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tachykinin

Any member of a group of polypeptides, widely scattered in vertebrate and invertebrate tissues, that have in common four of the five terminal amino acids: phe-xaa-gly-leu-met-NH2; pharmacologically, they all cause hypotension in mammals, contraction of gut and bladder smooth muscle, and secretion of saliva.

Origin: G. Tachys, swift, _ kineo, to move, _ -in