of charge, hydrophobicity, and molecular structure. Binding occurs by intermolecular forces, such as ionic bonds, hydrogen bonds and Van der Waals forces. The association or docking is actually reversible through dissociation. Measurably irreversible covalent bonding between a ligand and target molecule is atypical in biological systems. In contrast to the definition ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Endogenous
Endogenous substances and processes are those that originate from within a living system such as an organism, tissue, or cell. In contrast, exogenous substances and processes are those that originate from outside of an organism. For example, estradiol is an endogenous estrogen hormone produced within the body, whereas ethinylestradiol is an exogenous synthetic estrogen, commonly used in birth control pills Oral contraceptives, abbreviated OCPs, also known as birth control pills, are medications taken by mouth for the purpose of birth control. Female Two types of female oral contraceptive pill, taken once per day, are widely available: * The combin .... References External links *{{Wiktionary-inline, endogeny Biology ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |