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)

To extend the knowledge on the central effects of cytokines, we studied the effects of tumor necrosis factor alpha and interleukin-1 alpha on nociceptive thresholds and spontaneous locomotor activity in rats. After central administration, both tumor necrosis factor alpha and interleukin-1 alpha significantly (P < 0.001) increase the nociceptive thresholds as measured by the hot-plate test. Tumor necrosis factor alpha, but not interleukin-1 alpha decreases spontaneous locomotor activity evaluated by the Animex test. The increase in nociceptive thresholds induced by tumor necrosis factor alpha or interleukin-1 alpha is not affected by the opiate receptor antagonist naloxone, or antisera against the endogenous opioids beta-endorphin, met-enkephalin or dynorphin. The analgesic effect of tumor necrosis factor alpha is completely antagonized by anti-IL-1 antibodies. Moreover, the cyclooxygenase inhibitor indomethacin does not antagonize the increase of nociceptive thresholds induced by either cytokine.
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PMID:Central effects of tumor necrosis factor alpha and interleukin-1 alpha on nociceptive thresholds and spontaneous locomotor activity. 130 May 7

During long-term interferon alpha-2b (IFN) therapy of Philadelphia chromosome-positive chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) patients, short-term effects of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF) on peripheral leukocyte counts, as well as cortisol and corticotropin (ACTH) release were studied. TNF (40-160 micrograms/m2) was given as a 2-h infusion on 5 consecutive days every 3 weeks, in addition to s.c. daily IFN injections (4 mio U/m2), to four (two male/two female) patients, who had been treated for more than 8 months with IFN and additionally for 0-7 months with TNF. Leukocyte counts, cortisol, and ACTH were determined at 30-min intervals between 4 p.m. and midnight. Profiles were determined the day before and on day 1 of TNF therapy. Leukocyte numbers decreased 30 min after start of TNF administration and increased 30-60 min later with a rebound until the next TNF application. The increase of leukocyte counts was due mostly to neutrophil granulocytes. ACTH levels increased 30 min, cortisol 60 min, and leukocyte counts 90 min after start of TNF infusion. Metopirone, an inhibitor of cortisol synthesis given to one patient, suppressed the TNF-induced stimulation of cortisol secretion and subsequent increase of leukocyte counts, while ACTH blood levels were enhanced. It was concluded that leukocyte count increases after TNF/IFN administration might be related to TNF-evoked cortisol secretion.
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PMID:Relation between leukocyte counts and cortisol secretion in CML patients undergoing combined TNF alpha/IFN alpha therapy. 132 78

Sepsis and its sequelae (sepsis syndrome and septic shock) are increasingly common and are still potentially lethal diagnoses. Many mediators of the pathogenesis of sepsis have recently been described. These include tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF alpha), interleukins, platelet activating factor, leukotrienes, thromboxane A2, and activators of the complement cascade. Neutrophil and platelet activation may also play a role. Other agents that may participate in the sepsis cascade include adhesion molecules, kinins, thrombin, myocardial depressant substance, beta-endorphin, and heat shock proteins. Endothelium-derived relaxing factor and endothelin-1 are released from the endothelium and seem to exert a regulatory effect, counterbalancing each other. A central mediator of sepsis does not seem to exist, although TNF alpha has been commonly proposed for this role. Animal studies are difficult to extrapolate to the clinical setting because of cross-species differences and variations in experimental design. Rather than being caused by any single pathogenic mechanism, it is more likely that sepsis is related to the state of activation of the target cell, the nearby presence of other mediators, and the ability of the target cell to release other mediators. Also important is the downregulation or negative feedback of these mediators or the generation of natural inflammation inhibitors, such as interleukin-4 and interleukin-8. Endothelial damage in sepsis probably results from persistent and repetitive inflammatory insults. Eventually, these insults produce sufficient damage that downregulation can no longer occur; this leads to a state of metabolic anarchy in which the body can no longer control its own inflammatory response.
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PMID:The pathogenesis of sepsis. 187 94

