Urocortin 3 (UCN3)

Urocortin-3 is a member of the sauvagine/corticotropin-releasing factor/urotensin I family. It is structurally related to the corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) gene and the encoded product is an endogenous ligand for CRF type 2 receptors. In the brain it may be responsible for the effects of stress on appetite. In spite of the gene family name similarity, the product of this gene has no sequence similarity to urotensin II. The mature human SCP peptide sequence shares 72% identity with that of Takifugu rubripes and 57% identity with that of Tetraodon nigroviridis, a freshwater pufferfish. In human and fish, a stretch of 30 residues at the respective carboxy termini has an extended alpha-helical structure shared by all CRH family peptides.