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)

We have previously demonstrated that beta-endorphin and morphine, when administered supraspinally, produce antinociception by activating different descending pain inhibitory systems in both rats and mice. However, the signal transduction mechanisms involved in the descending pain-inhibitory systems that are activated by beta-endorphin and morphine administered intracerebroventricularly (i.c.v.) have not been characterized. Therefore, in the present study, the effects of intrathecal (i.t.) and i.c.v. pretreatments with pertussis toxin (PTX) on antinociception induced by beta-endorphin or by morphine administered i.c.v. were studied in ICR mice. Antinociception was assessed by the tail-flick assay and by the hot-plate assay. Intrathecal pretreatment with PTX (0.5 microgram) for 6 days effectively reduced the inhibition of the tail-flick response induced by beta-endorphin (1 microgram) or by morphine (1 microgram) administered i.c.v. However, i.t. pretreatment with PTX was not effective in reducing the inhibition of the hot-plate response induced by beta-endorphin or by morphine administered i.c.v. Intracerebroventricular pretreatment with PTX (0.5 microgram) for 6 days effectively reduced the inhibition of the tail-flick and hot-plate responses induced by morphine (1 microgram), but not that induced by beta-endorphin (1 microgram), administered i.c.v. Our results suggest that there are PTX-sensitive G proteins coupled to the spinal descending pain inhibitory systems that are activated by beta-endorphin and morphine administered i.c.v. At a supraspinal level, i.c.v. morphine- but not beta-endorphin-induced antinociception is mediated by PTX-sensitive G proteins.
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PMID:Effects of intrathecal or intracerebroventricular pretreatment with pertussis toxin on antinociception induced by beta-endorphin or morphine administered intracerebroventricularly in mice. 796 10

Histamine H3 receptors have been identified in rat and guinea-pig pituitary glands and in the mouse pituitary tumor cell line, AtT-20. Histamine H3 receptor agonists are reported to stimulate adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) release from AtT-20 cells, an effect blocked by histamine H3 but not H1 or H2 receptor antagonists. To determine whether negative feedback regulation of the histamine H3 receptor-mediated effect might occur, we tested the effects of steroid treatment upon binding of the agonist [3H]N alpha-methylhistamine to AtT-20 cell membranes. Consistent with feedback regulation, steroid treatment of the cells reduced [3H]N alpha-methylhistamine binding. The effect was dose-dependent and was greatest for glucocorticoids among the steroids tested. As the duration of steroid treatment increased, the amount of [3H]N alpha-methylhistamine binding decreased, to 15% of control at 36 h. However, the effect was not specific for histamine H3 receptors. Somatostatin inhibits ACTH release from these cells and its binding was similarly reduced by steroid treatment. Because steroids have been reported to modulate levels of guanine nucleotide-binding proteins, the lack of receptor specificity could reflect an indirect effect of steroids upon agonist binding and, in fact, we show that [3H]N alpha-methylhistamine binding to these cells, like somatostatin, is pertussis toxin-sensitive. However, steroid treatment does not alter the apparent levels of pertussis toxin substrate in these cells. Whether steroid treatment affects histamine H3 receptors of these cells directly or through some more subtle effect upon the guanine nucleotide-binding proteins to which they couple, the result is a negative feedback loop that attenuates [3H]N alpha-methylhistamine binding to these cells.
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PMID:Steroid-sensitivity of agonist binding to pituitary cell line histamine H3 receptors. 808 74

The mechanism of the adrenal corticotropin hormone (ACTH)-stimulated increase in cytosolic free Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) was investigated in rat white adipocytes. ACTH at concentrations > 10 mU/ml caused a rapid and transient increase in [Ca2+]i followed by a small but sustained elevation of [Ca2+]i. A similar phenomenon was also induced by alpha-adrenergic or synthetic ACTH stimulation. The effect of norepinephrine (NE) plus ACTH on [Ca2+]i was nearly additive. Pertussis toxin completely blocked the ability of ACTH or NE to increase [Ca2+]i. NE but not ACTH caused a significant increase in inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate levels. ACTH caused a rapid and transient accumulation of [3H]arachidonic acid (AA) and a marked loss of [3H]AA from phosphatidylinositol (PI) and phosphatidylcholine (PC) 10 s after stimulation. Neither a lipoxygenase inhibitor nor a dual inhibitor of cyclooxygenase and lipoxygenase blocked the increases in [Ca2+]i and the accumulation of [3H]AA in response to ACTH. On the other hand, either pertussis toxin or phospholipase A2 inhibitor drastically blocked both parameters in response to ACTH. These results indicate that ACTH stimulates AA release from PC and PI via the activation of phospholipase A2 coupled with pertussis toxin-sensitive GTP-binding protein(s), which leads to an increase in [Ca2+]i in rat white adipocytes.
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PMID:Increase in cytosolic free Ca2+ in corticotropin-stimulated white adipocytes. 816 62

