Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0403608 (ureter)
 9,655 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The occurrence, distribution and regional variation of neurones immunoreactive for the neuropeptides, vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP), neuropeptide Y (NPY), enkephalin (ENK), calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), and substance P (SP) were investigated in human ureters by indirect immunohistochemistry. In addition, immunoreactivities to tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), a marker of noradrenergic neurones and to protein gene product (PGP) 9.5, a general marker of neurones, were also studied. Neurones displaying PGP-, NPY-, VIP- and TH-like immunoreactivity (-LIR) provided a rich innervation to the smooth muscle and blood vessels of the ureter, where they formed dense muscular and perivascular nerve plexuses. In contrast, there was only a moderate to sparse innervation by SP and CGRP-LIR neurones, most of which were distributed to blood vessels and to the sub mucosal layer, and only rarely to smooth muscle bundles. No ENK-LIR was detected in this study. Nerve fibre bundle densities were estimated for each of the localized neurochemicals according to a method described. NPY-LIR nerve fibre bundles were found to account for 80% of the total nerve fibre bundles (i.e. PGP-LIR) in the ureter. On the other hand, TH-LIR and VIP-LIR nerve fibre bundles each accounted for 50% of the total ureteral innervation, whereas SP- and CGRP-LIR nerve fibre bundles each comprised 20% of the total innervation. The abundance and pattern of tissues innervated by these immunoreactive neurones is consistent with the view that some of these neuropeptide substances co-exist with other peptide substances and/or with other known neurotransmitters, such as noradrenaline or acetylcholine. A gradient of innervation was found to exist for all the neurochemicals demonstrated in the ureter, whereby the lower ureter receives a greater density of innervation than the upper ureter. This finding suggests the human ureter is primarily innervated by fibres arising from or via the lower pelvis, i.e. the pelvic plexus. It also supports the view that the lower ureter may perform an important physiological role, such as coordinating the tone of this region during bladder filling and emptying.
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PMID:Presence and regional variation in peptide-containing nerves in the human ureter. 138 11

Axons within the hypogastric nerve (HGN) provide sympathetic innervation to various tissues of the pelvic viscera (e.g. bladder, urethra, ureter, colon and sexual organs). Traditionally the HGN was considered to carry efferent impulses from the lumbar spinal cord to the periphery and afferent information from the periphery to the lumbar cord. In recent years however, there have been a number of reports of axons in the hypogastric nerve carrying impulses in directions opposite to these traditional ones. To further study this phenomenon fast blue dye was applied to the distal (or for comparison the proximal) stump of one transected hypogastric nerve and the locations of retrogradely labelled neurons determined in the spinal cord, the dorsal root ganglia (DRG), the sympathetic chain ganglia and the major pelvic ganglia (MPG). Labelled neurons were found in the spinal cord only for proximal stump dips. Labelled DRG neurons were mainly located in the L6-S1 ganglia when dye was applied to the distal stump, and mainly in the L1-L2 ganglia for proximal stump dips. The distribution profile of labelled sympathetic chain neurons was shifted caudally about one segment when the distal stump was dipped compared to the distribution obtained following a proximal stump dip. Labelled neurons were found contralateral to the dipped distal stump in all categories although in reduced numbers. More labelled neurons were found in male animals than in female animals. Fast blue in neurons in the DRGs and sympathetic chain labelled from the distal HGN reached these structures via the pelvic nerves. Labelled MPG neurons were found when the distal stump was dipped. Labelled MPG neurons were larger in the male than in the female. These fast blue labelled MPG neurons were also tested immunohistochemically for the presence of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), neuropeptide Y (NPY) and vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP). Labelled neurons which were TH+ were only found in the male; labelled neurons which were NPY+ or VIP+ were found in males and in females.
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PMID:Neurons labelled after the application of tracer to the distal stump of the transected hypogastric nerve in the rat. 176 22

