CAS 171543-83-2: urocortin (rat)

Trifluoroacetate salt

Urocortin is a mammalian neuropeptide related to fish urotensin and to corticotropin-releasing factor. UCN I has been shown to be more potent than CRF at binding and activating type-2 CRF receptors, as well as at inducing c-Fos in regions enriched in type-2 CRF receptors.

Urocortin (UCN) is a rat corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) receptor that has been cloned and sequenced. The UCN gene contains 10 exons and 9 introns, with an open reading frame of 1203 nucleotides encoding a protein of 145 amino acids. This protein is expressed in the rat brain and pituitary gland, as well as in other tissues such as the heart and lung. UCN mRNA transcripts are found in lymphocytes and erythrocytes in both rats and humans. UCN is potently stimulated by CRH injections or administration of CRH-receptor antagonists. It has also been shown to be transcriptionally regulated by polymerase chain reactions (PCR) using primers specific for the UCN gene.

Urocortin is a peptide that is also known as corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF). It is an inhibitor of the protein phosphatase 1 and protein phosphatase 2A, which are enzymes that regulate the activity of other proteins. Urocortin also has the ability to bind to receptors for glucocorticoid hormones, such as GRP and MR, in a manner that activates them. This peptide is used in research studies to study ion channels, neuronal excitability, and other aspects of cell biology. Urocortin has been shown to be a high purity reagent with no detectable impurities.

Endogenous CRF agonist. Ki values are 13, 1.5 and 0.97 nM for hCRF1, rCRF2α and mCRF2β respectively.