In silico identification and deorphanisation of an allatostatin C GPCR system in the cephalopod Octopus vulgaris reveals two receptors with distinct potency

Neuropeptide signalling is transversally important in all living animals as it constitutes the basis of cellular communication. The investigation of the functional roles of peptide signalling represents an important route to understanding evolution of specific physiological traits and behaviours in metazoans. Allatostatins and their cognate receptors are classically defined as invertebrate neuropeptide hormones. Among these, allatostatin C was firstly associated with insect development. However, accumulating evidence recognises the presence of allatostatin C as a conserved signalling molecule across all invertebrate lineages, with reported functions spanning from regulation of feeding and digestion to immune responses and modulation of core nociception. Here we combined in silico and experimental approaches to reveal the interacting molecular determinants of the allatostatin C signalling in the cephalopod Octopus vulgaris, a scientifically and culturally interesting invertebrate for its centralised nervous system, capable of top-down modulation of complex behaviours. This resolved a single prepropeptide encompassing allatostatin C peptide (OvAstC), whose conserved mature form (AVITACYFQAVSCY) was shown to differentially activate two identified cognate receptors (OvAstCR1 and OvAstCR2) when heterologously expressed in the recombinant system HEK293G5A. PCR analysis carried out in O. vulgaris tissues, showed a broad distribution of OvAstC and OvAstCRs. This wide expression across nervous, immune and digestive tissues is consistent with a pleiotropic role of this peptidergic system. Together, the opioid/somatostatin-related phylogenetic placement of OvAstCRs and the broad expression of OvAstC components in nervous and sensory tissues nominate this pathway as a candidate for neuromodulatory control of sensory processing, including nociception, with potential welfare relevance in cephalopods. Significance statementCephalopods represent an evolutionarily distinctive molluscan lineage that evolved a centralised nervous system capable of displaying advanced learning and behavioural complexity compared with other invertebrates. These features, speculated to allow elaboration of pain-like states, granted cephalopods inclusion as the only invertebrate taxon requiring protection under European legislations when used in research. Investigation of the neuropeptide signalling in cephalopods is currently understudied despite its crucial role in regulating broad physiological functions in organisms. This study identified for the first time a single allatostatin C peptide and two cognate receptors in Octopus vulgaris. Our characterisation of a putative endogenous allatostatin C system in octopus, the accumulating evidence of its central role in invertebrate antinociception and its evolutionary relationship with the vertebrate-exclusive analgesic opioid family, represent a critical starting point for a more in-depth analysis of the physiological role of allatostatin C in this subclass of molluscs, with important welfare implications.