Type: | Family | Name: | Placentin |
Description: | The insulin family of proteins groups together several evolutionarily related active peptides []: these include insulin [, ], relaxin [, ], insect prothoracicotropic hormone (bombyxin) [], insulin-like growth factors (IGF1 and IGF2) [, ], mammalian Leydig cell-specific insulin-like peptide (gene INSL3), early placenta insulin-like peptide (ELIP) (gene INSL4), locust insulin-related peptide (LIRP), molluscan insulin-related peptides (MIP), and Caenorhabditis elegans insulin-like peptides. The 3D structures of a number of family members have been determined [, , ]. The fold comprises two polypeptide chains (A and B) linked by two disulphide bonds: all share a conserved arrangement of 4 cysteines in their A chain, the first of which is linked by a disulphide bond to the third, while the second and fourth are linked by interchain disulphide bonds to cysteines in the B chain.Placenta insulin-like peptide, also known as placentin, was initially identified by cDNA library screening []. Placentin may participate in the cellular proliferation and/or differentiation processes during placental development []. | Short Name: | Placentin |