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

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