Differentiation of the metanephrogenic mesenchyme is triggered by an inductive tissue interaction between an inducer tissue and the mesenchyme. It is generally believed that the epithelial ureter bud acts as an inducer during in vivo development. In response to the inductive stimulus most of the mesenchymal cells convert into epithelial cells, while a small fraction differentiates into stromal cells. In vitro, differentiation of isolated mesenchyme to epithelium can be induced by a variety of embryonic tissues, but nothing is known about the molecular nature of the inducing stimulus. In recent years, large numbers of polypeptide growth factors have been described, which in addition to proliferative effects were shown to exert effects on a variety of biological phenomena such as chemotaxis, inflammation, tissue repair, or induction of embryonic development. We therefore analyzed whether growth factors in the absence of inducer tissue can induce isolated kidney mesenchyme to differentiate into epithelium or interstitium. As expected, both growth and differentiation into epithelium were stimulated by an inducer tissue, the spinal cord. We found that none of the various growth factors tested (including epidermal growth factor, transforming growth factors alpha and beta, insulin-like growth factors I and II, fibroblast growth factor, platelet-derived growth factor, and retinoic acid) could mimick the effect of an inducer tissue, although we tested the factors over a wide concentration range. One of the tested factors, epidermal growth factor (EGF) stimulated the mesenchymal cells to become stromal cells, although it could not stimulate development into epithelium. EGF could stimulate stromal development both when the mesenchyme was cultured in isolation and when the mesenchyme was stimulated by an inducer tissue to become epithelium. The expansion of the stromal compartment in response to EGF treatment occurred at the expense of the epithelial cells, but EGF could not completely suppress the formation of epithelium. These data suggest the presence of EGF receptors in the developing kidney, but since application of soluble EGF leads to abnormal development, soluble EGF cannot be the natural ligand. We suggest that locally produced mitogens with an EGF-like structure may regulate the relative amounts of stroma (interstitium) and epithelium in the developing kidney.
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PMID:Development and growth of mouse embryonic kidney in organ culture and modulation of development by soluble growth factor. 201 31

C-erbB-2 is a human proto-oncogene which has homologies with the well known proto-oncogene c-erbB. The c-erbB-2 gene is amplified and overexpressed in some human adenocarcinomas. Its expression, in terms of RNA levels in normal human fetal kidney, lung and liver, has also been reported. In the present study, various fetal tissues from three human abortuses obtained at 9, 14 and 24 weeks of gestation, were studied immunohistologically by the ABC method and immunochemically by Western blot analysis for the distribution of c-erbB-2 gene product at the protein level. A polyclonal antibody raised in rabbit by immunization with a synthetic polypeptide corresponding to part of the predicted intracytoplasmic domain was used. Strong immunoreactivity was observed on the membrane of most of the epithelial cells examined, including transitional cells of the renal pelvis and ureter, glandular cells of the gastrointestinal tract, renal tubuli, bronchi and pancreas, and stratified epithelium of the oral cavity, trachea and esophagus in this gestational period. A much more intense reaction was observed on the basolateral sides than on the apical side of these cells. No immunoreactivity was found in the liver, adrenal gland, striated and smooth muscles, brain, endothelium or fibroblasts. Western blot analysis confirmed increased expression of the c-erbB-2 gene product in fetal kidney and intestine but not in the brain. As the protein seems to be poorly expressed in normal adult epithelial cells except for renal tubuli, the present results suggest that the protein is a membrane-associated receptor protein which controls some specific reaction of fetal epithelium.
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PMID:C-erbB-2 gene product, a membrane protein commonly expressed on human fetal epithelial cells. 247 78

Pancreatic secretory trypsin inhibitor (PSTI) levels are known to increase in some kinds of cancer. We determined the PSTI levels in patients with urothelial cancer to evaluate its usefulness as a tumor marker. The subjects were 101 patients who had bladder cancer (n = 81) or renal pelvis and ureter cancer (n = 20). Twenty-six healthy volunteers were used as controls. PSTI was measured by an RI kit using the double antibody method, and levels above 20 ng/ml were taken as positive. Serum tissue polypeptide antigen (TPA) levels were also measured in 32 cases. None of the controls, 65% of the patients with renal pelvis and ureter cancer, and 30.9% of bladder cancer had positive levels of PSTI. The positive rate for each stage was 22.3% for Tis, Taand T1, 38.5% for T2, 73.3% for T3 and 100% for T4. The rate tended to increase with the progress of tumor infiltration. All subjects with positive readings above 30 ng/ml had progressive cancer. The usefulness of PSTI as a tumor marker was similar to that of TPA. PSTI is not a specific marker of urothelial cancer, but it showed an association with the progression of cancer. Therefore, it is considered to be a useful marker to determine postoperative metastasis, recurrence, and disease progression.
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PMID:[Pancreatic secretory trypsin inhibitor in urothelial cancer]. 261 Jan 72

