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peptides
peptides are short chains of amino acids linked together. If there are only two amino acids then the peptide is a dipeptide. Similarly there are tripeptides, tetrapeptides, and so on. If the number of amino acids in the chain reaches around ten or so, such substances are called polypeptides, while large polypeptides are called proteins. There is no particular agreed size at which a large polypeptide becomes a small protein, but generally polypeptides have molecular weights of a few thousand, while proteins have molecular weights of tens of thousands. Depending on which amino acids are involved, between seven and ten amino acids will add about 1000 to the molecular weight.
Protein molecules in the diet are digested by enzymes (which are themselves specialized proteins), that break them down into smaller and smaller lengths, the breakage occurring at the peptide bonds. Peptides and amino acids are thus the final cleavage products of protein digestion. Amino acids are the main protein breakdown product absorbed from the gut, but some di- and tri-peptides are also absorbed, there being specific carrier systems in the cells lining the small intestine to transport these small peptides from the lumen to the blood. The dipeptide carnosine, formed from the amino acids alanine and histidine, was identified in muscle a century ago, but only recently has research revealed its properties and the likely variety and significance of its functions. It is known to be present also in the brain, where it may act as a neurotransmitter. In muscle it is likely to be important in making the contractile filaments more sensitive to calcium ions and in controlling the internal acidity of these fibres. It has been suggested that it may also be a scavenger of free radicals. Its strong binding with zinc may be important in co-absorption from the gut of this essential trace element; and physiologically significant interactions between carnosine, zinc, and histamine are being discovered. The tripeptide glutathione (glutamic acid-cysteine-glycine) is an important co-factor for many enzymes, increasing their activity. Polypeptide hormonesPolypeptides control or trigger a great many bodily functions, acting close to or at a distance from the site at which they are produced and released. The table below gives a few examples, giving the site of production, the number of amino acids, and an indication of the functions that the polypeptides promote.
Proteins usually fold to form particular three-dimensional shapes (which determine their actions), but polypeptides are not so structurally constrained, so in solution they can adopt many conformations. For example, oxytocin and vasopressin have about a thousand different conformations in solution, all in dynamic equilibrium one with another. How is it therefore that they specifically attach to their receptors, with the requirements for specific shape and charge distribution? The answer is that some part of the polypeptide attaches to the receptor, while adjacent parts turn and rotate until the correct shape is reached. Thus the polypeptides use a ‘zipper’ mechanism to attach to membrane receptors. NeuropeptidesThere are many different peptides in neurons, released along with other neurotransmitters. Some peptides that were originally identified as hormones, thought to be produced at one particular site and to act at certain ‘target’ sites, have more recently been found to be made elsewhere also, and to have other functions. The body utilizes the same peptide for different purposes. This is true, for example, of cholecystokinin (CCK), a 33-amino-acid polypeptide that was known for many decades as a hormone that originated in the duodenum and caused emptying of the gall bladder. Since the 1980s it has been revealed to be a modulator of neural activity, produced by many nerve cells, widespread in the nervous system. Likewise, corticotrophin releasing factor (CRF), with 41 amino acids, was originally known to be made and released by a group of neurons in the hypothalamus, passing to the pituitary gland and there stimulating the secretion of ACTH (adrenocorticotrophic hormone). But it too has been found to be a neuromodulator produced by neurons in many parts of the brain.A family of peptides called opioid peptides or endorphins, found in the brain and elsewhere in the body, are responsible for the modulation of pain sensation. One group of these, the pentapeptide enkephalins, are released as neurotransmitters by nerve cells in certain parts of the brain and spinal cord. They bind to opiate receptors (the membrane receptors on which opiate drugs act) on other nerve cells in the pathways that mediate pain, hence acting as ‘endogenous’ (internally generated) analgesics. Alan W. Cuthbert, and Sheila Jennett See also amino acids; hormones; opiates; opioids; pain; proteins. |
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Cite this article
COLIN BLAKEMORE and SHELIA JENNETT. "peptides." The Oxford Companion to the Body. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. COLIN BLAKEMORE and SHELIA JENNETT. "peptides." The Oxford Companion to the Body. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O128-peptides.html COLIN BLAKEMORE and SHELIA JENNETT. "peptides." The Oxford Companion to the Body. 2001. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O128-peptides.html |
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peptide
peptide organic compound composed of amino acids linked together chemically by peptide bonds. The peptide bond always involves a single covalent link between the α-carboxyl (oxygen-bearing carbon) of one amino acid and the amino nitrogen of a second amino acid. In the formation of a peptide bond from two amino acids, a molecule of water is eliminated. Small peptides with fewer than about ten constituent amino acids are called oligopeptides, and peptides with more than ten amino acids are termed polypeptides. Compounds with molecular weights of more than 10,000 (50-100 amino acids) are usually termed proteins. Organisms commonly contain appreciable quantities of low-molecular-weight peptides some arising from proteins while others are synthesized directly. Certain of these molecules are unusual in that they incorporate amino acids not found in proteins such as amino acids of the d -configuration. Among the biological peptides are many with physiological or antibacterial activity, such as the peptide hormones oxytocin and vasopressin; adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), secreted by the pituitary gland; and several cyclic peptides, in which the amino-acid sequence forms a ring structure rather than a straight chain, such as the antibiotics tyrocidin and gramicidin . Laboratory synthesis of peptides has risen to the level of a well-defined art in recent years. Synthetic peptides, composed of as many as a hundred amino acids in specified sequence, have been prepared in the laboratory with good purity and high yields. |
