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)

Nerve growth factor (NGF) is a protein essential for the development and maintenance of the peripheral sympathetic nervous system, causing responsive neurones to increase in size and to extend neurites. Biochemically, the selective induction of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) and dopamine beta-hydroxylase key enzymes in catecholamine biosynthesis is one of its most characteristic effects. Both the morphological and biochemical effects are modulated by glucocorticoids, suggesting a close relationship between specific effects of NGF and hormone action. NGF has been shown to induce an increase in adrenal cyclic AMP in intact but not in hypophysectomised rats, and so we have looked directly at the effect of systemic administration of NGF on the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis. We report here that NGF induced an enhanced secretion of adrenocorticotropin (ACTH) and a prolonged increase in plasma glucocorticoid concentration after intravenous (i.v.) injection. Such effects could have important implications for the biological activity of NGF.
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PMID:Stimulation of the pituitary-adrenocortical axis by nerve growth factor. 4 Nov 86

Rat adrenal gland levels of dopamine beta-hydroxylase are subject to dual control. Activation of the splanchnic nerves to the adrenal medulla by reserpine induces the synthesis of dopamine beta-hydroxylase without altering the rate of enzyme degradation. In contrast, hypophysectomy causes a decline in steady state dopamine beta-hydroxylase levels by first accelerating the rate of degradation, then by slowing the rate of enzyme synthesis as well. Adrenocorticotropic hormone administration partially reversed the effect of hypophysectomy on dopamin beta-hydroxylase degradation. These findings suggest that the trans-synaptic factors controlling dopamine beta-hydroxylase induction act by a different mechanism (enzyme synthesis) than the hormonal controls regulating steady state levels (enzyme degradation). Thus, active inhibition of enzyme degradation may be an important control in maintenance of steady state enzyme levels.
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PMID:Regulation of dopamine beta-hydroxylase in rat adrenal glands. 23 42

A possible catecholaminergic regulation of hypothalamic alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (alpha-MSH) has been investigated in male rats by an in vivo approach. The hormone was measured by radioimmunoassay in three hypothalamic regions: medial basal hypothalamus, preoptic hypothalamic area and dorsolateral hypothalamus. The tyrosine hydroxylase inhibitor alpha-methyl-para-tyrosine (300mg/kg) increased the hypothalamic alpha-MSH content in medial basal hypothalamus and preoptic hypothalamic area when it was measured at 22:00 h. Diethyldithiocarbamate (600mg/kg), which inhibits dopamine beta-hydroxylase, as well as 2-3-dichloromethylbenzylamide (25mg/kg), which acts on the phenylethanolamine-NCH3 transferase also increased the alpha-MSH content in the above mentioned discrete areas. The alpha-adrenoceptor antagonist phenoxybenzamine (15mg/kg), as well as the alpha 1-adrenoceptor antagonist prazosin (1.0mg/kg), also increased the hypothalamic alpha-MSH content in medial basal hypothalamus and preoptic hypothalamic area. None of these agents modified alpha-MSH content in dorsolateral hypothalamus. Haloperidol (1.2mg/kg), a dopaminergic receptor antagonist, propranolol (6.0mg/kg) and yohimbine (10mg/kg) (non selective beta- and alpha 2-adrenergic antagonist drugs respectively) had no effect on the alpha-MSH in any of the hypothalamic areas studied. These results indicate that the catecholaminergic system is involved in the control of proopiomelanocortin derived hypothalamic alpha-MSH through an alpha 1-adrenoreceptor. The data suggest that the control mechanism in the two alpha-MSH hypothalamic pools are different.
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PMID:Evidence for catecholaminergic control of alpha-melanotropin (alpha-MSH) content in hypothalamic areas. 136 45

