Chapter 1 The Human Insulin Superfamily of Polypeptide Hormones

F Shabanpoor; F Separovic; JD Wade

Book Chapter

Chapter 1 The Human Insulin Superfamily of Polypeptide Hormones

F Shabanpoor, F Separovic, JD Wade

Vitamins and Hormones | Published : 2009

DOI: 10.1016/S0083-6729(08)00601-8

Abstract

The identification in the 1950s of insulin, an essential carbohydrate regulatory hormone, as consisting of not one but two peptide chains linked by three disulfide bonds in a distinctive pattern was a milestone in peptide chemistry. When it was later found that relaxin also possessed a similar overall structure, the term 'insulin superfamily' was coined. Use of methods of conventional protein chemistry followed by recombinant DNA and more recently bioinformatics has led to the recognition that insulin is the precursor to a large protein superfamily that extends beyond the human. Insulin-like peptides are found not only in vertebrates such as mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians but also in t..

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University of Melbourne Researchers

Frances Separovic Author

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Grants

Awarded by National Health and Medical Research Council

Funding Acknowledgements

The author is grateful to Professor Geoffrey Tregear for critical appraisal of the manuscript. Reported Studies undertaken in the authors' laboratory were supported by NHMRC of Australia Project grants (#350245, 350284, 50899 and 509048).