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)

Adult adrenal chromaffin cells are being utilized for therapeutic transplantation. With the prospect of using fetal chromaffin cells in pain therapy, we studied their phenotype, proliferative power, function, and growth in vitro and in situ in order to determine the optimal time for implantation. Between 7 and 10 gestational weeks (GW), we isolated, in vitro, two types of chromaffin cells with a noradrenergic phenotype akin to that observed, in situ. Among the adherent chromaffin cells first observed in vitro, only a few samples expressed met-enkephalin, whereas almost all the neurosphere-like colonies, which appeared later, expressed it. However, neither of the two types of populations expressed an adrenergic phenotype in line with that observed in situ. At the upper limits of the voluntary abortion period authorized in France, this phenotype (12 GW) and met-enkephalin expression (13 GW) were evidenced in situ. For the first time in man, we demonstrate the secretion of noradrenaline in vitro by the two populations of cells. Consistent with this result, we also noted dopamine beta hydroxylase (DbetaH) mRNA expression in vitro and in situ within this period. These observations on the expression of these biological factors indicate that 9-10 GW would be the best stage for sampling these cells for preclinical transplantation experiments.
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PMID:Cell therapy of pain: Characterization of human fetal chromaffin cells at early adrenal medulla development. 1644 24

During blastocyst implantation, the maternal endometrial response to the invading semi-allograft has characteristics of an acute, aseptic inflammatory response. However, once implanted, the embryo suppresses this response and prevents rejection. Simultaneously, the mother's immune system prevents a graft VS. host reaction deriving from the fetal immune system. We have shown that embryonic trophoblast and maternal decidua cells, i.e., cells located in the interface between the fetal placenta and the maternal endometrium, produce corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) and express Fas ligand. CRH may play a crucial role in the implantation and the anti-rejection process that protects the fetus from the maternal immune system, primarily by killing activated T cells through the Fas-FasL interaction. In experimental animals, type 1 CRH receptor (CRH-R1) blockade by antalarmin, a specific type 1 CRH receptor antagonist, decreased implantation sites by approximately 70%. CRH is also involved in controlled trophoblast invasion, by downregulating the synthesis of the carcinoembryonic antigen-related cell adhesion molecule 1 by extravillous trophoblast cells. IN VITRO findings showed that CRH-R1 blockade by antalarmin increased trophoblast invasion by approximately 60%. Defective uterine CRH/CRH-R1 system during early pregnancy may be implicated in the pathophysiology of recurrent miscarriage, placenta accreta, and preeclampsia.
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PMID:The role of corticotropin-releasing hormone in blastocyst implantation and early fetal immunotolerance. 1757 67

Human reproduction is remarkably inefficient, with more than half of spontaneous conceptions failing to complete the first trimester. However, little is known on the molecular events that take place at the implantation site during abortion. Here, we examined the hypothesis that the expression of the proapoptotic Fas/FasL system at the implantation site is impaired in abortions. We found that, in contrast to normal pregnancy, abortive deciduas contain leukocytes that are positive for FasL and extravillous trophoblasts (EVTs), which show increased expression of Fas and increased rates of apoptosis. In addition, the neuropeptides, corticotropin-releasing hormone and urocortin, were elevated in placental material obtained from abortions. In vitro, these peptides induced the expression of FasL in decidual lymphocytes (DL) obtained from elective termination of pregnancy placentas and thus potentiated the cells' ability to induce Fas-mediated apoptosis in an EVT-based hybridoma cell line. Finally, DL from abortion sites effectively induced apoptosis of EVT without prior treatment. It is possible that these events may impede successful early placentation and thus contribute to the pathophysiology of human abortion.
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PMID:Abortion is associated with increased expression of FasL in decidual leukocytes and apoptosis of extravillous trophoblasts: a role for CRH and urocortin. 1770 18

Cushing's syndrome (CS) during pregnancy is a rare nosology with only a few cases reported in the literature. Misdiagnosis is common, as the syndrome may be easily confused with preeclampsia or gestational diabetes. CS during pregnancy is usually associated with severe maternal and fetal complications. A high degree of clinical awareness is therefore required to avoid miscarriage or premature delivery. We report an 18-year old female referred to our institution with amenorrhea and truncal obesity. Physical examination revealed cushingoid characteristics, including mild hypertension (130/100 mmHg). She was also found to be 8 weeks pregnant. A provisional diagnosis of CS was made based on plasma cortisol and adrenocorticotropin hormone (ACTH) measurements but the patient did not receive any relevant therapy. She eventually gave birth to a healthy full-term infant via vaginal delivery. A right adrenal adenoma was diagnosed post-labor and was subsequently treated with surgical resection. The patient's condition remained stable and 19 months after the adrenalectomy she gave birth to a second healthy full-term infant. Hydrocortisone (30 mg/day) was administered throughout the second gestation. Six months post-labor the treatment was discontinued after a normal hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis was ascertained.
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PMID:Cushing's syndrome in pregnancy: report of a case and review of the literature. 1772 9

Until a short time ago, the view prevailed worldwide that children were less sensitive to pain than adults, and such operations as circumcision were performed in babies without adequate anesthesia or analgesia. This view is now considered a misconception, as psychophysiological and behavioral studies show that even neonates have a well-functioning nociceptive system. Nociception generally refers to the neural and sensory aspects of pain, which do not necessarily include conscious experience. There is no discontinuity in the development of the nervous system during birth, and therefore it can be concluded that the fetus is also responsive to noxious stimuli. The question arises as to the stage of ontogeny of the human at which nociceptive behavior begins. Literature on the fetal nervous system reveals that the first signs of somatosensory system function occur at week 7 of gestation and at week 22 the synaptic connection from the nervous periphery to the somatosensory cortex is becoming established. During this period, motor behavior matures, from stereotyped reflexes to spontaneously generated complex motor patterns reminiscent of the repertory of voluntary movement. From week 22 onward the electroencephalogram (EEG) shows increasingly more varied patterns, and sleep-wake states can be discerned after week 30 of gestation. Somatosensory evoked cortial potentials have been recorded from gestational week 28 onward. Substance P, a neuropeptide associated with pain in the adult nervous system, is present in the fetal spinal cord as early as week 12 of gestation, while the antinociceptive opioid peptide enkephalin does not appear until week 24. From week 15 onward, opioid peptides such as beta-endorphin appear in the pituitary; their release becomes sensitive to environmental stimuli from about week 20 onward, which can be considered the onset of pituitary stress responses. In particular, parturition and abortion induced the release of opioid peptides. Studies of conditioned behavior show that the fetus has the ability to learn. It has been hypothesized that the fetus and neonate possess a procedural memory, which is not transferred to the language-based memory of later phases of life. Learning and memory are the most essential elements for the construct of "consciousness." Therefore, a primitive type or level of consciousness might exist in the fetus. Thus, a considerable range of sensorimotor function, including memory, develops during fetal life. Anatomical, physiological and behavioral data suggest that the nociceptive system is included in this development. Although we cannot be sure at present whether the fetus consciously experiences pain, beyond the protective nociceptive behavioral responses, anesthesia should be used for invasive procedures to protect the fetus and its nervous systems.
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PMID:[Pain in the fetus: neurobiological, psychophysiological and behavioral aspects.]. 1841 86


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