Synthesized peptide derived from the Internal region of human Urotensin II.
Alternative Synonym:
UII, U-II, UCN2, PRO1068
This gene encodes a mature peptide that is an active cyclic heptapeptide absolutely conserved from lamprey to human. The active peptide acts as a vasoconstrictor and is expressed only in brain tissue. Despite the gene family name similarity, this gene is not homologous to urocortin, a member of the sauvagine/corticotropin-releasing factor/urotensin I family. Most of the proprotein is cleaved to make the mature peptide. Transcript variants encoding different preproprotein isoforms have been described for this gene.
