Cholecystokinin is a peptide hormone

Peptide hormone

Peptide hormones are a class of peptides that are secreted into the blood stream and have endocrine functions in living animals.Like other proteins, peptide hormones are synthesized in cells from amino acids according to an mRNA template, which is itself synthesized from a DNA template inside the...

 of the gastrointestinal system responsible for stimulating the digestion

Digestion

Digestion is the mechanical and chemical breakdown of food into smaller components that are more easily absorbed into a blood stream, for instance. Digestion is a form of catabolism: a breakdown of large food molecules to smaller ones....

 of fat

Fat

Fats consist of a wide group of compounds that are generally soluble in organic solvents and generally insoluble in water. Chemically, fats are triglycerides, triesters of glycerol and any of several fatty acids. Fats may be either solid or liquid at room temperature, depending on their structure...

 and protein

Protein

Proteins are biochemical compounds consisting of one or more polypeptides typically folded into a globular or fibrous form, facilitating a biological function. A polypeptide is a single linear polymer chain of amino acids bonded together by peptide bonds between the carboxyl and amino groups of...

. Cholecystokinin, previously called pancreozymin, is synthesised by I-cells in the mucosal epithelium of the small intestine and secreted in the duodenum

Duodenum

The duodenum is the first section of the small intestine in most higher vertebrates, including mammals, reptiles, and birds. In fish, the divisions of the small intestine are not as clear and the terms anterior intestine or proximal intestine may be used instead of duodenum...

, the first segment of the small intestine

Small intestine

The small intestine is the part of the gastrointestinal tract following the stomach and followed by the large intestine, and is where much of the digestion and absorption of food takes place. In invertebrates such as worms, the terms "gastrointestinal tract" and "large intestine" are often used to...

, and causes the release of digestive enzyme

Enzyme

Enzymes are proteins that catalyze chemical reactions. In enzymatic reactions, the molecules at the beginning of the process, called substrates, are converted into different molecules, called products. Almost all chemical reactions in a biological cell need enzymes in order to occur at rates...

s and bile

Bile

Bile or gall is a bitter-tasting, dark green to yellowish brown fluid, produced by the liver of most vertebrates, that aids the process of digestion of lipids in the small intestine. In many species, bile is stored in the gallbladder and upon eating is discharged into the duodenum...

 from the pancreas

Pancreas

The pancreas is a gland organ in the digestive and endocrine system of vertebrates. It is both an endocrine gland producing several important hormones, including insulin, glucagon, and somatostatin, as well as a digestive organ, secreting pancreatic juice containing digestive enzymes that assist...

 and gallbladder

Gallbladder

In vertebrates the gallbladder is a small organ that aids mainly in fat digestion and concentrates bile produced by the liver. In humans the loss of the gallbladder is usually easily tolerated....

, respectively. It also acts as a hunger suppressant. Recent evidence has suggested that it also plays a major role in inducing drug tolerance to opioids like morphine

Morphine

Morphine is a potent opiate analgesic medication and is considered to be the prototypical opioid. It was first isolated in 1804 by Friedrich Sertürner, first distributed by same in 1817, and first commercially sold by Merck in 1827, which at the time was a single small chemists' shop. It was more...

 and heroin, and is partly implicated in experiences of pain hypersensitivity during opioid withdrawal

Withdrawal

Withdrawal can refer to any sort of separation, but is most commonly used to describe the group of symptoms that occurs upon the abrupt discontinuation/separation or a decrease in dosage of the intake of medications, recreational drugs, and alcohol...

.

Structure

CCK is composed of varying numbers of amino acid

Amino acid

Amino acids are molecules containing an amine group, a carboxylic acid group and a side-chain that varies between different amino acids. The key elements of an amino acid are carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen...

s depending on post-translational modification of the CCK gene product, preprocholecystokinin. Thus CCK is actually a family of hormones identified by number of amino acids, e.g., CCK58, CCK33, and CCK8. CCK58 assumes a helix-turn-helix

Helix-turn-helix

In proteins, the helix-turn-helix is a major structural motif capable of binding DNA. It is composed of two α helices joined by a short strand of amino acids and is found in many proteins that regulate gene expression...

 configuration.
Its existence was first suggested in 1905 by the British physiologist Joy Simcha Cohen.
CCK is very similar in structure to gastrin

Gastrin

In humans, gastrin is a peptide hormone that stimulates secretion of gastric acid by the parietal cells of the stomach and aids in gastric motility. It is released by G cells in the antrum of the stomach, duodenum, and the pancreas...

, another of the gastrointestinal hormone

Gastrointestinal hormone

The gastrointestinal hormones constitute a group of hormones secreted by enteroendocrine cells in the stomach, pancreas, and small intestine that control various functions of the digestive organs...

s. CCK and gastrin share the same five amino acids at their C-termini.

