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We previously isolated a novel dodecapeptide containing a C-terminal -Arg-Phe-NH2 sequence, SIKPSAYLPLRF-NH2 (RFamide peptide), from the quail brain. This quail RFamide peptide was shown to decrease gonadotropin release from the cultured anterior pituitary and to be located at least in the quail hypothalamo-hypophysial system. We therefore designated this RFamide peptide gonadotropin inhibitory hormone (GnIH). In the present study we characterized the GnIH cDNA from the quail brain by a combination of 3′ and 5′ rapid amplification of cDNA ends (‘RACE’). The deduced GnIH precursor consisted of 173 amino acid residues, encoding one GnIH and two putative gene-related peptide (GnIH-RP-1 and GnIH-RP-2) sequences that included -LPXRF (X = L or Q) at their C-termini. All these peptide sequences were flanked by a glycine C-terminal amidation signal and a single basic amino acid on each end as an endoproteolytic site. Southern blotting analysis of reverse-transcriptase-mediated PCR products demonstrated a specific expression of the gene encoding GnIH in the diencephalon including the hypothalamus. Furthermore, mass spectrometric analyses detected the mass numbers for matured GnIH and GnIH-RP-2, revealing that both peptides are produced from the precursor in the diencephalon as an endogenous ligand. Taken together, these results lead to the conclusion that GnIH is a hypothalamic factor responsible for the negative regulation of gonadotropin secretion. Furthermore, the presence of a novel RFamide peptide family containing a C-terminal -LPXRF-NH2 sequence has been revealed.

Discrepin, isolated from the venom of the Venezuelan scorpion Tityus discrepans, blocks preferentially the I(A) currents of the voltage-dependent K+ channel of rat cerebellum granular cells in an irreversible way. It contains 38 amino acid residues with a pyroglutamic acid as the N-terminal residue [D'Suze, G., Batista, C. V., Frau, A., Murgia, A. R., Zamudio, F. Z., Sevcik, C., Possani, L. D., and Prestipino, G. (2004) Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 430, 256-63]. It is the most distinctive member of the alpha-KTx15 subfamily of scorpion toxins. Six members of the alpha-KTx15 subfamily have been reported so far to be specific for this subtype of the K+ channel; however, none of them have had their three-dimensional structure determined, and no information for the residues possibly involved in channel recognition and binding is available. Natural discrepin (n-discrepin) was prepared from scorpion venom, and its synthetic analogue (s-discrepin) was obtained by solid-phase synthesis. Analysis of two-dimensional 1H NMR spectra of n- and s-discrepin indicates that both peptides have the same structure. Here we report the solution structure of s-discrepin determined by NMR using 565 meaningful distance constraints derived from the volume integration of the two-dimensional NOESY spectrum, 22 dihedrals, and three hydrogen bonds. Discrepin displays the alpha/beta scaffold, characteristic of scorpion toxins. Some features of the proposed interacting surface between the toxin and channel as well as the opposite "alpha-helix surface" are discussed in comparison with those of other alpha-KTx15 members. Both n- and s-discrepin exhibit similar physiological actions as verified by patch-clamp and binding and displacement experiments.