TY - JOUR
T1 - Evolution of the hepcidin gene in primates
AU - Segat, Ludovica
AU - Pontillo, Alessandra
AU - Milanese, Michele
AU - Tossi, Alessandro
AU - Crovella, Sergio
PY - 2008/3/5
Y1 - 2008/3/5
N2 - Background: Hepcidin/LEAP-1 is an iron regulatory hormone originally identified as an antimicrobial peptide. As part of a systematic analysis of the evolution of host defense peptides in primates, we have sequenced the orthologous gene from 14 species of non-human primates. Results: The sequence of the mature peptide is highly conserved amongst all the analyzed species, being identical to the human one in great apes and gibbons, with a single residue conservative variation in Old-World monkeys and with few substitutions in New-World monkeys. Conclusion: Our analysis indicates that hepcidin's role as a regulatory hormone, which involves interaction with a conserved receptor (ferroportin), may result in conservation over most of its sequence, with the exception of the stretch between residues 15 and 18, which in New-World monkeys (as well as in other mammals) shows a significant variation, possibly indicating that this structural region is involved in other functions.
AB - Background: Hepcidin/LEAP-1 is an iron regulatory hormone originally identified as an antimicrobial peptide. As part of a systematic analysis of the evolution of host defense peptides in primates, we have sequenced the orthologous gene from 14 species of non-human primates. Results: The sequence of the mature peptide is highly conserved amongst all the analyzed species, being identical to the human one in great apes and gibbons, with a single residue conservative variation in Old-World monkeys and with few substitutions in New-World monkeys. Conclusion: Our analysis indicates that hepcidin's role as a regulatory hormone, which involves interaction with a conserved receptor (ferroportin), may result in conservation over most of its sequence, with the exception of the stretch between residues 15 and 18, which in New-World monkeys (as well as in other mammals) shows a significant variation, possibly indicating that this structural region is involved in other functions.
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U2 - 10.1186/1471-2164-9-120
DO - 10.1186/1471-2164-9-120
M3 - Article
C2 - 18321376
AN - SCOPUS:42149118284
VL - 9
JO - BMC Genomics
JF - BMC Genomics
SN - 1471-2164
M1 - 120
ER -