RT journal article
T1 Discovery of a neuropeptide that acts as an autotomy-promoting factor
A1 Tinoco Pérez, Ana Belén
A1 Kirupakaran, Vyshnavie
A1 Capatina, Delia
A1 Egertova, Michaela
A1 Elphick, Maurice Richard
A2 Biología
K1 autotomy
K1 cholecystokinin
K1 echinoderm
K1 neuropeptide
K1 starfish
K1 sulfakinin
AB One of the most remarkable adaptations to survive attacks from predators is to detach an appendage-a process known as autotomy. This occurs in a variety of animals, including lizards (tail), crabs (legs), and starfish (arms). There has been extensive investigation of the evolution, ecology, and biomechanical impact of autotomy,1,2,3 but little is known about neural mechanisms controlling autotomy in animals. However, evidence for the existence of a peptide that acts as an autotomy-promoting factor in starfish has been reported.4 While investigating in vivo effects of a sulfakinin/cholecystokinin-type neuropeptide (ArSK/CCK1) in the starfish Asterias rubens,5,6 we observed that this peptide triggered arm autotomy in some animals. Furthermore, when injection of ArSK/CCK1 was combined with mechanical clamping of an arm, autotomy of the clamped arm occurred in 85% of animals tested, with 46% also autotomizing one or more other arms. In contrast, no autotomy was observed in clamped animals that were injected with water (control). To examine the physiological relevance of these findings, we analyzed expression of ArSK/CCK1 in the autotomy plane, a specialized region at the base of the arms in A. rubens.7,8 In accordance with its in vivo effects, nerve fibers expressing ArSK/CCK1 were revealed in the tourniquet muscle, a band of muscle that mediates constriction of the arm during and after autotomy. We conclude that ArSK/CCK1 acts as an autotomy-promoting factor in starfish and as such it is the first neuropeptide to be identified as a regulator of autotomy in animals.
PB Cell Press
SN 1879-0445
YR 2024
FD 2024
LK http://hdl.handle.net/10498/35511
UL http://hdl.handle.net/10498/35511
LA eng
DS Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Cádiz
RD 13-nov-2026