Tuftsin

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tuftsin
Tuftsin
Structural formula
Mass / length primary structure 4 amino acids with 500.59 g mol −1
Secondary to quaternary structure C 21 H 40 N 8 O 6
Precursor Leukocinin
Identifier
External IDs

Tuftsin is a peptide that consists of the amino acids threonine , lysine , proline , arginine (Thr-Lys-Pro-Arg). It is a tissue hormone of phagocytosis .

function

As a messenger substance , tuftsin is responsible for chemotaxis , phagocytosis and the oxidative burst of neutrophils and macrophages . It is an endogenous adjuvant . Furthermore, tuftsin has an influence on the formation of antibodies .

Granulocytes and macrophages, or monocytes , have receptors for tuftsin on their surface . According modified tuftsin can therefore as a target for imaging of inflammation are used.

The use of tuftsin in immunotherapy is discussed by various authors.

An antagonist of tuftsin is the pentapeptide Thr-Lys-Pro-Pro-Arg, which binds to the same receptors of neutrophils or macrophages, or monocytes , like tuftsin, but does not develop the stimulating effect.

Production in the human body

The Thr-Lys-Pro-Arg sequence is part of immunoglobulin G (IgG). Tuftsin is produced in the spleen by proteolytic cleavage of the heavy chain of IgG in position 289 and 292. The enzyme tuftsin endocarboxypeptidase present in the spleen cleaves IgG in such a way that the carboxy side of the tuftsin is exposed first. The fragment then binds via the tuftsin receptor to the carrier molecule leukokinin of neutrophils or monocytes or macrophages . Finally, the fragment is cleaved by the membrane enzyme leukokininase into the tetrapeptide tuftsin, which can then develop its full biological activity.

Surgical removal of the spleen ( splenectomy ) results in a tuftsin deficiency . This is a reduction in the chemotactic and phagocytic activity of the neutrophils. The tuftsin deficiency manifests itself in an increased susceptibility to certain infectious diseases .

discovery

V. Najjar and K. Nishioka discovered tuftsin together in 1970. They named the oligopeptide after Tufts University in Medford ( Massachusetts ), a suburb of Boston , where they discovered the tuftsin.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c M. Ferencik ao: Dictionary of Allergology and Immunology. , Springer, 2005, p. 327. ISBN 3-211-20151-3
  2. ↑ a b c M. Chianelli et al: Radiopharmaceuticals for the study of inflammatory processes: A review. In: Nucl. Med. Commun. , 18, 1997, pp. 437-455.
  3. ↑ K. Frank: Application of the New Radiopharmaceutical Tekappran to Aid in Diagnosing Inflammation of Soft Tissue in Horses Using Scintigraphic Imaging (PDF; 11.3 MB), dissertation, Tierärztliche Hochschule Hannover, 2001.
  4. ^ VA Najjar: Tuftsin, A Natural Activator of Phagocyte Cells: An Overview. In: Ann NY Acad Sci , 419, 1983, pp. 1-11.
  5. ↑ V. Najjar, K. Nishioka: "Tuftsin": a natural phagocytosis stimulating peptide. In: Nature , 228, 1970, pp. 672-673. PMID 4097539

literature

  • M. Fridkin, P. Gottlieb: Tuftsin: Thr-Lys-Pro-Arg. Anatomy of an immunologically active peptide. In: Mol Cell Biochem , 41, 1981, pp. 73-97.
  • K. Nishioka et al: Characteristics and isolation of the phagocytosis-stimulating peptide, tuftsin. In: Biochim Biophys Acta , 310, 1973, pp. 217-229. PMID 4122886
  • K. Nishioka et al .: A comparative study of [Leu1] Tuftsin and tuftsin, a natural phagocytosis-stimulating peptide. In: Int J Biochem , 23, 1991, pp. 627-630. PMID 2065822
  • K. Nishioka et al .: Studies of human granulocyte phagocytosis stimulation by tuftsin. In: Journal of Surgical Research , 56, 1994, pp. 94-101. PMID 8277776
  • K. Nishioka et al: Enhanced phagocytosis activity of cyclic analogs of tuftsin. In: Biochem Pharmacol , 49, 1995, pp. 735-738. PMID 7887989
  • S. Kubo et al .: Stimulation of phagocytic activity of murine Kupffer cells by tuftsin. In: Hepatology , 19, 1994, pp. 1044-1049. PMID 8138244
  • JO Naim, CJ van Oss: The generation of antibody in mice to tuftsin: a naturally occurring phagocytosis stimulating tetrapeptide. In: Immunol Invest , 20, 1991, pp. 351-364. PMID 1937582