Peptide Self-Regulation of Living Systems (Facts and Hypotheses) - Shataeva L. K. 2003

Prefaces

The proposed monograph provides systematized empirical data on regulatory Peptides alongside hypotheses formulated on this basis regarding the mechanisms of their interaction at the level of living Cells and the Organism as a whole. The authors' primary objective is to trace how the individual structural and PHYSICOCHEMICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF Peptides govern their interactions with one another and with various Components of the living Cell, and how these interactions coalesce into a coordinated self-regulation system within Organs, Tissues, and the entire organism.

The authors attribute the manifestation of regulatory properties to the Specific features of peptide Hydration. The combination of Water clathrate structures surrounding hydrophobic regions and hydration shells around polar groups vividly illustrates The Unity of Structure/8.html">Molecular Dynamics between the peptide and its aqueous environment. Statistical analysis of Amino acid sequences in low-molecular-weight peptides and regulatory Proteins revealed repeating oligopeptide blocks within their structure. The hypothesis proposed by the authors suggests that these blocks form the basis for the mutual induction of regulatory activity between oligopeptides and high-molecular-weight proteins. The monograph also examines the specifics of peptide interactions with cytoplasmic membrane elements, specifically receptors and phospholipid Regions of the cell surface. It is hypothesized that not only protein receptors, but also the outer layer of the membrane—representing a complex pattern of positively and negatively charged polar groups of Phospholipids—can function as a cellular receptor. Due to their polyampholytic nature, peptides interact complementarily only with specific regions of the outer phospholipid layer. The interaction of peptides, particularly METABOLISM/31.html">Transcription factors, with the DNA double helix is another pressing issue addressed. The authors propose a model of molecular surface complementarity between DNA and regulatory peptides at promoter sites of The Double Helix. This approach helps to broaden our understanding of the Specificity of local interactions between peptide and nucleotide chains.

The monograph explores certain molecular mechanisms underlying the age-related involution of organs and tissues. The authors emphasize that age-related changes are functional rather than organic in nature, making their correction feasible. The universality of the peptide self-regulation system at the whole-organism level is combined with a narrower specificity of action at THE TISSUE LEVEL, i.e., a defined degree of tissue specificity of regulatory peptides. Research conducted at the St. Petersburg Institute of Bioregulation and Gerontology of the North-Western Branch of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences has demonstrated that endogenous regulatory peptides and nucleoprotein complexes serve as effective Pharmaceuticals for compensating and normalizing specific physiological Functions. Particular attention in the monograph is devoted to the development and application of peptide-based drugs in gerontology for the Prevention of accelerated Aging.

The authors of the monograph successfully synthesize concepts of peptides, phospholipids, and DNA established in physical chemistry, biochemistry, and molecular biology, building upon them to form a novel concept wherein regulatory peptides play a fundamental role in self-regulation. Across the entire molecular weight range—from dipeptides to high-molecular-weight proteins—peptides are unified by informational links and thus operate within a coordinated self-regulation system. At THE MOLECULAR LEVEL, the regulatory peptide system performs the exact same role that the Brain fulfills at the level of the whole organism.

A distinctive feature of the monograph is its emphasis on The Role of the Hydrogen bond system between peptides and bound water. These bonds appear to be of paramount importance in the transmission of molecular information at both the cellular and intercellular levels. The authors clearly aim to engage specialists in biophysics, physics, and elementary particle physics in addressing this problem, since the transmission of molecular information via the hydrogen bond network must rely on properties inherent to protons as elementary particles.

Academician of the RAMS I. P. Ashmarin

¹ Homeostasis refers to the maintenance and restoration of the body's internal environment in response to changes caused by external and internal influences. Homeostasis is sustained by the coordinated activity of self-regulation mechanisms at the molecular, subcellular, tissue, and systemic levels (Halperin, Lazarev, 1986).