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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Neuroglobin and Other Nerve Haemoglobins

subject

description

The nervous system of animals requires huge amounts of metabolic energy and thus oxygen. Intracellular haemoglobins sporadically occur in glial cells and neurons of various invertebrate taxa, including Annelida, Arthropoda, Echiura, Mollusca, Nematoda and Nemertea. At least some of these respiratory proteins sustain the aerobic metabolism and thus the excitability of the nervous system. Recently, we have identified neuroglobin as an oxygen-binding protein of vertebrate neurons. The physiological role of neuroglobin, which is apparently present in much lower amounts than many invertebrate nerve haemoglobins, is less well established. Phylogenetic analyses have shown that neuroglobin is orthologous to at least some of the invertebrate respiratory proteins, while other invertebrate nerve globins may have divergent evolutionary origins. Functional changes thus appear to be common in animal globin evolution. The occurrence of yet other types of intracellular globins in nervous tissue of vertebrates is functionally unexplained and requires further studies.