Neuropeptide FF (NPFF)

Neuropeptide FF (NPFF) and the related neuropeptide AF (NPAF) were originally isolated from bovine brain using an antibody against the molluscan peptide FMRF-NH2. NPFF has been detected in human serum. In rat, these FMRF-amide-related peptides have been shown to have wide-ranging physiologic effects, including the modulation of morphine-induced analgesia, elevation of arterial blood pressure, and increased somatostatin secretion from the pancreas. Using these ESTs to screen a human testis cDNA library, they isolated a full-length cDNA encoding the precursor of both NPFF and NPAF; the authors called this precursor the 'FMRF-amide-like peptide precursor,' or FMRFAL. The deduced 113-amino acid precursor polypeptide contains a putative hydrophobic leader sequence.