The patterns of colocalisation of neuropeptides, tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), and protein gene product 9.5 (PGP), were studied in nerve fibres supplying the upper and lower human ureter using a double labelling immunofluorescence technique. The majority (85%-95%) of nerve fibres within the ureter contained neuropeptide Y-like immunoreactivity (NPY-LIR), in combination with other peptides. Approximately 52%-63% of the total ureteral innervation was made up of NPY-LIR fibres also expressing TH-LIR, while 21%-42% of fibres contained NPY-LIR in combination with vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP)-LIR. These two immunochemically defined classes did not overlap, since TH- and VIP-LIR were never present within the same nerve fibre. Other minor populations of neurones included those containing calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP)-LIR in combination with substance P (SP)-LIR (4%-17%) and those without SP (5%). Rare coexistences were also noted between CGRP- and VIP-LIR (1%-2%), CGRP- and NPY-LIR (< or = 1%), and CGRP- and TH-LIR (< 1%). Regional differences in innervation were found. There were fewer of each class of nerve fibres in the upper ureter compared to the lower ureter. In addition, the proportion of VIP/NPY-LIR fibres of the total innervation was less in the upper ureter, where they were very sparse. Differences in the distribution to various tissue targets were also observed. In the lower ureter, TH/NPY-LIR fibres were localised predominantly to the outer muscle fascicles and adventitia, while VIP/NPY immunoreactive nerves supplied the submucosa and inner smooth muscle fascicles. Both of these populations were also found around blood vessels. A population of presumptive sensory fibres expressing CGRP/SP-LIR were typically present immediately beneath the urinary epithelium and around blood vessels, and only very rarely within muscle fascicles. The finding that TH/NPY- and VIP/NPY-LIR fibres innervate different layers of the ureter raises the possibility that the muscle layers of the ureter may be independently controlled.
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PMID:Patterns of neuronal colocalisation of tyrosine hydroxylase, neuropeptide Y, vasoactive intestinal polypeptide, calcitonin gene-related peptide and substance P in human ureter. 752 86

Quantitative immunohistochemistry was used to study the innervation of the ureter in adult rats pretreated with capsaicin as neonates (50 mg/kg) or as adults (100-150 mg/kg, 10-22 days prior to being killed) using antibodies against protein gene-product 9.5, neuron-specific enolase, substance P, calcitonin gene-related peptide, neuropeptide Y, dopamine-beta-hydroxylase and vasoactive intestinal polypeptide. The number of calcitonin gene-related peptide- and substance P-containing fibres was reduced in the subepithelial plexus (adult capsaicin treatment < 1%, neonatal treatment < 5% of control), the submucosa (adult treatment < 11%; neonatal treatment < 51%) and in the smooth muscle layer and adventitia (adult treatment < 11%; neonatal treatment < 58%). Fibres immunoreactive for protein gene-product 9.5, a general neuronal marker, were reduced to 11% (adult treatment) or 0.5% (neonatal treatment) in the subepithelial plexus, but unchanged in the other layers, indicating a selective regional degeneration. In the smooth muscle layer the number of neuropeptide Y- and vasoactive intestinal polypeptide-containing nerve fibres was not altered by capsaicin. The number of neuropeptide Y fibres in the subepithelial plexus, however, was significantly increased after adult treatment (174% of control). After neonatal capsaicin treatment the intensity of the neuropeptide Y immunoreactivity was increased, more neuropeptide Y-positive nerve bundles were found and immunoreactive cell bodies were observed regularly in the adventitia of the ureter. The data indicate that capsaicin produces a selective degeneration of most afferent fibres in the subepithelial plexus of the rat ureter. This loss of capsaicin-sensitive afferent nerves evokes neuroplastic changes resulting in a hyperinnervation by neuropeptide Y-immunoreactive, presumably sympathetic fibres. The results suggest a mutual regulation of the pattern and density of innervation of peripheral target tissues by sensory and sympathetic neurons.
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PMID:Capsaicin treatment induces selective sensory degeneration and increased sympathetic innervation in the rat ureter. 767 16

Tyrosine hydroxylase and neuropeptidergic innervations of the obstructed pelveoureteral junctions of four different patients were investigated by immunohistochemical methods. A dense innervation of tyrosine hydroxylase- and neuropeptide Y-nerves was found especially in the pelveoureteral junction, which was congenitally obstructed, compared to others found later (13- and 23-year old females). Also quite numerous vasoactive intestinal polypeptide-nerves were seen as well as some calcitonin gene-related peptide-, galanin- and substance P-nerves in the muscular layer of ureter. The innervation pattern of the obstructed pelveoureteral junction of the horseshoe kidney was found to be normal.
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PMID:Study of tyrosine hydroxylase and neuropeptidergic innervation of the human obstructed pelveoureteral junction in four different patients. 768 25

