Peptide - Balanced You

What is a Peptide?

Peptides are short chains of amino acids linked by peptide bonds. Typically, peptides contain less than 50 amino acids. Anything longer is generally referred to as a protein. Peptides serve many important biological functions.

Key Facts about Peptides

• Peptides are assembled from amino acids, the building blocks of proteins. The sequence and number of amino acids determine each peptide's structure and function.
• Peptides play crucial roles in the human body, including as signaling molecules, hormones, neurotransmitters, and growth factors. Well-known examples are insulin, oxytocin, and endorphins.
• Peptides bind to specific receptors throughout the body to trigger cellular responses and regulate biological processes like blood pressure, pain perception, and inflammation.
• Many peptides found naturally in the body can also be synthesized in the lab for research or pharmaceutical use. These include antibiotics like penicillin as well as peptides being developed as novel drugs.
• The peptide bond linking amino acids is what gives peptides their name. Proteins have many peptide bonds linking together long chains of 50 amino acids.

How do Peptides Work in the Body?

Peptides bind to specialized receptors on cell membranes in order to activate signal transduction pathways inside cells. This triggers the cell to produce new molecules like proteins or regulatory RNAs or even influence gene expression. Through these cascades, peptides exert their specific effects.

What's the Difference Between Peptides and Proteins?

The main difference lies in size. Peptides contain 2-50 amino acids, while proteins are over 50. Smaller size allows peptides to act rapidly and efficiently to alter cell function, whereas larger proteins have more structural roles. There is no distinct cutoff, though, between small proteins and very large peptides.

Examples of Peptides

Here are a few well-known peptides critical to human health:

• Glucagon helps regulate blood sugar levels
• Endorphins block pain signals
• Vasopressin controls water retention
• Oxytocin stimulates social bonding
• Angiotensin raises blood pressure

Are Peptides Safe?

Most endogenous peptides produced naturally in the human body serve normal physiological functions and pose no safety issues at normal levels. However, lab-made peptides being developed as drugs or supplements can have side-effects at high doses like any bioactive compound, so undergoing clinical trials to establish safety is crucial before they are approved for use.

I hope this overview has helped explain what peptides are on a molecular level and why they are essential for so many bodily processes!