Anti-pro-Orexin Antibody, clone 3H9.3 clone 3H9.3, from mouse

Orexin (UniProt O43612; also known as Hcrt, Hypocretin) is encoded by the HCRT (also known as NRCLP1, OX, PPORX, and PPOX) gene (Gene ID 3060) in human. Orexins are highly conserved excitatory neuropeptides that serve as endogenous ligands for an orphan G-protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) and play a significant role in the regulation of food intake and sleep-wakefulness cycle. Orexin-A and -B are derived from the same precursor peptide (prepro-orexin) by proteolytic processing. They exhibit about 50% sequence identity. Orexin-A consists of 33 amino acid residues with two intra-chain disulfide bonds and orexin-B consists of a linear chain of 28 amino acids. They bind and activate two closely related GPCRs, termed OX1 and OX2 receptors. OX1 appears to be selective for orexin-A, whereas OX2 is a nonselective receptor and binds both orexin-A and -B. Orexins are predominantly localized in neurons located in the lateral hypothalamic area, a region implicated in feeding behavior. However, orexin-containing neurons diffusely innervate the entire brain, including monosynaptic projections, to various regions of the cerebral cortex, limbic system, and brain stem. Deficiency of orexin is reported to be a causative factor in human narcolepsy. Ref.: Martynska, L., et al. (2005). Neuroendocrinol. Lett. 26(4):289-292