We reported previously that in homogenates of rat olfactory bulb muscarinic and opioid receptor agonists stimulate adenylyl cyclase activity. In the present study we show that carbachol (CCh) and Leu-Enkephalin act synergistically with vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) and corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH), but not with l-isoproterenol, in increasing cyclic AMP formation. The synergistic interaction consists of an increase in the maximal adenylyl cyclase activation without a significant change in the potency of each agonist. CCh also fails to affect 125I-CRH binding to olfactory bulb membranes. The synergism requires micromolar concentrations of GTP. Substitution of the stable GTP analog guanosine 5'-O-(3'-thiotriphosphate) for GTP allows the CRH stimulation, but abolishes the CCh enhancement of both basal and CRH-stimulated enzyme activities. Moreover, in vivo treatment of olfactory bulbs with pertussis toxin completely prevents the muscarinic and opioid effects. Thus, the synergistic interaction appears to result from opioid- and muscarinic-induced activation of a pertussis toxin-sensitive GTP-binding protein which may potentiate the adenylyl cyclase stimulation by the stimulatory GTP-binding protein activated by either VIP or CRH receptors.
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PMID:Synergistic interaction of muscarinic and opioid receptors with GS-linked neurotransmitter receptors to stimulate adenylyl cyclase activity of rat olfactory bulb. 824 71

The present study was undertaken to examine whether and what type of interaction occurs between a synthetic glucocorticoid, dexamethasone (DEX) and an opioid peptide, met-enkephalin (MENK) upon superoxide anion (O2-) release from human polymorphonuclear cells (PMN). MENK (10(-8) M) abolished suppressed O2- release from PMNs treated with 10(-7) M DEX. This was the case in unstimulated but not in PMNs stimulated with PMA. The effect of MENK was mediated through pertussis-toxin (PTX) sensitive G-protein and since it was abolished by H7 probably involves protein kinase C (PKC) as a second messenger system. Thus, MENK can abolish DEX induced suppression of O2- release from human PMNs possibly through the interaction of second messenger pathways.
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PMID:Met-enkephalin induced escape from dexamethasone immunosuppression. 824 57

beta-Endorphin, met-enkephalin and several mu-selective opioid agonists were shown to decrease thymidine incorporation into DNA in various neural cell cultures. We now report that the kappa-selective opioid agonists U50488, U69593 and MR2034 modulate [3H]thymidine incorporation into DNA in rat spinal cord-dorsal root ganglion co-cultures. U50488 at 10 microM increased by 60% thymidine incorporation in 6-day-old cultures. The thymidine incorporation induced by U50488 was blocked by the kappa-selective antagonist nor-binaltorphimine, as well as by pertussis toxin and LiCl. U50488 treatment stimulated phosphatidylinositol turnover by three-fold compared with untreated controls. These findings suggest that kappa-opioid agonists modulate DNA synthesis in spinal cord-dorsal root ganglion co-cultures through a mechanism which involves pertussis toxin-sensitive GTP-binding proteins, as well as activation of phosphatidylinositol turnover.
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PMID:Modulation of thymidine incorporation by kappa-opioid ligands in rat spinal cord-dorsal root ganglion co-cultures. 828 65

Corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF), the key neuropeptide in the stress cascade, has major inhibitory actions on testicular function in addition to its known antireproductive effects at the central level (inhibition of sexual behavior and LH secretion). CRF is secreted by the Leydig cells of the testis and acts through high-affinity receptors at the Leydig cell membrane as a potent negative regulator of LH action, inhibiting gonadotropin-induced cAMP generation and androgen production. CRF is also a primary stimulus of beta-endorphin secretion by the Leydig cells, which in turn exerts paracrine inhibition of FSH action in the tubular compartment of the testis through high-affinity receptors in the Sertoli cells. CRF action in the Leydig cells involves a pertussis toxin-insensitive guanyl nucleotide regulatory unit. In contrast to CRF receptors in the brain, pituitary, and other peripheral tissues, those in the Leydig cell are not coupled to Gs. The inhibitory action of CRF in the Leydig cell is exerted through protein kinase C, at the level of the catalytic subunit of adenylate cyclase. The secretion of CRF by the Leydig cell is stimulated by LH, acting via release of serotonin (5HT) and autocrine activation of 5HT2 receptors. Serotonin acts on 5HT2 receptors in the Leydig cell to stimulate CRF secretion via a pertussis toxin insensitive G-protein and presumably through activation of phosphoinositide hydrolysis. The diversity of the biochemical responses to CRF and 5HT2 receptor activation (i.e., inhibition of adenylate cyclase at the cytoplasmic aspect of the cell membrane vs. stimulation of CRF release from secretion granules) may reflect the stimulation of different protein kinase C isoenzymes. The LH-->5HT-->CRF inhibitory loop serves to continuously buffer the stimulation of androgen production by gonadotropin. 5HT, the immediate stimulus of testicular CRF secretion, is released during stress and is locally increased in the testis in pathological conditions associated with impaired testicular function (i.e., orchitis, varicocele). Also, propranolol, the beta-adrenergic antagonist frequently used in the control of blood pressure in patients with hypertension and often associated with impotence, acts via a serotonergic mechanism to stimulate CRF secretion and causes marked inhibition of LH-induced cAMP production and steroidogenesis in cultured Leydig cells. These basic studies of 5HT and CRF are relevant to the pathogenesis of testicular dysfunction and for the development of antagonist therapies to block CRF production and its local antireproductive effects.
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PMID:Corticotropin-releasing factor: an antireproductive hormone of the testis. 838 38