Functions

CCK mediates a number of physiological

Physiology

Physiology is the science of the function of living systems. This includes how organisms, organ systems, organs, cells, and bio-molecules carry out the chemical or physical functions that exist in a living system. The highest honor awarded in physiology is the Nobel Prize in Physiology or...

 processes, including digestion

Digestion

Digestion is the mechanical and chemical breakdown of food into smaller components that are more easily absorbed into a blood stream, for instance. Digestion is a form of catabolism: a breakdown of large food molecules to smaller ones....

 and satiety. It is located in the small intestine, and detects the presence of fat in the chyme. CCK then tells the stomach to slow down the speed of digestion so the small intestine can effectively digest the fats.

Digestion

Secretion of CCK by the duodenal and intestinal mucosa is stimulated by fat- or protein-rich chyme

Chyme

Chyme is the semifluid mass of partly digested food expelled by the stomach into the duodenum.Also known as chymus, it is the liquid substance found in the stomach before passing through the pyloric valve and entering the duodenum...

 entering the duodenum

Duodenum

The duodenum is the first section of the small intestine in most higher vertebrates, including mammals, reptiles, and birds. In fish, the divisions of the small intestine are not as clear and the terms anterior intestine or proximal intestine may be used instead of duodenum...

. It then inhibits gastric emptying and gastric acid

Gastric acid

Gastric acid is a digestive fluid, formed in the stomach. It has a pH of 1 to 2 and is composed of hydrochloric acid , and large quantities of potassium chloride and sodium chloride...

 secretion and mediates digestion in the duodenum. It stimulates the acinar cells

Centroacinar cells

Centroacinar cells are spindle-shaped cells in the exocrine pancreas. Centroacinar cells are an extension of the intercalated duct cells into each pancreatic acinus. The intercalated ducts take the bicarbonate to intralobular ducts which become lobular ducts...

 of the pancreas

Pancreas

The pancreas is a gland organ in the digestive and endocrine system of vertebrates. It is both an endocrine gland producing several important hormones, including insulin, glucagon, and somatostatin, as well as a digestive organ, secreting pancreatic juice containing digestive enzymes that assist...

 to release water and ions and stimulates the secretion of a juice rich in pancreatic digestive enzymes, hence the old name pancreozymin. Together these enzymes catalyze the digestion of fat, protein, and carbohydrates. Thus, as the levels of the substances that stimulated the release of CCK drop, the concentration of the hormone drops as well. The release of CCK is also inhibited by somatostatin

Somatostatin

Somatostatin is a peptide hormone that regulates the endocrine system and affects neurotransmission and cell proliferation via interaction with G-protein-coupled somatostatin receptors and inhibition of the release of numerous secondary hormones.Somatostatin...

.

CCK also causes the increased production of hepatic bile, and stimulates the contraction of the gall bladder and the relaxation of the Sphincter of Oddi

Sphincter of Oddi

The sphincter of ampulla or sphincter of Oddi is a muscular valve that controls the flow of digestive juices through the ampulla of Vater into the second part of the duodenum. It is named after Ruggero Oddi...

 (Glisson's sphincter), resulting in the delivery of bile

Bile

Bile or gall is a bitter-tasting, dark green to yellowish brown fluid, produced by the liver of most vertebrates, that aids the process of digestion of lipids in the small intestine. In many species, bile is stored in the gallbladder and upon eating is discharged into the duodenum...

 into the duodenal part of the small intestine. Bile salts form amphipathic

Amphipathic lipids

Amphipathic lipids are molecules that are mostly lipid-like in structure, but at one end have a region that is polar or ionic . The hydrophilic region is usually referred to as the head group, and the lipid portion is known as the tail. Cell membranes typically consist of three separate classes...

 micelle

Micelle

A micelle is an aggregate of surfactant molecules dispersed in a liquid colloid. A typical micelle in aqueous solution forms an aggregate with the hydrophilic "head" regions in contact with surrounding solvent, sequestering the hydrophobic single tail regions in the micelle centre. This phase is...

s that emulsify fats, aiding in their digestion and absorption.

Neurobiology

As a neuropeptide

Neuropeptide

Neuropeptides are small protein-like molecules used by neurons to communicate with each other. They are neuronal signaling molecules, influence the activity of the brain in specific ways and are thus involved in particular brain functions, like analgesia, reward, food intake, learning and...

, CCK mediates satiety by acting on the CCK receptors distributed widely throughout the central nervous system

Central nervous system

The central nervous system is the part of the nervous system that integrates the information that it receives from, and coordinates the activity of, all parts of the bodies of bilaterian animals—that is, all multicellular animals except sponges and radially symmetric animals such as jellyfish...

. In humans, it has been suggested that CCK administration causes nausea

Nausea

Nausea , is a sensation of unease and discomfort in the upper stomach with an involuntary urge to vomit. It often, but not always, precedes vomiting...

 and anxiety

Anxiety

Anxiety is a psychological and physiological state characterized by somatic, emotional, cognitive, and behavioral components. The root meaning of the word anxiety is 'to vex or trouble'; in either presence or absence of psychological stress, anxiety can create feelings of fear, worry, uneasiness,...

, and induces a satiating effect. CCK-4 is routinely used to induce anxiety in humans though certainly different forms of CCK are being shown to have highly variable effects. The mechanism for this hunger suppression is thought to be a decrease in the rate of gastric emptying.

