Lovejoy David A, Jahan Salma
Department of Zoology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ont., Canada L4A 1K6.
Gen Comp Endocrinol. 2006 Mar;146(1):1-8. doi: 10.1016/j.ygcen.2005.11.019. Epub 2006 Feb 10.
The corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) family of peptides consists of four distinct paralogs found on separate chromosomes in vertebrates. Among invertebrates, the family has been relatively well characterized in the insects where at least 2 or 3 paralogs, a CRF-binding protein ortholog and a CRF receptor variant have been found. The conservation of structure and function of this system in insects imply that the CRF system evolved in ancestral species well before the Precambrian explosion. The CRF family peptides association with diuresis and feeding may have developed early in its evolution. However, CRF's role in the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis and regulation of the glucocorticoids in association with energy metabolism appears to have developed in the chordate lineage.
促肾上腺皮质激素释放因子（CRF）肽家族由在脊椎动物不同染色体上发现的四种不同的旁系同源物组成。在无脊椎动物中，该家族在昆虫中得到了相对较好的表征，在昆虫中发现了至少2种或3种旁系同源物、一种CRF结合蛋白直系同源物和一种CRF受体变体。该系统在昆虫中的结构和功能保守性表明，CRF系统在寒武纪爆炸之前的祖先物种中就已经进化。CRF家族肽与利尿和摄食的关联可能在其进化早期就已形成。然而，CRF在下丘脑-垂体-肾上腺轴中的作用以及与能量代谢相关的糖皮质激素调节似乎是在脊索动物谱系中发展起来的。
