Enkephalins, dynorphins and β-endorphin are endogenous opiate-like substances that are differentially distributed among vertebrate taxa. Enkephalins have the widest distribution, and the proenkephalin gene would appear to represent the ancestral opioid gene. This review will consider the following hypothesis: the evolution of the opioids occurred as a result of two duplications of the proenkephalin gene. In this hypothesis, the first duplication event would have given rise to the proopiomelanocortin gene, the precursor for β-endorphin, and the second duplication event would have given rise to the prodynorphin gene.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.