Specimens of the sigmoid colon were obtained from male and female patients (n = 11) with carcinoma of the colon or rectum and studied immunohistochemically for vasoactive intestinal polypeptide-, somatostatin-, substance P-, neuropeptide Y-, calcitonin gene-related peptide-, met- and leu-enkephalin-, 5-hydroxytryptamine-, and dopamine beta-hydroxylase-containing nerves. In the subdivisions of the submucous plexus (namely, Schabadasch's, Meissner's, and the intermediate plexuses), substance P- and vasoactive intestinal polypeptide-immunoreactive nerve fibers were the most numerous, and equal densities of these nerves were found in all three layers. In contrast, few neuropeptide Y-, met-enkephalin-, leu-enkephalin-, calcitonin gene-related peptide-, somatostatin-, 5-hydroxytryptamine-, and dopamine beta-hydroxylase-immunoreactive nerves were found in these regions. The nerve cell bodies of the submucous plexus contained vasoactive intestinal polypeptide, substance P, leu-enkephalin, somatostatin, and 5-hydroxytryptamine but not neuropeptide Y, met-enkephalin, calcitonin gene-related peptide, and dopamine beta-hydroxylase. Vasoactive intestinal polypeptide-containing nerve cell bodies were found in all three subdivisions. Substance P-, leu-enkephalin-, and somatostatin-immunoreactive nerve cell bodies were found in Schabadasch's plexus and the intermediate region of the submucous plexus, but they were absent from Meissner's plexus; 5-hydroxytryptamine-containing nerve cell bodies were only observed in Schabadasch's plexus. The possible function of the neuropeptide-, dopamine beta-hydroxylase-, and 5-hydroxytryptamine-containing neurons in the different layers of the submucous plexus is discussed.
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PMID:Peptide-containing neurons in different regions of the submucous plexus of human sigmoid colon. 848 77

Different regions of the prostate gland, namely prostatic capsule, peripheral prostate and central prostate (subdivided into proximal (near the bladder neck), distal (near the verumontanum) and midway between these areas) were obtained from 32 obstructed (stable obstructed, n = 8; unstable obstructed, n = 13; acute retention, n = 11) and five control patients. The innervation of these tissues was studied both histochemically to localise acetylcholinesterase activity and immunohistochemically for dopamine-beta-hydroxylase, 5-hydroxytryptamine, vasoactive intestinal polypeptide, neuropeptide Y, leu- and met-enkephalin, calcitonin gene-related peptide, substance P and somatostatin. In control patients the greatest density of nerves was found in the proximal central prostate, followed by the anterior capsule and distal central prostate, with the least density in the peripheral prostate. The greatest density of nerves were acetylcholinesterase positive and immunoreactive to neuropeptide Y followed (in decreasing order) by nerves immunoreactive to: vasoactive intestinal polypeptide and dopamine beta-hydroxylase; leu-enkephalin and 5-hydroxytryptamine; calcitonin gene-related peptide; met-enkephalin; substance P; somatostatin. In addition a group of periacinar 5-hydroxytryptamine-immunoreactive cells and ganglia containing acetylcholinesterase, dopamine beta-hydroxylase and all of the peptides studied except somatostatin were identified. In the prostate gland from obstructed patients there was a significant reduction in the density of acetylcholinesterase-positive nerves (p less than 0.001) when compared with the controls. A similar trend was found for dopamine beta-hydroxylase, 5-hydroxytryptamine and all of the putative neuropeptides in most areas of the prostate, the most notable exceptions being in the peripheral prostate, with an increase in dopamine beta-hydroxylase- and leu-enkephalin-immunoreactive nerves in all three groups of obstructed patients an an increase in vasoactive intestinal polypeptide- and calcitonin gene-related peptide-immunoreactive nerves in those presenting in urinary retention. The functional significance of these findings is discussed.
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PMID:The innervation of the human prostate gland--the changes associated with benign enlargement. 171 53

An immunocytochemical analysis with 33 antisera was undertaken to investigate the localization of 25 different neurotransmitter-related antigens in the hypothalamic suprachiasmatic nucleus in the rat. To obtain estimates of relative densities of immunoreactive axons a stereological approach was used involving counting of intersections of immunoreactive axons with a superimposed semi-circle test grid. All neurotransmitter-related antigens found in perikarya within the suprachiasmatic nucleus, including those stained with antisera against bombesin, gastrin-releasing peptide, neurophysin, vasopressin, somatostatin, gamma-aminobutyrate, glutamate decarboxylase and vasoactive intestinal polypeptide were also found in axons within the nucleus. A greater number of these immunoreactive axons was found within the nucleus than in the adjacent anterior hypothalamus. The size of all immunoreactive axons in the suprachiasmatic nucleus was consistently small; immunoreactive axons were found ramifying widely in the nucleus, often ending with terminal boutons near perikarya immunoreactive for the same antigen. All neurotransmitter-related substances found in perikarya of the suprachiasmatic nucleus were also found in axons crossing over the midline to innervate the contralateral nucleus, providing an anatomical substrate for a high degree of communication between the paired nuclei. Axons immunoreactive for other putative transmitters including serotonin arising outside the nucleus were also found in high densities within the nucleus and crossing over the midline between the nuclei. Immunoreactivity for some transmitters was found in axons of similar densities within and outside the nucleus, including antisera against tyrosine hydroxylase; a small number of dopamine beta-hydroxylase and a few phenylethanolamine N-methyltransferase-immunoreactive axons were found in the SCN, suggesting that dopamine, norepinephrine and epinephrine may occur in a limited number of axons in the nucleus. Small numbers of axons immunoreactive with antisera raised against cholecystokinin, prolactin, substance P, thyrotropin-releasing hormone and choline acetyltransferase were found within the suprachiasmatic nucleus. Axons immunoreactive for luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone, adrenocorticotropic hormone, alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone and neurotensin were rarely found within the suprachiasmatic nucleus; axons immunoreactive for luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone, adrenocorticotropic hormone, cholecystokinin and tyrosine hydroxylase were found in both horizontal and coronal sections in the area between the left and right suprachiasmatic nuclei.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
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PMID:Neurotransmitters of the hypothalamic suprachiasmatic nucleus: immunocytochemical analysis of 25 neuronal antigens. 241 88

