Allatostatins: a growing family of neuropeptides with structural and functional diversity

The high degree of conservation of the core sequence of the "cockroach-types" of AST and their widespread distribution suggest that they should be considered a ubiquitous family of peptides within the invertebrates, regulating a range of important physiological processes. These functional processes, by either neural or humoral routes of action, include the inhibition of endocrine function, interneuronal functions, neuromodulatory roles, myotropic and myoendocrine roles, and direct action on biosynthetic pathways. The myomodulatory function appears to be conserved through evolutionary time, whereas the JH inhibitory activity appears to be confined to specific orders. This suggests that the myomodulatory role was the more ancestral of these two particular functions. Certainly, further purification and gene cloning as a means to precursor identification and functional analysis will be a prerequisite to understanding the diverse functions of this peptide family.