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- *******************************
- * Endothelin family signature *
- *******************************
-
- Endothelins (ET's) are a family of potent mammalian vasoconstrictor peptides
- [1,2,3]. Sarafotoxins (SRTX) and bibrotoxin (BTX) are cardiotoxins from the
- venom of snakes of the Atractaspis family, structurally and functionally [4,5]
- similar to endothelin. The peptides currently known to belonging to the
- ET/SRTX family are:
-
- - Endothelin 1 (ET-1).
- - Endothelin 2 (ET-2) which is also known in mouse as Vasoactive Intestinal
- Contractor (VIC).
- - Endothelin 3 (ET-3).
- - Sarafoxtoxins SRTX-A, -B, -C and -D from Atractaspis engaddensis.
- - Bibrotoxin (BTX) from Atractaspis bibroni.
-
- As shown in the following schematic representation, these peptides which are
- 21 residues long contain two intramolecular disulfide bonds.
-
- +-------------+
- | |
- CxCxxxxxxxCxxxCxxxxxx
- | |
- +-------+
-
- 'C': conserved cysteine involved in a disulfide bond.
-
- As a signature pattern for this family of proteins, we have taken the
- conserved residues in the disulfide loops region.
-
- -Consensus pattern: C-x-C-x(4)-D-x(2)-C-x(2)-[FY]-C
- [The four C's are involved in disulfide bonds]
- -Sequences known to belong to this class detected by the pattern: ALL.
- -Other sequence(s) detected in SWISS-PROT: NONE.
-
- -Note: In addition to endothelin, the precursors of ETs contain an endothelin-
- like domain which is also detected by this pattern.
- -Note: the precursor of sarafotoxins is a large protein that contains 12
- copies of various isoforms of the toxin [6].
-
- -Last update: June 1994 / Text revised.
-
- [ 1] Yanagisawa M., Masaki T.
- Trends Pharmacol. Sci. 10:374-378(1989).
- [ 2] Simonson M.S., Dunn M.J.
- FASEB J. 4:2989-3000(1990).
- [ 3] Rubanyi G.M., Parker Bothelho L.H.
- FASEB J. 5:2713-2720(1991).
- [ 4] Kloog Y., Sokolovsky M.
- Trends Pharmacol. Sci. 10:212-214(1989).
- [ 5] Sokolovsky M.
- Trends Biochem. Sci. 16:261-264(1991).
- [ 6] Ducancel F., Gabrielssen V., Dupont C., Lajeunesse E., Bdolah A.,
- Kochva E., Boulain J.C.C.
- J. Biol. Chem. 268:3052-3055(1993).
-