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Dermorphin
Dermorphin
General
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Dipole moment ? D
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Except where noted otherwise, data are given for
materials in their standard state (at 25 °C, 100 kPa)
Infobox disclaimer and references


Dermorphin is a hepta-peptide first isolated from the skin of South American frogs belonging to the genus Phyllomedusa.[1] The peptide is a natural opioid that binds as an agonist with high potency and selectivity to mu Opioid receptors.[2][3] Dermorphin is about 30–40 times more potent than morphine but theoretically may be less likely to produce drug tolerance and addiction.[4] The amino acid sequence of dermorphin is H-Tyr-D-Ala-Phe-Gly-Tyr-Pro-Ser-NH2.

Dermorphin is not found in humans or other mammals and similar D-amino acid peptides have only been found in bacteria, amphibians and molluscs.[5] Dermorphin appears to be made in these through an unusual posttranslational modification carried out by an amino acid isomerase.[6] This unusual process is needed because the D-alanine in this peptide is not among the 20 amino acids coded for in the genetic code and thus the peptide cannot be synthesized in the usual way from the encodings in the genome of an organism.

Illicit use[]

Dermorphin has been illegally used in horse racing as a performance-enhancing drug. Due to dermorphin's painkilling activity, horses treated with dermorphin may run harder than they would otherwise.[7]

References[]

  1. Melchiorri P, Negri L (1996). The dermorphin peptide family. Gen. Pharmacol. 27 (7): 1099–107.
  2. Amiche M, Delfour A, Nicolas P (1998). Opioid peptides from frog skin. EXS 85: 57–71.
  3. Erspamer V, Melchiorri P, Falconieri-Erspamer G, et al. (1989). Deltorphins: a family of naturally occurring peptides with high affinity and selectivity for delta opioid binding sites. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 86 (13): 5188–92.
  4. Broccardo M, Erspamer V, Falconieri Erspamer G, et al. (1981). Pharmacological data on dermorphins, a new class of potent opioid peptides from amphibian skin. Br. J. Pharmacol. 73 (3): 625–31.
  5. Kreil G (15 April 1994). Peptides containing a D-amino acid from frogs and molluscs. J. Biol. Chem. 269 (15): 10967–70.
  6. Heck SD, Faraci WS, Kelbaugh PR, Saccomano NA, Thadeio PF, Volkmann RA (1996). Posttranslational amino acid epimerization: enzyme-catalyzed isomerization of amino acid residues in peptide chains. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 93 (9): 4036–9.
  7. includeonly>Bogdanich W. "Turning to Frogs for Illegal Aid in Horse Races", 19 June 2012. Retrieved on 19 June 2012.
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