Everyone knows that the mitochondria are the “powerhouse of the cell,” as we all learned in biology class. It’s not just cancer, neurodegenerative and cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and traumatic brain injury linked to mitochondrial dysregulation. It even goes so far as to generate peptides that monitor and control the organism and assist it to work properly at its best.
Humanin is one of these peptides, and we’re learning that it plays several functions in preventing illness and restoring our bodies’ natural ability to function correctly. It’s unclear, though, how this occurs.
Humanin – What Is It?
Humanin is a 24-amino acid peptide that originates from the cell’s mitochondria and appears innately. Several regions of the human body contain humanin, including the heart, blood vessels, kidney, brain, and skeletal muscles. In reality, it was the very first mitochondrial-derived peptide to be defined and secluded in 2001.
Approximately ten years ago, a patient with Alzheimer’s disease was discovered to have an sORF [small open reading frame] in the mitochondrial DNA that had not been destroyed in the occipital cortex. A workable expression screen led to the discovery of the humanin cDNA set by the Nishimoto group.
A 75 bp sORF [short open reading frame] was found in all clones that protected cells against cell death triggered by a mutant version of amyloid precursor protein (APP), a probable etiology of Alzheimer’s disease. For people with Alzheimer’s disease, “humanin” was a name given to the 24-amino acid polypeptide encoded by this sequence of genes, identical to that of the mitochondrial 16S rRNA.
To be more precise, the mtDNA [mitochondrial DNA] 16S rRNA gene encodes HN [humanin] with a 75-bp ORF structure. HN is released as a peptide comprising 24 or 21 amino acids, based on the cytoplasmic or mitochondrial translation site, accordingly, cellular stress.
Numerous studies have shown that human nitric oxide (HN) has protective effects on various cell types against stress conditions and apoptosis through modulating signaling systems, such as the JAK/STAT pathway and the BCL-2 family of proteins. In times of stress, the human body’s HN peptide acts as a cytoprotective and controls mitochondrial processes. After its protective benefits on individuals with Alzheimer’s disease, it was reclassified as a neuropeptide from its original classification as a mitochondrial peptide.
What Is The Effect Of Humanin On The Body?
Although the mechanism of action is complicated, one key component of it is here. Humanin seems to significantly impact stress-response homeostasis by normalizing the body’s metabolic reaction. Humanin has at least two receptors, one of which is the immune-modulating protein-coupled formylpeptide receptor-like-1, which reduces inflammation.
Humanin also inhibits cells’ apoptosis (the death of cells) by targeting the protein, Bax. Apoptosis is induced by the apoptosis-inducing protein Bax (Bcl2-associated X protein), present in both normal development and many disorders. There are several cells in which the Bax cytosolic protein is inactive.
Bacterial Bax protein undergoes a conformational shift in response to death stimuli, resulting in its translocation to mitochondrial membranes, where its insertion and apoptogenic proteins are released. In the cytosol, HN [humanin] inhibits Bax’s movement to the mitochondria. Reduction of HN expression by short interfering RNAs, on the other hand, makes cells more sensitive to Bax and promotes Bax translocation to membranes.
To protect mitochondria against Bax, we hypothesize that HN developed in mitochondria and was transported to the nucleus. Humanin (HN) also targets the following biomolecules:
HN may offer cytoprotection by interacting with a receptor and triggering a cascade of intracellular signals.
Amyloid-bearing neurons were protected by HN’s ability to bind and activate the Janus family of tyrosine kinases 2 signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 pathway, comprised of glycoprotein 130, ciliary neurotrophic factor receptor, and the IL-27 receptor (WSX-1). IGFBP-3 is another protein to which HN has a strong affinity. As a researcher, you can buy Humanin online and further study its potential.
