Proopiomelanocortin

Proopiomelanocortin
Identifiers
Symbols POMC ; ACTH; CLIP; LPH; MSH; NPP; POC
External IDs OMIM: 176830 MGI: 97742 HomoloGene: 723 GeneCards: POMC Gene
RNA expression pattern
More reference expression data
Orthologs
Species Human Mouse
Entrez 5443 18976
Ensembl ENSG00000115138 ENSMUSG00000020660
UniProt P01189 P01193
RefSeq (mRNA) NM_000939 NM_001278581
RefSeq (protein) NP_000930 NP_001265510
Location (UCSC) Chr 2:
25.16 – 25.17 Mb
Chr 12:
3.95 – 3.96 Mb
PubMed search
Opioids neuropeptide
Identifiers
Symbol Op_neuropeptide
Pfam PF08035
InterPro IPR013532
PROSITE PDOC00964

Pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) is a precursor polypeptide with 241 amino acid residues. POMC is synthesized from the 285-amino-acid-long polypeptide precursor pre-pro-opiomelanocortin (pre-POMC), by the removal of a 44-amino-acid-long signal peptide sequence during translation.

Function

POMC is cleaved to give rise to multiple peptide hormones. Each of these peptides is packaged in large dense-core vesicles that are released from the cells by exocytosis in response to appropriate stimulation:

Synthesis

The POMC gene is located on chromosome 2p23.3. The POMC gene is expressed in both the anterior and intermediate lobes of the pituitary gland. This gene encodes a 285-amino acid polypeptide hormone precursor that undergoes extensive, tissue-specific, post-translational processing via cleavage by subtilisin-like enzymes known as prohormone convertases. The encoded protein is synthesized mainly in corticotroph cells of the anterior pituitary, where four cleavage sites are used; adrenocorticotrophin (ACTH), essential for normal steroidogenesis and the maintenance of normal adrenal weight, and β-lipotropin are the major end-products. However, there are at least eight potential cleavage sites within the polypeptide precursor and, depending on tissue type and the available convertases, processing may yield as many as ten biologically active peptides involved in diverse cellular functions. Cleavage sites consist of the sequences Arg-Lys, Lys-Arg, or Lys-Lys. Enzymes responsible for processing of POMC peptides include prohormone convertase 1 (PC1), prohormone convertase 2 (PC2), carboxypeptidase E (CPE), peptidyl α-amidating monooxygenase (PAM), N-acetyltransferase (N-AT), and prolylcarboxypeptidase (PRCP).

The processing of POMC involves glycosylations, acetylations, and extensive proteolytic cleavage at sites shown to contain regions of basic protein sequences. However, the proteases that recognize these cleavage sites are tissue-specific. In some tissues, including the hypothalamus, placenta, and epithelium, all cleavage sites may be used, giving rise to peptides with roles in pain and energy homeostasis, melanocyte stimulation, and immune modulation. These include several distinct melanotropins, lipotropins, and endorphins that are contained within the adrenocorticotrophin and β-lipotropin peptides.

It is synthesized by:

Derivatives

proopiomelanocortin derivatives
POMC
     
γ-MSH ACTH β-lipotropin
         
  α-MSH CLIP γ-lipotropin β-endorphin
       
    β-MSH  

The large molecule of POMC is the source of several important biologically active substances. POMC can be cleaved enzymatically into the following peptides:

Although the N-terminal 5 amino acids of β-endorphin are identical to the sequence of [Met]enkephalin, it is not generally thought that β-endorphin is converted into [Met]enkephalin. Instead, [Met]enkephalin is produced from its own precursor, proenkephalin A.

The production of β-MSH occurs in humans but not in mice or rats due to the absence of the enzymatic processing site in the rodent POMC.

Clinical significance

Mutations in this gene have been associated with early onset obesity, adrenal insufficiency, and red hair pigmentation. Alternatively spliced transcript variants encoding the same protein have been described.[2][3]

Interactions

Proopiomelanocortin has been shown to interact with melanocortin 4 receptor.[4][5]

See also

References

  1. Cowley MA, Smart JL, Rubinstein M, Cerdán MG, Diano S, Horvath TL, Cone RD, Low MJ (May 2001). "Leptin activates anorexigenic POMC neurons through a neural network in the arcuate nucleus". Nature 411 (6836): 480–4. doi:10.1038/35078085. PMID 11373681.
  2. "Entrez Gene: POMC proopiomelanocortin (adrenocorticotropin/ beta-lipotropin/ alpha-melanocyte stimulating hormone/ beta-melanocyte stimulating hormone/ beta-endorphin)".
  3. Kuehnen P, Mischke M, Wiegand S, Sers C, Horsthemke B, Lau S, Keil T, Lee YA, Grueters A, Krude H (2012). Yeo GS, ed. "An Alu element-associated hypermethylation variant of the POMC gene is associated with childhood obesity". PLoS Genet. 8 (3): e1002543. doi:10.1371/journal.pgen.1002543. PMC 3305357. PMID 22438814.
  4. Yang YK, Fong TM, Dickinson CJ, Mao C, Li JY, Tota MR, Mosley R, Van Der Ploeg LH, Gantz I (December 2000). "Molecular determinants of ligand binding to the human melanocortin-4 receptor". Biochemistry 39 (48): 14900–11. doi:10.1021/bi001684q. PMID 11101306.
  5. Yang YK, Ollmann MM, Wilson BD, Dickinson C, Yamada T, Barsh GS, Gantz I (March 1997). "Effects of recombinant agouti-signaling protein on melanocortin action". Mol. Endocrinol. 11 (3): 274–80. doi:10.1210/me.11.3.274. PMID 9058374.

Further reading

External links

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the National Center for Biotechnology Information (Reference Sequence collection).

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