FMRFaraide-related peptides have been isolated from both invertebrates and vertebrates and exhibit a wide range of biological effects in rats. We show here that in humans 2 FMRFamide-related peptides are encoded by a single gene expressed as a spliced mRNA. The larger predicted peptide (AGEGLNSQFWSLAAPQRFamide) differs from the peptide isolated from bovines (AGEGLSSPFWSLAAPQRFamide) by the substitutions of 2 amino acids. The shorter predicted peptide (NPSF, SQAFLFQPQRFamide) is 3 amino acids longer than the bovine 8 amino-acid NPFF (FLFQPQRFamide) or the human NPFF peptide isolated from serum [5], suggesting that the encoded protein is subject to cleavage by a tripeptidyl peptidase or by a novel processing mechanism. On rat spinal cord, the larger peptide is indistinguishable in activity from the equivalent bovine peptide whereas the smaller extended peptide is inactive.© 1997 Federation of European Biochemical Societies.Key words: NPFF; NPAF; FMRFamide; cDNA; Nociception; Human In bovine brain, 3 different forms of immunoreactive material were detected by HPLC separation and the use of an antibody raised against the molluscan peptide FMRF-NH 2 . Two of these correspond to NPFF and NPAF ; the structure of the third is unknown [12]. Similarly, in the rat hypothalamus, NPFFs have been shown to exist by HPLC and immunoreactivity but the predominant form of peptide is not NPFF [13].The isolation of the human gene described here now allows a definitive description of the human FMRFamide peptides. We show that there is an additional 3 amino acids on the human NPFF precursor that must be cleaved to produced biologically active NPFF. If these amino acids are present on the precursor of the bovine and rat NPFF then this could account for the alternate form detected by HPLC. We also demonstrate that human NPAF is capable of modulating neural activity in the rat spinal cord in a manner indistinguishable from that of bovine NPAF while human N-terminally extended NPFF has no activity.

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These results suggested that the regulatory activity of MSCs on T cells and GVHD might contribute to significant prolongation of composite tissue allotransplant survival in the MSC-BMT-CsA treatment.

Incidence rates of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) are much higher among Chinese than they are among most other racial/ethnic groups around the world. With respect to NPC, results from survival studies are mixed, as some studies have and others have not found differences by race/ethnicity. Using Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program data, the authors used a multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression model to evaluate differences in risk of mortality among NPC patients across Chinese, non-Hispanic White, Black, and Filipino populations in the United States. From 1973 to 2002, 3,952 patients with microscopically confirmed NPC were identified across SEER 9 registries. After controlling for SEER registry, age at diagnosis, year of diagnosis, gender, World Health Organization type of grade histology, stage, and use of radiotherapy, the authors found that Chinese NPC patients had lower risks of overall mortality compared with non-Hispanic White patients (hazard ratio = 0.73, 95 percent confidence interval: 0.64, 0.84). However, no differences in risk of NPC cause-specific mortality were observed by race/ethnicity. Despite having higher incidence rates of NPC compared with other groups, Chinese NPC patients in the United States have better overall survival and the same risks of NPC-related mortality compared with other racial/ethnic groups.