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"peptide." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "peptide." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-peptide.html "peptide." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-peptide.html |
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peptide
peptide Any of a group of organic compounds comprising two or more amino acids linked by peptide bonds. These bonds are formed by the reaction between adjacent carboxyl (–COOH) and amino (–NH2) groups with the elimination of water (see illustration). Dipeptides contain two amino acids, tripeptides three, and so on. Polypeptides contain more than ten and usually 100–300. Naturally occurring oligopeptides (of less than ten amino acids) include the tripeptide glutathione and the pituitary hormones antidiuretic hormone and oxytocin, which are octapeptides. Peptides also result from protein breakdown, e.g. during digestion.
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"peptide." A Dictionary of Biology. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "peptide." A Dictionary of Biology. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O6-peptide.html "peptide." A Dictionary of Biology. 2004. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O6-peptide.html |
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peptides
peptides Compounds formed when amino acids are linked together through the —CO—NH— (peptide) linkage. Two amino acids so linked form a dipeptide, three a tripeptide, etc.; medium‐length chains of amino acids (four up to about 50) are known as oligopeptides, longer chains are polypeptides or proteins.
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DAVID A. BENDER. "peptides." A Dictionary of Food and Nutrition. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. DAVID A. BENDER. "peptides." A Dictionary of Food and Nutrition. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O39-peptides.html DAVID A. BENDER. "peptides." A Dictionary of Food and Nutrition. 2005. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O39-peptides.html |
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peptide
pep·tide / ˈpeptīd/ • n. Biochem. a compound consisting of two or more amino acids linked in a chain, the carboxyl group of each acid being joined to the amino group of the next by a bond of the type −OC−NH−. |
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"peptide." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "peptide." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-peptide.html "peptide." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-peptide.html |
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peptide
peptide Compound consisting of two or more linked amino acid molecules. Peptides containing several amino acids are called polypeptides. Proteins consist of polypeptide chains with up to several hundred amino acids cross-linked to each other in various ways.
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"peptide." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "peptide." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-peptide.html "peptide." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-peptide.html |
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peptide
peptide (pep-tyd) n. a molecule consisting of two or more amino acids linked by bonds between the amino group and the carboxyl group. See also polypeptide.
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"peptide." A Dictionary of Nursing. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "peptide." A Dictionary of Nursing. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O62-peptide.html "peptide." A Dictionary of Nursing. 2008. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O62-peptide.html |
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peptide
peptide A linear molecule comprising two or more amino acids linked by peptide bonds. The simplest peptide is H2N.CH2.CO.NH.CH2.CO2H (glycylglycine).
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MICHAEL ALLABY. "peptide." A Dictionary of Ecology. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. MICHAEL ALLABY. "peptide." A Dictionary of Ecology. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O14-peptide.html MICHAEL ALLABY. "peptide." A Dictionary of Ecology. 2004. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O14-peptide.html |
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peptide
peptide A linear molecule comprising two or more amino acids linked by peptide bonds. The simplest peptide is H2N.CH2.CO.NH.CH2.CO2H (glycylglycine).
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MICHAEL ALLABY. "peptide." A Dictionary of Zoology. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. MICHAEL ALLABY. "peptide." A Dictionary of Zoology. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O8-peptide.html MICHAEL ALLABY. "peptide." A Dictionary of Zoology. 1999. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O8-peptide.html |
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peptide
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MICHAEL ALLABY. "peptide." A Dictionary of Plant Sciences. 1998. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. MICHAEL ALLABY. "peptide." A Dictionary of Plant Sciences. 1998. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O7-peptide.html MICHAEL ALLABY. "peptide." A Dictionary of Plant Sciences. 1998. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O7-peptide.html |
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peptide
peptide •peptide • eventide • Whitsuntide
•springtide • riptide • Shrovetide
•Yuletide • noontide • nucleotide
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Cite this article
"peptide." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "peptide." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-peptide.html "peptide." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-peptide.html |
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