TY - JOUR TI - Insights into peptide and protein function: A convergent approach AU - Alexopoulos, C. AU - Tsikaris, V. AU - Rizou, C. AU - Panou-Pomonis, E. AU - Sakarellos-Daitsiotis, M. AU - Sakarellos, C. AU - Vlachoyiannopoulos, P.G. AU - Moutsopoulos, H.M. JO - Journal of Peptide Science PY - 2001 VL - 7 TODO - 2 SP - 63-73 PB - SN - 1075-2617, 1099-1387 TODO - 10.1002/psc.315 TODO - antidepressant agent; cholecystokinin; cholecystokinin A receptor; cholecystokinin B receptor; cholecystokinin octapeptide; cholecystokinin receptor blocking agent; cholinergic receptor; drug metabolizing enzyme; endorphin derivative; enkephalin; enzyme inhibitor; G protein coupled receptor; gamma endorphin; guanine nucleotide binding protein; leucine enkephalin; ligand; metenkephalin; morphine derivative; neuropeptide; neurotransmitter; peptidase; peptide; peptide derivative; protein; protein derivative; regulator protein; substance P; substance P antagonist; tetragastrin; unindexed drug, animal experiment; animal model; animal tissue; apoptosis; biochemistry; cell death; cell differentiation; cell division; complex formation; controlled study; cytology; drug activity; drug design; drug structure; gene control; genetic analysis; guinea pig; molecular biology; nonhuman; peptide analysis; priority journal; protein analysis; protein structure; rat; regulatory mechanism; review; structure analysis; three dimensional imaging; virus, Amino Acid Sequence; Animals; Apoptosis; Cardiovascular Diseases; Endopeptidases; Guinea Pigs; Humans; Immunosuppressive Agents; Ligands; Models, Chemical; Models, Molecular; Molecular Sequence Data; Neuropeptides; Pain; Peptides; Protein Binding; Protein Conformation; Proteins; Rats, Human immunodeficiency virus 1 TODO - From viruses to multicellular organisms, life is inseparable from the genetic instructions aimed at regulating its maintenance, division, multiplication, differentiation and death (apoptosis). Over the past 15 years, structural studies have begun to resolve the complex reactions involved in these fundamental processes in biology. The three-dimensional representations of the complexes formed with peptides and/or proteins have allowed interpretation of the biochemical data and formulation of novel hypotheses about the control and execution of these processes. Moreover, they have opened the way to rational approaches for designing compounds able to interfere with these crucial events in normal or pathological conditions. Various results obtained in our laboratory in these fields are briefly summarized in this review. Copyright © 2001 European Peptide Society and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. ER -