Isoforms
There are two types of orexin: orexin-A and -B (hypocretin-1 and -2). They are excitatory neuropeptide hormones with approximately 50% sequence identity, are produced by cleavage of a single precursor protein. Orexin-A is 33 amino acid residues long and has two intrachain disulfide bonds; orexin-B is a linear 28 amino acid residue peptide. Studies suggest that orexin-A may be of greater biological importance than orexin-B. Although these peptides are produced by a very small population of cells in the lateral and posterior hypothalamus, they send projections throughout the brain. The orexin peptides bind to the two G-protein coupled orexin receptors, OX1 and OX2, with orexin-A binding to both OX1 and OX2 with approximately equal affinity while orexin-B binds mainly to OX2 and is 5 times less potent at OX1.
The orexins are strongly conserved peptides, found in all major classes of vertebrates.
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