PENK
Function
Met-enkephalin
Neuropeptide that competes with and mimic the effects of opiate drugs. They play a role in a number of physiologic functions, including pain perception and responses to stress.
Leu-enkephalin
Neuropeptide that competes with and mimic the effects of opiate drugs. They play a role in a number of physiologic functions, including pain perception and responses to stress.
Met-enkephalin-Arg-Phe
Met-enkephalin-Arg-Phe neuropeptide acts as a strong ligand of Mu-type opioid receptor OPRM1. Met-enkephalin-Arg-Phe-binding to OPRM1 in the nucleus accumbens of the brain increases activation of OPRM1, leading to long-term synaptic depression of glutamate release.
PENK(114-133)
Increases glutamate release in the striatum and decreases GABA concentration in the striatum.
PENK(237-258)
Increases glutamate release in the striatum.
Post-translational modifications
Proenkephalin-A is cleaved by CTSL to generate Met-enkephalin.
Met-enkephalin
Processed and degraded by ACE.
Leu-enkephalin
Processed and degraded by ACE.
Met-enkephalin-Arg-Gly-Leu
Probably cleaved by ACE.
Met-enkephalin-Arg-Phe
Processed by ACE to generate Met-enkephalin in the nucleus accumbens of the brain.
The N-terminal domain contains 6 conserved cysteines thought to be involved in disulfide bonding and/or processing.
Sequence Similarities
Belongs to the opioid neuropeptide precursor family.
Cellular localization
- Cytoplasmic vesicle
- Secretory vesicle
- Chromaffin granule lumen
- Secreted
Alternative names
Proenkephalin-A, PENK