The effect of an endogenous opiate, beta-endorphin, on the replication of HIV was investigated in brain perivascular microglia. Beta-endorphin enhanced the synthesis of p-24 antigen and transactivation of HIV promoter. Dialysed culture supernatants of endorphin-treated microglia re-activated latent HIV infection. These culture supernatants showed elevated levels of interleukin-1 beta, IL-6 and tumor necrosis factor alpha. Sub-optimal concentration of beta-endorphin potentiated GP-120-induced synthesis of these cytokines. Nalaxone reversed beta-endorphin-induced, but not GP-120-induced, cytokine production and enhanced HIV replication. These results suggest that endogenous opiates may contribute to the progression of AIDS dementia complex.
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PMID:beta-Endorphin enhances the replication of neurotropic human immunodeficiency virus in fetal perivascular microglia. 756 19

We analyzed the effect of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) on beta-endorphin concentrations and proopiomelanocortin mRNA in the rat anterior and neurointermediate pituitaries. The intraperitoneal injection of 5 micrograms/kg TNF-alpha decreases beta-endorphin in neurointermediate pituicytes 4, 8 and 24 h after the treatment without affecting proopiomelanocortin (POMC) RNA. In contrast, in the anterior pituitary 4 h after the injection of the cytokine, POMC RNA was decreased while the peptide content was increased. These effects can be relevant to the modulation of the pituitary-adrenal axis and immune responses in conditions, such as infections, in which TNF levels are increased.
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PMID:Tumor necrosis factor alpha differentially regulates beta-endorphin concentrations and proopiomelanocortin RNA in the anterior and neurointermediate pituitary in vivo. 767 Nov 23

It has been shown previously that opioids induce antinociceptive effects at peripheral sites in the presence of inflammatory processes. Besides being elicited by local injection of opioids, such effects can also be obtained by activation of intrinsic opioid mechanisms, e.g. following stress. In the present study the possible role of cytokines in this mechanism was investigated. Unilateral inflammation of the hindpaw of rats was induced by local injection of Freund's complete adjuvant. Intraplantar injection of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF alpha) or interleukin-6 induced a dose-dependent increase in the threshold in the paw pressure test in the inflamed but not in the non-inflamed paw. This increase was prevented by local injection of naloxone and the mu-opioid receptor specific antagonist CTOP (D-Phe-Cys-Tyr-D-Trp-Arg-Thr-Pen-Thr-NH2) as well as by 3-E7, an universal opioid peptide antibody. In rats pretreated with cyclosporin A to suppress the immune system, the antinociceptive effect of TNF alpha was completely inhibited. In concert with previous studies these data indicate that the tested cytokines release opioid peptides (e.g. beta-endorphin and/or enkephalins) from immune cells of the inflamed tissue which act on opioid receptors present on sensory nerve terminals, resulting in antinociception.
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PMID:Peripheral mechanisms of opioid antinociception in inflammation: involvement of cytokines. 828 87

Activation of protein kinase-C (PKC) has been reported to modify a variety of receptor-ligand interactions, including that of tumor necrosis factor alpha with immune cells. Thus, we studied the effect of phorbol esters on the binding of beta-endorphin to naloxone-resistant receptors on the promonocyte-like U937 cell line. After incubating intact U937 cells with phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA, 100 nM) at 22 degrees C for 30 min, the specific binding of 125I-beta-endorphin was maximally reduced by approximately 40%. Only PMA (10-150 nM), and not the biologically inactive phorbol, 4 alpha-phorbol 12,13-didecanoate, caused this rapid, dose-dependent down-regulation. PMA did not interfere with the radioreceptor assay nor did it induce down-regulation when incubated with cell membrane. Scatchard analysis revealed that PMA significantly reduced both the number of receptors and Kd (10,640 receptors/cell and Kd = 2.9 +/- 0.1 nM for control vs. 4,868 receptors/cell and Kd = 1.5 +/- 0.7 nM for 150 nM PMA). The effect of PMA was abolished by preincubating cells with the inhibitors of PKC, N-(2-aminoethyl)-5 isoquinolinesulfonamide or 1-(5-isoquinolinyl-sulfonyl)-2-methylpiperazine. Down-regulation was reversible; removing 100 nM PMA from the media partially restored binding by 3 h and completely by 24 h. At 22 degrees C, internalization of 125I-beta-endorphin was not observed, and this was not altered by PMA.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:Activation of protein kinase C rapidly down-regulates naloxone-resistant receptors for beta-endorphin on U937 cells. 838 Aug 63

