Localization of the SALMFamide neuropeptides in the starfish

In echinoderms, the SALMFamide neuropeptides sharing the SxL/FxFamide motif seem widespread throughout the phylum and may be important signalling molecules that mediate various physiological functions. Recent identification of S1 and its analogues, MagS3 and MagS4, along with the S2 analogue, MagS2 from the starfish $Marthasterias$ $glacialis$, indicated that SALMFamides in the class Asteroidea are more diverse than previously thought. Further, isolation of the neuropeptides from the radial nerve cord and studies on pharmacological actions of the neuropeptides on the cardiac stomach warrant studies on the tissue distributions of these peptides in both the nervous and digestive systems. In the present study, antisera raised against an S1 analogue, KYSALMFamide, and an S2 analogue, KYSGLTFamide, were used to localize the distribution patterns of the S1- and S2-like immunoreactivities (S1-IR/S2-IR) in the nervous and digestive systems of the starfish. In the nervous system, cell bodies in the ectoneural part were immunostained for both S1 and S2 peptides, while in the digestive system, the basiepithelial plexus and mucosal cell bodies were immunoreactive. These immunocytochemical data support the notion that the SALMFamides may play a neuroendocrine role in mediating feeding behaviour of the starfish. Further studies including identification of peptide binding sites and differential expression pattern of mRNAs encoding the peptides are required to elucidate their physiological functions.