Trends in Endocrinology & Metabolism
ReviewMetabolic and stress-related roles of prolactin-releasing peptide
Section snippets
Prolactin-releasing peptide and its receptors
Prolactin-releasing peptide (PrRP) belongs to the family of RFamide peptides, which are defined by their common carboxy-terminal sequences, arginine (R) and amidated phenylalanine (F) residues [1]. PrRP was originally discovered as an endogenous ligand for G-protein-coupled receptor (GPR) 10 (also known as hGR3 and unknown hypothalamic receptor (UHR)-1), an orphan receptor, and at first, PrRP was thought to act at the pituitary gland as a hypothalamic releasing factor for prolactin secretion.
PrRP and short-term energy intake
Intracerebroventricular administration of PrRP reduces food intake [17], and both PrRP-deficient mice [14] and GPR10-deficient [15] mice are hyperphagic. Furthermore, acute blockade of PrRP signaling by an anti-PrRP neutralizing antibody induces hyperphagia [14]. The hyperphagia in PrRP-deficient mice or in rats injected with an anti-PrRP neutralizing antibody is caused by an increase in meal size rather than in meal frequency [14].
Meal size is regulated by satiety signals that terminate each
Conclusion
PrRP-expressing neurons receive information not only from short-term energy signals such as CCK but also from long-term metabolic signals such as leptin and estrogen (Figure 2). Disturbance of the PrRP–GPR10 system causes hyperphagia, leading to obesity and metabolic disorders. PrRP neurons also receive signals during stressful conditions and modulate stress responses in peripheral organs. PrRP also plays a role in stress-induced metabolic responses. The importance of PrRP for energy metabolism
Acknowledgements
This study was supported in part by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan, the Danone Institute of Japan (the 2009 DIJ Research Grant), Japanese Society of Anti-Ageing Medicine and AstraZeneca KK (AstraZeneca Research Grant 2009). Research in GL's laboratory is supported by the BBSRC and the Wellcome Trust.
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2016, Pharmacology and TherapeuticsCitation Excerpt :Therefore, elucidating the mechanisms by which QRFP receptor agonists increase high-fat diet intake could markedly influence the development of therapies for the treatment of obesity (Primeaux et al., 2013). The PrRP system has been shown to be an important point of integration in the control of energy metabolism and stress response, suggesting that this anorexigenic system might also represent an interesting target for the treatment of obesity (Onaka et al., 2010). In conclusion, the mammalian RF-amide system shares many features for a family that includes not only peptides with a conserved Arg-Phe-NH2 sequence at their carboxyl-terminal end but also receptors that display significant sequence homologies and regulate the same set of physiological functions.
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2013, Behavioural Brain ResearchCitation Excerpt :However, a series of experiments demonstrate that glucocorticoid release from the adrenal gland, actually, preserves the HPG activity during stress [59,60]. Taking these phenomena and the versatile physiological functions of kisspeptin into account, it is apparent that, besides the well-characterised PrRP [61–63], further members of the RF-amide family may play integrative roles in the harmonization of the HPG and HPA activity. Similarly, the dense expression of kisspeptin in the arcuate nucleus and the innervations of the suprachiasmatic nucleus [27] underlines our findings and argues for the role of the peptide in the circadian regulation of metabolic processes, core body temperature and hormone production.
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2012, Small Ruminant ResearchCitation Excerpt :And subsequent studies reveal that the physiological effects of PrRP are not limited to PRL secretion. Moreover, PrRP also affects GH secretion, energy metabolism and feeding behavior (Tachibana et al., 2009, 2011; Mochiduki et al., 2010; Onaka et al., 2010). Polymorphisms of the PRL gene in dairy cattle (Halabian et al., 2008), sheep (Staiger et al., 2010) and goats (Lan et al., 2009) have shown relationships with milk yield and milk composition.