The medial preoptic nucleus (MPN) is a sexually dimorphic complex with three major subdivisions. The cell-dense central (MPNc) and medial (MPNm) subdivisions are larger in male rats, while the cell-sparse lateral subdivision (MPNl) occupies a majority of the nucleus in females. In the present study we evaluated the distribution of possible monoaminergic and peptidergic cells and fibers within the MPN, as well as in adjacent regions of the medial preoptic area of the adult male rat. For this, we used an indirect immunohistochemical method with antisera to serotonin (5HT), dopamine beta-hydroxylase (DBH), tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), neuropeptide Y (NPY), cholecystokinin (CCK), vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP), substance P (SP), neurotensin (NT), corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF), luteotropin-releasing hormone (LRH), somatostatin (SS), thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH), oxytocin (OXY), vasopressin (VAS), adrenocorticotropic hormone (1-24; ACTH), alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (alpha-MSH), leucine-enkephalin (L-ENK), and calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP). The results suggest that cell bodies and/or fibers crossreacting with all of these putative neurotransmitters are differentially distributed within the MPN. Within the MPNm, the densest plexuses of fibers were stained with antisera to SP and NPY, while moderate densities of fibers were stained with anti-DBH, SS, CCK, CGRP, ACTH, and alpha-MSH, and only a few fibers were stained with anti-5HT, TH, NT, VAS, and L-ENK. Moderate numbers of SP- and L-ENK-immunoreactive cell bodies, and a few SS-, NT-, CRF-, and TRH-stained cell bodies were also found within the MPNm. The MPNc contained a dense plexus of CCK-immunoreactive fibers, as well as a few CRF-immunoreactive fibers. Both fiber types were localized almost exclusively to this subdivision, while most of the others studied here appeared to avoid it selectively. This suggests that there are relatively few inputs to the MPNc, and that they tend to avoid other parts of the nucleus, although moderate densities of DBH- and NPY-immunoreactive fibers were found in both the MPNm and MPNc. The MPNc contained several CCK-immunoreactive cell bodies as well as a moderate number of TRH-stained cell bodies. Both cell types were nearly completely localized to the MPNc. The major inputs to the MPNl studied here appear to be stained with antisera to 5HT and L-ENK, although moderate numbers of NT- and CRF- immunoreactive fibers were also found in this part of the nucleus.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
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PMID:Neurotransmitter specificity of cells and fibers in the medial preoptic nucleus: an immunohistochemical study in the rat. 242 28