CCK also has stimulatory effects on the vagus nerve

Vagus nerve

The vagus nerve , also called pneumogastric nerve or cranial nerve X, is the tenth of twelve paired cranial nerves...

, effects that can be inhibited by capsaicin

Capsaicin

Capsaicin 2CHCH=CH4CONHCH2C6H3-4--3- ) is the active component of chili peppers, which are plants belonging to the genus Capsicum. It is an irritant for mammals, including humans, and produces a sensation of burning in any tissue with which it comes into contact...

. The stimulatory effects of CCK oppose those of ghrelin

Ghrelin

Ghrelin is a 28 amino acid peptide and hormone that is produced mainly by P/D1 cells lining the fundus of the human stomach and epsilon cells of the pancreas that stimulates hunger. Ghrelin levels increase before meals and decrease after meals. It is considered the counterpart of the hormone...

, which has been shown to inhibit the vagus nerve. The CCK tetrapeptide fragment CCK-4

CCK-4

Cholecystokinin tetrapeptide is a peptide fragment derived from the larger peptide hormone cholecystokinin...

 (Trp

Tryptophan

Tryptophan is one of the 20 standard amino acids, as well as an essential amino acid in the human diet. It is encoded in the standard genetic code as the codon UGG...

-Met

Methionine

Methionine is an α-amino acid with the chemical formula HO2CCHCH2CH2SCH3. This essential amino acid is classified as nonpolar. This amino-acid is coded by the codon AUG, also known as the initiation codon, since it indicates mRNA's coding region where translation into protein...

-Asp-Phe

Phenylalanine

Phenylalanine is an α-amino acid with the formula C6H5CH2CHCOOH. This essential amino acid is classified as nonpolar because of the hydrophobic nature of the benzyl side chain. L-Phenylalanine is an electrically neutral amino acid, one of the twenty common amino acids used to biochemically form...

-NH₂) reliably causes anxiety when administered to humans, and is commonly used in scientific research to induce panic attack

Panic attack

Panic attacks are periods of intense fear or apprehension that are of sudden onset and of relatively brief duration. Panic attacks usually begin abruptly, reach a peak within 10 minutes, and subside over the next several hours...

s for the purpose of testing new anxiolytic

Anxiolytic

An anxiolytic is a drug used for the treatment of anxiety, and its related psychological and physical symptoms...

 drugs.

The effects of CCK vary between individuals. For example, in rat

Rat

Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents of the superfamily Muroidea. "True rats" are members of the genus Rattus, the most important of which to humans are the black rat, Rattus rattus, and the brown rat, Rattus norvegicus...

s, CCK administration significantly reduces hunger in young males, but is slightly less effective in older subjects, and even slightly less effective in females. The hunger-suppressive effects of CCK also are reduced in obese rats.

Interactions

Cholecystokinin has been shown to interact

Protein-protein interaction

Protein–protein interactions occur when two or more proteins bind together, often to carry out their biological function. Many of the most important molecular processes in the cell such as DNA replication are carried out by large molecular machines that are built from a large number of protein...

 with Cholecystokinin B receptor

Cholecystokinin B receptor

The cholecystokinin B receptor also known as CCKBR or CCK2 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the CCKBR gene.This gene encodes a G protein-coupled receptor for gastrin and cholecystokinin , regulatory peptides of the brain and gastrointestinal tract...

.

CCK has also been shown to interact with calcineurin

Calcineurin

Calcineurin is a protein phosphatase also known as protein phosphatase 3, PPP3CA, and calcium-dependent serine-threonine phosphatase, and formerly known as protein phosphatase 2B . It activates the T cells of the immune system and can be blocked by drugs...

 in the pancreas. Calcineurin will go on to activate the transcription factors NFAT

NFAT

Nuclear factor of activated T-cells is a general name applied to a family of transcription factors shown to be important in immune response. One or more members of the NFAT family is expressed in most cells of the immune system...

 1-3, which will stimulate hypertrophy

Hypertrophy

Hypertrophy is the increase in the volume of an organ or tissue due to the enlargement of its component cells. It should be distinguished from hyperplasia, in which the cells remain approximately the same size but increase in number...

 and growth of the pancreas. CCK can be stimulated by a diet high in protein, or by protease inhibitors.

Cholecystokinin has been shown to interact with orexin

Orexin

Orexins, also called hypocretins, are the common names given to a pair of excitatory neuropeptide hormones that were simultaneously discovered by two groups of researchers in rat brains....

 neurons which control appetite and wakefulness (sleep

Sleep

Sleep is a naturally recurring state characterized by reduced or absent consciousness, relatively suspended sensory activity, and inactivity of nearly all voluntary muscles. It is distinguished from quiet wakefulness by a decreased ability to react to stimuli, and is more easily reversible than...

). Cholecystokinin seems to also have other indirect effects on sleep regulation.

Cholecystokinin in the body cannot cross the blood brain barrier, but certain parts of the hypothalamus

Hypothalamus

The Hypothalamus is a portion of the brain that contains a number of small nuclei with a variety of functions...

and brainstem aren't protected by the barrier.

External links