Modulation of neuroplastic changes and corticotropin-releasing factor-associated behavior by a phylogenetically ancient and conserved peptide family

C-terminal processing of the teneurin proteins: Independent actions of a teneurin C-terminal associated peptide in hippocampal cells

“…One possibility is that this 41-mer does not exist in vivo, but rather represents the functional region of the 15 kDa form. However, the uptake of FITC-labeled TCAP-1, an R/K-Xn-R/K prohormone convertase cleavage motif (Seidah and Chretien, 1999) adjacent to the mature peptide and bioactivity of synthetic TCAP-1 both in vitro and in vivo (Tan et al, 2011b), suggests that cleavage of the 13-15 kDa pro-peptide could occur to liberate TCAP-1. TCAP-1 may, therefore, be translated or released as the 13-15 kDa form, but cleaved in the extracellular region immediately before binding and uptake by surrounding cells.…”

“…Recent evidence indicates that the TCAP-1 region of the teneurin-1 may act as a novel neuroplastic regulatory factor in the rodent brain (Tan et al, 2011b). In vitro, TCAP-1 increases cytoskeletal proteins including β-actin and β-tubulin, modulates neurite outgrowth in cultured hippocampal neurons (Al Chawaf et al, 2007a) and inhibits brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) expression in hypothalamic cells (Ng et al, 2012).…”

On the Teneurin track: a new synaptic organization molecule emerges

“…Application of the Teneurin-2 C-terminus in hippocampal culture induces presynaptic Ca 2+ signaling (Silva et al, 2011 ). This is reminiscent of the Teneurin C-terminal associated peptide (TCAP), a 41-residue peptide that can be liberated and is thought to regulate stress response, dendritic remodeling in the hippocampus, BDNF levels, and corticotropin-releasing factor signaling (Rotzinger et al, 2010 ; Ng et al, 2012 ; Tan et al, 2012 ; Chen et al, 2013 ). Indeed, Teneurin-2 can be cleaved in culture (Silva et al, 2011 ), supporting this model but could also function by another, unknown mechanism.…”

Ancient interaction between the teneurin C-terminal associated peptides (TCAP) and latrophilin ligand-receptor coupling: a role in behavior

“…Since then, four TCAPs have been identified in vertebrates, annotated as TCAP-1,-2, -3, and -4, based on their location in the four teneurin genes. All TCAPs are the same size as CRF, but possess less than 20% sequence similarity to the CRF family of peptides (Lovejoy et al, 2006 ) and differ markedly in structure (Tan et al, 2012 ). However, the TCAP family is highly conserved across the metazoans.…”