The anteroventral periventricular nucleus (AVPv), which lies in the periventricular zone of the preoptic region, is critical for normal phasic gonadotropin secretion since lesions of this nucleus abolish the progesterone-induced surge of luteinizing hormone secretion from the anterior pituitary, block ovulation, and induce persistent vaginal estrus in female rats. However, very little is known about the neurotransmitter-specific pathways associated with this nucleus. In the present study we evaluated the distribution of biochemically specific cells and fibers within the AVPv and adjacent regions by using an indirect immunohistochemical method with antisera to serotonin (5-HT), dopamine beta-hydroxylase (DBH), tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), neuropeptide Y (NPY), cholecystokinin-8 (CCK), vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP), substance P (SP), neurotensin (NT), corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF), luteotropin-releasing hormone (LRH), somatostatin (SS), thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH), oxytocin (OXY), vasopressin (VAS), adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH1-24), alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (alpha-MSH), leucine-enkephalin (L-ENK), and calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP). Our findings indicate that both cells and fibers containing these putative neurotransmitters are differentially distributed in and around the AVPv in accordance with the cytoarchitectonic organization of this part of the preoptic region. The AVPv itself appears to receive strong inputs from SP-, VAS-, CCK-, and SS-containing pathways, whereas the highest densities of L-ENK-, NT-, 5-HT-, NPY-, and DBH-immunoreactive fibers were found in the cell-sparse zone just lateral to the AVPv. The suprachiasmatic preoptic nucleus (PSCh), a small group of cells located ventral to the AVPv just dorsal to the optic chiasm, contained high densities of alpha-MSH- and ACTH-immunoreactive fibers, as well as substantial numbers of fibers containing catecholamines or NPY. In contrast, a dense plexus of VAS-stained fibers was distributed fairly evenly throughout the AVPv and PSCh. Numerous L-ENK-immunoreactive cell bodies, and moderate numbers of CCK-, NT-, and CRF-stained cell bodies were found in the AVPv. The PSCh contained many TH-stained cells (presumably dopaminergic), in addition to a moderate number of CCK-containing cell bodies, while a high density of NT- and CRF-stained cells were found in the cell-sparse zone lateral to the AVPv, in addition to several CCK-, SP-, VIP-, and TH-containing cells.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
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PMID:The distribution of neurotransmitter-specific cells and fibers in the anteroventral periventricular nucleus: implications for the control of gonadotropin secretion in the rat. 288 Jun 34

Previous studies of the cholinergic sympathetic innervation of rat sweat glands provide evidence for a change in neurotransmitter phenotype from noradrenergic to cholinergic during development. To define further the developmental history of cholinergic sympathetic neurons, we have used immunocytochemical techniques to examine developing and mature sweat gland innervation for the presence of the catecholamine synthetic enzymes tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) and dopamine beta-hydroxylase (DBH) and for two neuropeptides present in the mature cholinergic innervation, vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) and calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP). In 7-day old animals, intensely TH- and DBH-immunoreactive axons were closely associated with the forming glands. The intensity of both the TH and DBH immunofluorescence decreased as the glands and their innervation developed. Neither TH-IR nor DBH-IR disappeared entirely; faint immunoreactivity for both enzymes was reproducibly detected in mature animals. In contrast to noradrenergic properties, the expression of peptide immunoreactivities appeared relatively late. No VIP-IR or CGRP-IR was detectable in the sweat gland innervation at 4 or 7 days. In some glands VIP-IR first appeared in axons at 10 days, and was evident in all glands by 14 days. CGRP-IR was detectable only after 14 days. In addition to VIP-IR and CGRP-IR, we examined the sweat gland innervation for several neuropeptides which have been described in noradrenergic sympathetic neurons including neuropeptide Y, somatostatin, substance P, and leu- and met-enkephalin; these peptides were not evident in either developing or mature sweat gland axons. Our observations provide further evidence for the early expression and subsequent modulation of noradrenergic properties in a population of cholinergic sympathetic neurons in vivo. In addition, the asynchronous appearance during development of the two neuropeptide immunoreactivities raises the possibility that the expression of peptide phenotypes may be controlled independently.
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PMID:Evidence for neurotransmitter plasticity in vivo. II. Immunocytochemical studies of rat sweat gland innervation during development. 289 56

Epinephrine (E) and norepinephrine (NE) levels were measured simultaneously in the adrenal veins of 6 patients before and after stimulation with 0.25 mg beta 1-24 ACTH. In 1 patient with Cushing's syndrome, E and NE were also measured before and 30 min after dexamethasone. There was a significant increase in NE and E secretion (p less than 0.002) from both adrenal glands after ACTH stimulation. In the patient with Cushing's syndrome, there was also a slight increase in plasma E levels after dexamethasone. It is postulated that ACTH stimulated NE and E secretion by augmenting blood flow through the adrenals and by induction of tyrosine hydroxylase and dopamine beta-hydroxylase, although a direct effect of ACTH on NE and E secretion cannot be excluded. It is also possible that the increase in adrenal catecholamine secretion after ACTH may be due to ACTH augmentation of catecholamine secretion by endogenous opioids such as beta-endorphin.
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PMID:ACTH stimulation of adrenal epinephrine and norepinephrine release. 300 Sep 12


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