The QRFP-26RFa is a neuropeptide of 26 amino acids from the RFamides family (neuropeptide with an arginine and an amidated phenylalanine-motif at its C-end).The QRFP-26RFa has been discovered in 2003 in European green frog brain. 26RFa has, since then, been characterized in many species such as human, rat, and chicken. The structural analysis of the peptide exhibits an amphipathic α-helix in its central domain that plays a role in the interaction with its receptor called GPR103. The QRFP-26RFa is mainly produced in the hypothalamus and in some peripheral tissues like brainstem or the lateral horns of the spinal cord. In vivo studies in mice demonstrated that the QRFP-26RFa is an orexigenic peptide by action on the NPY/proopiomelanocortin system and by inhibition of the glucose-induced insulin secretion. QRFP-26RFa has an action on the regulation of the high fat diet and on the lipolysis in adipocyte of obese individual. In addition, some researchers study the roles of the 26RFa in sleep and blood pressure regulation. [Bertin Catalog No. A05037]
