kyotorphin

Kyotorphin is an endogenous opioid analgesic dipeptide (L-tyrosyl-L-arginine) first isolated from the bovine brain in 1979. It is primarily known for its antinociceptive properties, which it exerts not by direct binding to opioid receptors, but by stimulating the release of Met-enkephalin in the brain and spinal cord. Kyotorphin acts through a specific G protein-coupled receptor (the kyotorphin receptor) that mediates the activation of phospholipase C and inhibition of adenylyl cyclase via Gi proteins. Beyond its role in pain modulation, research has explored its potential as a neuroprotective agent in Alzheimer's disease models, an anti-inflammatory modulator, and a precursor for antimicrobial derivatives. It is unevenly distributed in the brain, with high concentrations in regions associated with the pain pathway, such as the cerebral cortex, midbrain, and medulla oblongata.

Other names

L-tyrosyl-L-arginineKTPL-Tyr-L-Argtyrosine-arginine