Electrophysiological activity of the C‐peptide of the Locusta insulin‐related peptide Effect on the membrane conductance of Locusta neurones in vitro

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Abstract
The C-peptide of Locusta insulin-related peptide, which is a 50 residue peptide originally isolated from the corpora cardiaca of the insect Locusta migratoria and to which we refer as 5-kDa peptide, has been synthesised chemically by the solid-phase metho, using a BOC strategy. Since this peptide contains in its sequence a potential monobasic cleavage site, we also synthesised its 1–38 residue-related fragment, named 4-kDa peptide, although we have no hints of its natural occurrence in the corpora cardiaca. Electrophysiological studies have shown that both the 5-kDa and 4-kDa peptides depolarise the membrane and increase the membrane conductance of neurones freshly isolated from the thoracic ganglia of Locusta. Under voltage-clamp conditions, the current underlying these effects was inwardly directed and could be resolved into 2 components. One component, I(5-kDa)1, activated at potentials more hyperpolarised than −50 mV, peaked at about −75 mV and was blocked by the potassium channel blockers cesium and rubidium. The second component, I(5-kDa)2 was activated at potentials more depolarised than −50 mV, increased with depolarisation and was not blocked by cesium and rubidium. The effects of the 5-kDa and 4-kDa peptides on the membrane potential and membrane conductance of Locusta neurones suggest that these peptides may have a physiological role in the central nervous system of insects