Conopressin S

We report the discovery of conopressin-T, a novel bioactive peptide isolated from Conus tulipa venom. Conopressin-T belongs to the vasopressin-like peptide family and displays high sequence homology to the mammalian hormone oxytocin (OT) and to vasotocin, the endogenous vasopressin analogue found in teleost fish, the cone snail's prey. Conopressin-T was found to act as a selective antagonist at the human V 1a receptor. All peptides in this family contain two conserved amino acids within the exocyclic tripeptide (Pro7 and Gly9), which are replaced with Leu7 and Val9 in conopressin-T. Whereas conopressin-T binds only to OT and V 1a receptors, an L7P analogue had increased affinity for the V 1a receptor and weak V2 receptor binding. Surprisingly, replacing Gly9 with Val9 in OT and vasopressin revealed that this position can function as an agonist/antagonist switch at the V 1a receptor. NMR structures of both conopressin-T and L7P analogue revealed a marked difference in the orientation of the exocyclic tripeptide that may serve as templates for the design of novel ligands with enhanced affinity for the V 1a receptor.

The investigation deals with effect of analogues of conopressin S--a peptide of the vasopressin family with amino acid replacement in the 2nd and 4th positions (characteristic of invertebrate peptides)--on transport of water and ions in the rat kidney. At administration to female Wistar rats, 1-deamino-conopressin S produced a weak action on water transport and had no effect on urinary K+ and Na+ excretion. Its analogue, 1-deamino-Tyr2-conopressin S, caused antidiuretic and kaliuretic action without affecting the Na+ excretion. Estimation of significance of the variant of optic isomer of arginine in the 4th and 8th position of the molecular for the antidiuretic and kaliuretic action of the peptide showed that 1-deamino-Tyr2,D-Arg4-conopressin S and 1-deamino-Tyr2,D-Arg4,8-conopressin S did not affect the urinary K+ excretion and renal water reabsorption, whereas action of 1-deamino-Tyr2,D-Arg8-conopressin S did not differ from action of 1-deamino-Tyr2-conopressin S. Thus, it has been established that the selective kaliuretic action of analogues of conopressin S on rat kidney depends on the presence of tyrosine in the 2nd and of L-arginine, but not of D-arginine, in the 4th position of the molecule.

Increased understanding of the molecular components involved in mollusc reproduction may assist in understanding the evolutionary adaptations used by animals, including hermaphrodites, to produce offspring. The neuropeptide conopressin, a member of the vasopressin/oxytocin-like peptide family, can modulate various reproductive activities in invertebrates. In this study, we used the hermaphroditic land snail, Theba pisana, to investigate the presence and tissue-specific distribution of a conopressin gene. Our transcriptomic analysis of T. pisana CNS sheath tissue has revealed two conopressin gene transcripts (Tpi-conopressin-1 and Tpi-conopressin-2), each encoding for precursors containing an identical conopressin nonapeptide and a variable neurophysin. T. pisana conopressins share high identity with other land snails and slugs, as well as other mollusc and vertebrate vasopressin/oxytocin, supported by phylogenetic analysis. Conserved residues in the T. pisana neurophysin are important for peptide binding, and we present molecular dynamic models demonstrating the most likely stable structure of the Tpi-conopressin-1 peptide when associated with neurophysin. RT-PCR shows that Tpi-conopressin-1 is additionally expressed in reproductive tissues, including the dart sac, where abundant spatial expression throughout the sac region is found; this implies a role in 'love' dart synthesis or dart injection during mating. The presence of a conopressin receptor in the CNS sheath indicates CNS neural excitation. In summary, this study represents a detailed molecular analysis of conopressin in a land snail.