A systematic search for neuroendocrine (NE) cells in the urogenital organs of the pig was carried out by means of Linder's argyrophil method and immunohistochemical techniques. The occurrence, distribution and immunohistochemical character of NE cells (paraneurons) were studied in the vaginal vestibulum, vagina, uterus, oviduct, ovary, urethra, urinary bladder and ureter. In the vestibular glands paraneurons were found to be the most numerous, while a moderate number of these cells occurred in the uterine horn and in the urethra. A distinctly smaller number of paraneurons was present in the oviduct and only occasional NE cells were observed in the urinary bladder. Immunohistochemistry was performed by using the peroxidase-antiperoxidase procedure. Different subpopulations of paraneurons were distinguishable. Chromogranin A-positive paraneurons were found in the vestibular glands, uterine horns, oviducts, urethra and urinary bladder. Somatostatin positivity was observed in NE cells of the vestibular gland, uterine horn, oviduct and urethra. The subpopulation of serotonin-positive paraneurons was present in the vestibular gland and urethra. Bombesin, vasoactive intestinal polypeptide, cholecystokinin, substance P, nitric oxide synthase, beta-endorphin, insulin, adrenocorticotropic hormone, oxytocin and thyroid-stimulating hormone antibodies gave negative reactions in the studied NE cells.
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PMID:Neuroendocrine cells in the female urogenital tract of the pig, and their immunohistochemical characterization. 909 38

Pituitary adenylate cyclase activating peptide is a new member of the vasoactive intestinal polypeptide family of peptides which is present in the brain as well as neuronal elements of a number of peripheral organs. Pituitary adenylate cyclase activating peptide occurs in two forms, pituitary adenylate cyclase activating peptide-38 and the C-terminally truncated 27 amino acid form, pituitary adenylate cyclase activating peptide-27, both derived from the same precursor which in addition gives rise to a structurally-related peptide, pituitary adenylate cyclase activating peptide-related peptide. Using specific radioimmunoassays for pituitary adenylate cyclase activating peptide-38, pituitary adenylate cyclase activating peptide-27 and pituitary adenylate cyclase activating peptide-related peptide we found that all three pituitary adenylate cyclase activating peptide-precursor-derived peptides were present in tissue extracts from the ureter, the urinary bladder and the urethra. Pituitary adenylate cyclase activating peptide-38 was the dominating peptide with the highest concentration in the ureter. When extracts from the urinary bladder were fractionated by reverse phase high pressure liquid chromatography immunoreactive components corresponding to synthetic pituitary adenylate cyclase activating peptide-38, pituitary adenylate cyclase activating peptide-27 and pituitary adenylate cyclase activating peptide-related peptide were identified with the respective antisera. By immunohistochemistry, using a specific monoclonal mouse anti-pituitary adenylate cyclase activating peptide antibody, pituitary adenylate cyclase activating peptide-immunoreactivity was shown to have a widespread distribution in the rat urinary tract, localized exclusively to nerve fibres. No immunoreactive neuronal cell bodies were observed in any of the tissues. Pituitary adenylate cyclase activating peptide was shown to be located in varicose nerve fibres associated with blood vessels and smooth muscle. The majority of pituitary adenylate cyclase activating peptide-positive nerve fibres and bundles were, however, present in subepithelial plexuses from which delicate varicose nerve fibres entered the urothelium. Double immunostaining for pituitary adenylate cyclase activating peptide and a marker for sensory neurons, calcitonin-gene related peptide, disclosed that the two peptides were almost completely co-localized while the co-existence between pituitary adenylate cyclase activating peptide and the structurally related peptide vasoactive intestinal polypeptide, was scarce. Neonatal capsaicin-treatment caused a marked reduction in the concentration of immunoreactive pituitary adenylate cyclase activating peptide in all regions of the rat urinary tract, being most prominent in the ureter. By immunohistochemistry it was shown that the sensory neurotoxin caused a reduction in the number and intensity of pituitary adenylate cyclase activating peptide-immunoreactive nerve fibres in all organs of the urinary tract which was most prominent in the epithelial and subepithelial layers. Identical changes were observed for the calcitonin-gene related peptide-containing nerve fibres, while vasoactive intestinal polypeptide-positive nerve fibres were unaffected by capsaicin-treatment. In conclusion pituitary adenylate cyclase activating peptide is present in the rat urinary tract mainly in the form of pituitary adenylate cyclase activating peptide-38. Immunoreactive nerve fibres were associated with the epithelium, blood vessels and smooth musculature. Pituitary adenylate cyclase activating peptide was almost completely co-localized with calcitonin-gene related peptide and by neonatal capsaicin treatment the two peptides were identically affected. The findings suggest that pituitary adenylate cyclase activating peptide is a sensory neurotransmitter in the rat urinary tract.
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PMID:Pituitary adenylate cyclase activating polypeptide immunoreactivity in capsaicin-sensitive nerve fibres supplying the rat urinary tract. 950 64


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