American Zoologist articles

Recent articles from American Zoologist

Insulin Through the Ages: Phylogeny of a Growth Promoting and Metabolic Regulatory Hormone(1).
April 1, 2000... INTRODUCTION The discovery of insulin by Banting and Best in 1922 represented a milestone in clinical medicine but it has also contributed substantially to progress in the fields of molecular and comparative endocrinology. The importance of insulin used in the treatment of diabetes...

Molecular Evolution of Insulin in Non-Mammalian Vertebrates(1).
April 1, 2000... STRUCTURE-ACTIVITY RELATIONSHIPS Elucidation of the three-dimensional crystal structure of pig insulin by X-ray analysis (Blundell et al., 1972) provided the first insight into the conformation of the protein and the nature of the surface in the molecule that interacts with the insulin...

The Agnathan Enteropancreatic Endocrine System: Phylogenetic and Ontogenetic Histories, Structure, and Function(1).
April 1, 2000... INTRODUCTION Hagfishes and lampreys are jawless fishes with direct ancestory to a once fluorishing group of Agnatha in the Palaeozoic. Among these agnathans were the ostracoderms which fossil records suggest were among the first vertebrates. In the past, the living agnathans were...

Perspective: Research Activity of Enteropancreatic and Brain/Central Nervous System Hormones Across Invertebrates and Vertebrates(1).
April 1, 2000... INTRODUCTION Insulin, glucagon, cholecystokinin, insulin-like growth factor, neuropeptide Y and somatostatin The aim here is not to describe the sources, mechanisms of action, gene regulation or function of gastroenteropancreatic (GEP) hormones, but rather to describe the trends in...

A Tribute to Erika M. Plisetskaya: New Insights on the Function and Evolution of Gastroenteropancreatic Hormones. Introduction to the Symposium(1).
April 1, 2000... Since the discovery of the first hormone, secretin, from the gastrointestinal tract by Bayliss and Starling in 1902, our knowledge of chemical mediators produced by the gastroenteropancreatic (GEP) system has grown considerably. The emergence of each new experimental approach ushered in a...