Moore D D
Department of Molecular Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston 02114.
New Biol. 1990 Jan;2(1):100-5.
The remarkable structural unity among the different members of the nuclear hormone receptor superfamily stands in striking contrast to the diversity of the chemical structures of their ligands. Of the three currently known classes of ligands, steroids, retinoids, and thyroid hormones, the first two share a common biosynthetic pathway. Both are terpenes, which are derived by assembly of isoprene units. This biosynthetic link suggests that the receptors for three other classes of terpenoid hormones, the insect juvenile hormones and the plant hormones gibberellic acid and abscissic acid, may also be members of the superfamily. A number of putative nuclear hormone receptors that do not have known ligands have been isolated. At least some of the ligands for these orphan members of the receptor superfamily may be found on the list of biologically active terpenes. Finally, the terpenoid connection raises interesting issues for the evolution of the receptor superfamily.
核激素受体超家族不同成员之间显著的结构统一性，与它们配体化学结构的多样性形成了鲜明对比。在目前已知的三类配体——类固醇、视黄酸和甲状腺激素中，前两类具有共同的生物合成途径。两者都是萜类化合物，由异戊二烯单元组装而成。这种生物合成联系表明，另外三类萜类激素（昆虫保幼激素以及植物激素赤霉素和脱落酸）的受体也可能是该超家族的成员。已经分离出了一些没有已知配体的假定核激素受体。这些受体超家族中孤儿成员的至少一些配体，可能会在具有生物活性的萜类化合物列表中找到。最后，萜类化合物之间的联系为受体超家族的进化提出了有趣的问题。
