Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UNIPROT:P01189 (beta-endorphin)
 21,003 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

N-Terminal (1-76) portion of proopiomelanocortin (hNT) was measured in normals, Addison's, Nelson's, Cushing's disease, and in dexamethasone suppressible hyperaldosteronism (DSH) by using a specific homologous RIA. Mean basal immunoreactive hNT level was 94.2 +/- 6 pg/ml (mean +/- SE) in normal subjects. In Cushing's disease hNT values were slightly but not significantly (121 +/- 26.5 pg/ml) higher. In patients with DSH the levels were within normal range while they were much higher in Addison's and Nelson's syndromes. A strong correlation was found between IR-hNT and ACTH in plasma of normal subjects and patients with different disorders of the pituitary-adrenal axis (r = 0.83, p less than 0.01). Corticotropin-Releasing-Hormone (CRH) test in Cushing's disease stimulated the release of both ACTH and IR-hNT, showing a slightly different pattern of secretion. Similar patterns of secretion were found for hNT and ACTH in various pituitary-adrenal abnormalities. Normal levels of hNT in DSH do not support a role of this peptide in the pathogenesis of the disorder. Measurement of hNT in plasma can provide an additional tool for the diagnosis of patients with various disorders of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis.
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PMID:Pro-gamma-MSH levels in various disorders of pituitary-adrenal axis. 215 20

In an epidemiological study, we evaluated the human amino-terminal portion (IR-hNT) of pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) as a biomarker for lung cancer by measuring it by radioimmunoassay in the plasma of 180 patients with various histological types of pulmonary carcinoma. Seventy-seven patients with other cancers or benign lung disorders were our controls. An elevated IR-hNT level was measured in 12 percent of the lung neoplasm cases (22% in small-cell carcinoma) and in only 6 percent of the controls. The mean level in the lung cancer group was also higher than in the controls (p = 0.004), while it was higher in patients with small-cell carcinoma than in those with squamous-cell and adenocarcinoma (p = 0.013 and 0.002, respectively). Otherwise, we demonstrated a correlation between IR-hNT levels and altered liver function only in patients with a lung malignancy (p varying between 0.015 and less than 0.001). Finally, survival analysis failed to show that IR-hNT has a prognostic value when measured at the onset of lung cancer. These results allow us to conclude that IR-hNT, although not very sensitive in screening for carcinoma of the lung, may indicate the presence of liver metastases in this disease.
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PMID:The role of the NH2-terminal portion of pro-opiomelanocortin as a biomarker for human lung cancer. 282 12

A male patient with corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) and adrenocorticotropin (ACTH)-producing syndrome is described. Soon after being referred to us the patient developed pneumonia, anaemia, oedema and respiratory distress, and died on the 24th day after admission. Autopsy and histology revealed that he had a rare type of multiple endocrine neoplasia (type 1 + paraganglioma) with a mediastinal paraganglioma, parathyroidal hyperplasia, pancreatic islet cell adenoma, duodenal multiple carcinoid tumours and adrenocortical nodular hyperplasia. It was not possible to examine the pituitary. The paraganglioma contained a large amount of immunoreactive (IR)-CRF (606 ng/g wet weight), IR-ACTH (59.4 ng/g wet weight), IR-human proopiomelanocortin n-terminal (1-76) peptide (hNT, 156.8 ng/g wet weight) and IR-beta-lipotropin (beta-LPH, 146.9 ng/g wet weight). The major IR-ACTH, beta-LPH and IR-hNT were eluted at ACTH-(1-39), beta-LPH and hNT marker positions, respectively. Big ACTH was not detected. IR-CRF eluted at the human CRF marker position on Sephadex G-75 chromatography and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The IR-CRF fraction from the HPLC showed CRF bioactivity which paralleled that of synthetic human CRF in monolayer cultured rat anterior pituitary cells. Our results suggest that not only ACTH but CRF produced by the paraganglioma was responsible for the patient's Cushing's syndrome.
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PMID:Multiple endocrine neoplasia with Cushing's syndrome due to paraganglioma producing corticotropin-releasing factor and adrenocorticotropin. 287 33