alpha-Melanocyte-stimulating hormone (alpha-MSH), adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH), beta-endorphin, cortisol, and the cytokines interleukin 1 beta (IL-1 beta), interleukin 6 (IL-6), and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF alpha) were measured in 80 AIDS patients (group IV CDC) and in healthy hospital personnel. The average plasma alpha-MSH was significantly greater in AIDS patients than in control subjects; no significant differences between groups were observed in the average concentrations of ACTH, cortisol, and beta-endorphin; plasma cytokines were likewise similar in the two groups. Plasma concentrations of alpha-MSH and ACTH were inversely related in AIDS patients and a similar inverse relation between alpha-MSH and IL-6 was also observed in these patients. There were positive relations among elevated circulating ACTH, cortisol, IL-6, and high fever in AIDS patients with severe concomitant disease. Plasma alpha-MSH concentrations within a specific range correlated positively with 6 month survival. Because cytokines can stimulate HIV expression in certain cell types and they are believed to have a role in disease progression in HIV-infected patients, it may be that a potent endogenous modulator of cytokine action such as alpha-MSH is crucial to survival in these patients.
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PMID:Proopiomelanocortin-derived peptides and cytokines: relations in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. 838 70

Since the first clear demonstration in the 1970s of an immunologic linkage between UV-light exposure of laboratory mice and the development of skin cancers in these animals, much progress has been achieved in our understanding of the effects of UV light on the immune system. At the cellular level, two overlapping mechanisms have been expounded to explain UVB-induced immunosuppression: (1) altered cutaneous antigen presentation due to perturbations in Langerhans' cells and/or the recruitment of macrophage-like cells into skin, and (2) the initiated or up-regulated secretion by skin cells (particularly but not limited to keratinocytes) of soluble mediators of immunosuppression (alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone, interleukin 10, tumor necrosis factor alpha). An end result common to both mechanisms is inhibition of Th1-type immunity in favor of preserved or heightened Th2-type immunity. At the molecular level, two targets of UVB radiation are the subject of intense investigation. Circumstantial evidence has accumulated to implicate a direct effect of UVB on DNA (in antigen-presenting cells and/or cytokine-producing cells) as the triggering cause of UVB-evoked immunosuppression. On the other hand, UVB-triggered changes in cell membrane molecules (epidermal growth factor receptor, intercellular adhesion molecule 1, B7) have been correlated with temporally distal UV effects, including the activation of gene transcription pathways and the down-regulation of antigen presentation independent of DNA damage.
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PMID:Basic science answers to questions in clinical contact dermatitis. 879 42

We investigated changes in the immunoendocrine system during fasting. Ten hospitalized patients aged 14-46 y with psychosomatic disorders fasted for 7 or 10 d. Blood samples were collected before and on days 3 and 7 of the 7-d fasts. When fasting continued to 10 d, an additional sample was taken on day 10. We measured blood cellularity (white blood cells and total lymphocytes), the total number and percentage of lymphocyte subsets (CD2, CD3, CD4, CD8, and CD19), natural killer (NK) cell activity, cytokines (interleukin 1 beta, interleukin 2, interleukin 6, granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor, tumor necrosis factor alpha, and interferon gamma), and soluble interleukin 2 receptors. Corticotropin, cortisol, and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS) concentrations were also determined. Although the total number of lymphocytes decreased during fasting, NK cell activity increased significantly. Plasma cortisol and DHEAS concentrations also increased significantly whereas changes in corticotropin concentrations were not significant. The total number and percentage of CD4 cells decreased significantly during fasting but no other lymphocyte subsets changed significantly. The percentage of CD4 cells was negatively correlated with cortisol concentrations during fasting. No detectable changes occurred in cytokines or soluble interleukin 2 receptors during the study. All measured immunoendocrine values that changed during fasting returned to prefasting values during the refeeding period. These findings indicate that fasting affects immune variables such as T cell subsets and NK cell activity at least in part through changes in adrenal gland-related hormones.
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PMID:Alterations in lymphocyte subsets and pituitary-adrenal gland-related hormones during fasting. 920 83


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