The alpha 2A-adrenergic receptor (alpha 2AAR), via its interaction with the pertussis toxin-sensitive Gi/G(o) class of G proteins, modulates multiple effector systems, including inhibition of adenylyl cyclase and Ca2+ channels and activation of K+ channels. Mutation of a membrane-embedded aspartate residue, highly conserved among G protein-coupled receptors, in the alpha 2AAR to asparagine (D79N alpha 2AAR) results in selective uncoupling of the receptor to K+ currents but retention of inhibition of cAMP production and of voltage-sensitive Ca2+ currents when expressed in AtT20 anterior pituitary cells in culture. It is known that attenuation of cAMP synthesis alone cannot account for alpha 2AAR suppression of stimulus-secretion coupling; thus, the D79N alpha 2AAR provides a unique tool with which to assess the relative contribution of K+ current activation and Ca2+ current suppression in mediating the cellular responses of alpha 2AAR. The wild-type alpha 2AAR suppresses basal and secretagogue-evoked adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) release in a manner indistinguishable from response to the endogenous somatostatin receptor. In contrast, the D79N alpha 2AAR does not attenuate basal ACTH release and is only partially effective in suppressing ACTH secretion evoked by the secretagogue isoproterenol. Regulation of ACTH release evoked by 8-bromo-cAMP, which bypasses receptor regulation of cAMP synthesis, suggests that attenuation of cAMP production, although not sufficient for inhibition of ACTH secretion, nevertheless participates in a functionally relevant manner. Taken together, the present findings indicate that alpha 2AAR-mediated suppression of neuropeptide secretion requires concomitant regulation of K+ and Ca2+ currents in parallel with attenuation of cAMP production.
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PMID:Genetic evidence for involvement of multiple effector systems in alpha 2A-adrenergic receptor inhibition of stimulus-secretion coupling. 870 Jan 25

We have previously demonstrated that the antinociception induced by morphine and beta-endorphin given intracerebroventricularly (i.c.v.) is mediated by the stimulation of respective mu- and epsilon-opioid receptors. The effects of i.c.v. pretreatment with pertussis toxin on the antinociception induced by morphine and beta-endorphin given i.c.v. were studied in male ICR mice. Antinociception was assessed by the tail-flick and hot-plate tests. Pretreatment with pertussis toxin (0.5 microgram) given i.c.v. 96 h earlier blocks the antinociception induced by i.c.v. administered morphine in both tail-flick and hot-plate tests. The same pretreatment did not affect the antinociception induced by i.c.v. administered beta-endorphin. Our results indicate that morphine-, but not beta-endorphin-induced antinociception is mediated by pertussis toxin sensitive G-proteins.
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PMID:Pretreatment with pertussis toxin blocks morphine- but not beta-endorphin-induced antinociception in the mouse. 878 51

This study examined the potential role of testicular opioids, a pertussis toxin (PT)-sensitive G-protein, and phosphodiesterase in mediating the inhibitory effect of immobilization stress on testicular steroidogenesis in adult rats. The experiments were initiated with enriched preparations of Leydig cells, but the stress effect was not sustained in vitro either as a result of the disruption of the morphology of the testis and/or the time required for Leydig cell isolation. Consequently, testicular fragments from control and stressed (3-hour immobilization) rats were used in these experiments. When fragments from stressed rats were incubated for 2 hours in the absence and presence of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) (0.1,1, or 10 mlU), testosterone (T) production in response to 1 and 10 mlU hCG was lower (P < 0.05 and 0.01, respectively) than that from control fragments. Basal T secretion did not differ between stressed and control fragments. Naloxone (1, 10, or 100 mu M), did not alter basal or hCG-stimulated T secretion from control fragments, but it normalized the T response to hCG from stressed fragments. Control fragments also showed a reduced T response (P < 0.05) to hCG in the presence of beta-endorphin (beta-E; 36 nM). Incubation of control fragments with PT (30 ng) did not alter basal or hCG-stimulated T production. However, PT normalized (P < 0.01) hCG-stimulated T secretion from stressed fragments. Methylisobutylxanthine (MIX; 0.125 mM) elevated (P < 0.01) hCG-stimulated T production from control fragments, but hCG-stimulated T secretion from stressed fragments remained subnormal in the presence of the phosphodiesterase inhibitor. The data suggest that acute immobilization stress inhibits gonadotropin-induced T production in adult male rats via a mechanism involving testicular opioids and a PT sensitive G-protein. We found no evidence to suggest that a stress induced increase in the activity of phosphodiesterase was involved in this mechanism.
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PMID:Mechanism of stress-induced attenuation of the testicular response to gonadotropin: possible involvement of testicular opioids, a pertussis toxin-sensitive G-protein, and phosphodiesterase. 883 36


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