Canadian Medical Guide > Chemicals and Drugs > Hormones, Hormone Substitutes, and Hormone Antagonists > Hormones > Peptide Hormones Terms and Definitions

Peptide Hormones

Medical Definition:	Hormones synthesized from amino acids. They are distinguished from INTERCELLULAR SIGNALLING PEPTIDES AND PROTEINS in that their actions are systemic.
Also Called:	Polypeptide Hormones

Peptide Hormones Categories.

	Bombesin - A tetradecapeptide originally obtained from the skins of toads Bombina bombina and B. variegata. It is also an endogenous neurotransmitter in many animals including mammals. Bombesin affects vascular and other smooth muscle, gastric secretion, and renal circulation and function.
	Calcitonin - A peptide hormone that lowers calcium concentration in the blood. In humans, it is released by thyroid cells and acts to decrease the formation and absorptive activity of osteoclasts. Its role in regulating plasma calcium is much greater in children and in certain diseases than in normal adults.
	Leptin - A 16-kD peptide hormone secreted from white adipocytes and implicated in the regulation of food intake and energy balance. Leptin provides the key afferent signal from fat cells in the feedback system that controls body fat stores.
	Natriuretic Peptides - Peptides that regulate the WATER-ELECTROLYTE BALANCE in the body, also known as natriuretic peptide hormones. Several have been sequenced (ATRIAL NATRIURETIC FACTOR; BRAIN NATRIURETIC PEPTIDE; C-TYPE NATRIURETIC PEPTIDE).
	Parathyroid Hormone - A polypeptide hormone (84 amino acid residues) secreted by the PARATHYROID GLANDS which perfoms the essential role of maintaining intracellular CALCIUM levels in the body. Parathyroid hormone increases intracellular calcium by promoting the release of CALCIUM from BONE, increases the intestinal absorption of calcium, increases the renal tubular reabsorption of calcium, and increases the renal excretion of phosphates.
	Parathyroid Hormone-Related Protein - A ubiquitously expressed, secreted protein with bone resorption and renal calcium reabsorption activities that are similar to PARATHYROID HORMONE. It does not circulate in appreciable amounts in normal subjects, but rather exerts its biological actions locally. Overexpression of parathyroid hormone-related protein by tumor cells results in humoral calcemia of malignancy.
	Peptide PHI - A 27-amino acid peptide with histidine at the N-terminal and isoleucine amide at the C-terminal. The exact amino acid composition of the peptide is species dependent. The peptide is secreted in the intestine, but is found in the nervous system, many organs, and in the majority of peripheral tissues. It has a wide range of biological actions, affecting the cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, respiratory, and central nervous systems.
	Pituitary Hormones - Hormones secreted by the PITUITARY GLAND including those from the anterior lobe (adenohypophysis), the posterior lobe (neurohypophysis), and the ill-defined intermediate lobe. Structurally, they include small peptides, proteins, and glycoproteins. They are under the regulation of neural signals (NEUROTRANSMITTERS) or neuroendocrine signals (HYPOTHALAMIC HORMONES) from the hypothalamus as well as feedback from their targets such as ADRENAL CORTEX HORMONES; ANDROGENS; ESTROGENS.
	Placental Hormones - Hormones produced by the placenta include CHORIONIC GONADOTROPIN, and PLACENTAL LACTOGEN as well as steroids (ESTROGENS; PROGESTERONE), and neuropeptide hormones similar to those found in the hypothalamus (HYPOTHALAMIC HORMONES).
	Urotensins - Teleost hormones. A family of small peptides isolated from urophyses of bony fishes. They have many different physiological effects, including long-lasting hypotensive activity and have been proposed as antihypertensives. There are at least four different compounds: urotensin I, urotensin II, urotensin III, and urotensin IV.

Peptide Hormones Medical Definitions and Terms

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