In metabolic clearance rate (MCR) and plasma half-time disappearance rate (t 1/2) of human N-terminal (1-76) and adrenocorticotropin(hACTH 1-39) of pro-opiomelanocortin were compared after intravenous bolus injection of both peptides simultaneously into rat. The level of immunoreactive (IR) hNT and IR-ACTH in plasma and urine samples were measured by specific and homologous radioimmunoassays (RIAs). The MCR and hNT and hACTH were 3.01 +/- 0.20 ml/min (M +/- S.D., N = 4) and 2.04 +/- 0.06 ml/min, respectively (p less than 0.05), The curve for the disappearance rate of IR-hNT was triphasic (rapid t 1/2 = 0.96 +/- 0.39 min, intermediate t 1/2 = 6.7 +/- 2.25 min, and slow t 1/2 = 74 +/- 15.8 min), while that of IR-ACTH was biphasic (rapid t 1/2 = 3.3 +/- 0.68 min, and slow t 1/2 = 41.5 +/- 3.03 min) as analyzed by the non-linear least-squares methods. Statistically significant difference (p less than 0.01) was found between IR-hNT and IR-hACTH in the rapid t 1/2 and in the slow t 1/2. Subsequent analysis of pooled plasma sample (30 min post-injection) by molecular sieve chromatography on Sephadex G-50 superfine column revealed that the majority of IR-hNT (90-95%) and IR-ACTH (60-70%) are co-chromatographed with [125I]iodo hNT and [125I]iodo ACTH respectively. Similarly, gel filtration of pooled urine sample (120 min post-injection) on Sephadex G-50 superfine revealed that 80-90% of IR-hNT and less than 50% of IR-ACTH co-eluted with [125I]iodo hNT and [125I]iodo ACTH, respectively. Smaller molecular forms of IR-hNT and IR-ACTH were definitely apparent in the urine sample. In conclusion, hNT has a larger MCR and a longer half-time disappearance rate (t 1/2) than IR-hACTH in rat plasma and it appears that hNT is more resistant to degradation by plasma and by kidney than hACTH.
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PMID:Metabolic clearance rate and half-time disappearance rate of human N-terminal and adrenocorticotropin of pro-opiomelanocortin in the rat: a comparative study. 631 44

The effects of synthetic ovine corticotropin-releasing factor (oCRF), arginine vasopressin (AVP), alpha-melanocortin (alpha MSH), and dexamethasone on the release of pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC)-related peptides were studied on a pituitary adenoma of a patient with Nelson's syndrome. CRF, at doses up to 100 ng/ml, has no effect on IR-ACTH, IR-hNT or IR-beta LPH secretion by the pituitary adenoma cells within the first week of monolayer culture. During the second week of in vitro conditions, however, the cells responded to oCRF (1-100 ng/ml) with a significant increase in all three POMC-related peptides. AVP (10 and 100 ng/ml) was effective in stimulating secretion of the three POMC-related peptides on day 6 in vitro; in addition, during the second week in culture, AVP (1 ng/ml) acted synergistically with 1-100 ng/ml of oCRF to release IR-ACTH, IR-hNT and IR-beta LPH at least 3-4 fold higher than CRF alone. alpha MSH (10 micrograms/ml) and dexamethasone (10(-6)M) did not alter the release of any of the three peptides. These results demonstrate that CRF and AVP can act synergistically on human pituitary tissue in vitro to promote the release of POMC-related peptides and also in vivo as shown by others.
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PMID:Synergistical effects of ovine corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) and arginine vasopressin (AVP) on the release of pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) related peptides by pituitary adenoma of a patient with Nelson's syndrome in vitro. 633 68