Dermorphin – Research Peptide

What Dermorphin is

Dermorphin is a heptapeptide first isolated from the skin secretions of Phyllomedusa frogs native to South America. It carries a D-alanine at position two, a residue that does not appear in the standard genetic code and is installed by a post-translational isomerase rather than during synthesis — an unusual biosynthetic route that drew attention to the peptide independent of its pharmacology.

Mechanism

A high-affinity, high-selectivity agonist at the mu-opioid receptor. Reported binding studies place its potency well above morphine’s at the same receptor, which has made it a reference ligand in opioid receptor pharmacology despite its scarcity.

Where it appears in research

• Mu-opioid receptor binding and selectivity assays
• Comparative opioid potency studies
• Post-translational D-amino acid isomerisation research
• Neuropathic pain models

History

Isolated and characterised by Vittorio Erspamer and colleagues beginning in the early 1980s, with the structure reported by Montecucchi et al. in 1981. It is not produced by humans or other mammals; D-amino-acid peptides of this kind are otherwise known only from bacteria, amphibians and molluscs.