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Query: UNIPROT:P01189 (beta-endorphin)
 21,003 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Addition of rat or human high density lipoproteins (HDL) or human low density lipoproteins (LDL) to rat adrenocortical cells in vitro was found to enhance steroid production and increase cell cholesterol content. These effects of HDL were not observed in cultured mouse Y-1 adrenal cells, suggesting that rat adrenal cells possess a specific mechanism for uptake of HDL cholesterol not found in Y-1 cells. The effects of HDL were most marked on cells previously stimulated with adrenocorticotropin (ACTH) and depleted of their endogenous cholesterol stores. Such cells were prepared either by treatment in vivo with 4-aminopyrazolopyrimidine or in vitro with ACTH (10(-7) M) in lipoprotein-poor media. Steroid production by treated cells exhibited a saturable dependence on media HDL concentration. In addition to enhancing ACTH stimulated steroid production, addition of HDL also resulted in a saturable concentration-dependent increase in cell cholesterol content. Both aminoglutethimide and cycloheximide were found to inhibit HDL-enhanced steroid production. Finally, addition of HDL to short term incubations (5 1/2 h) of ACTH-treated cells caused no change in the rate of incorporation of 14C-acetate into cholesterol or corticosterone. These results indicate that rat adrenocortical cells possess a specific, saturable, ACTH-dependent mechanism for uptake of HDL cholesterol. Moreover, cellular uptake of HDL cholesterol exceeded by at least 4-fold the amount of cholesterol associated with HDL apoprotein degraded by the cells, suggesting that utilization of HDL cholesterol does not require endocytosis and lysosomal degradation of the entire HDL particle.
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PMID:The role of high density lipoproteins in rat adrenal cholesterol metabolism and steroidogenesis. 625 90

Hypothalamic norepinephrine (NE) and dopamine content was studied in dogs with spontaneous and iatrogenic hypercortisolism and in untreated normal dogs. The concentration of NE in the hypothalamus was subnormal in 4 of 8 dogs with pituitary-dependent hyperadrenocorticism (PDH), whereas long-term administration of corticotropin or cortisone acetate did not result in low hypothalamic NE content. In dogs with hyperadrenocorticism due to adrenocortical tumor subnormal as well as normal and high hypothalamic NE levels were found. Hypothalamic as well as striatal dopamine content did not differ among groups of dogs with PDH, adrenocortical tumor, corticotropin treatment, cortisone treatment and in untreated normal dogs. The subnormal hypothalamic NE levels in dogs with PDH may be involved in the hypersecretion of ACTH found in this disease. The normal hypothalamic dopamine levels in dogs with PDH are not consistent with a dopaminergic-depletion as the cause of PDH.
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PMID:Hypothalamic catecholamine levels in dogs with spontaneous hyperadrenocorticism. 626 Nov 80

Adrenal function was assessed in dogs after intramuscular administration of a single dose of methylprednisolone acetate (MPA). Twelve dogs were test challenged with adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) and then assigned randomly to 1 of 3 groups and given MPA. Individual groups were test challenged with ACTH 2, 3, or 4 weeks later. All dogs were rechallenged 5 weeks after MPA administration. Plasma cortisol concentration was determined by radioimmunoassay. Basal plasma cortisol (time 0) was depressed on weeks 2 and 3, but not on weeks 4 and 5. Adrenal response to ACTH (increment of cortisol change) was suppressed on weeks 2, 4, and 5, but not on week 3. It was concluded that a single dose of MPA is capable of altering adrenal cortical function in dogs for at least 5 weeks.
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PMID:Adrenocortical suppression in the dog after a single dose of methylprednisolone acetate. 626 93

We have reported evidence recently for a high-affinity receptor for glucocorticoid Malignant Melanoma No. 1 hamster melanoma and suggested that tumor growth was facilitated by adrenal steroids. This report characterizes the behavior of Malignant Melanoma No. 1 following manipulation of the pituitary-adrenal axis in vivo. Bilateral adrenalectomy significantly retarded tumor growth. Hypophysectomy also significantly reduced tumor growth. Silastic implants of hydrocortisone in intact hamsters produced a dose (7 to 28 micrograms/day)-related increase in tumor growth. Implants releasing a low dose (3 micrograms/day) of dexamethasone also increased tumor growth. Chronic exposure of adrenalectomized and intact hamsters to a high dose (125 micrograms/day) of desoxycorticosterone acetate also produced a significant increase over adrenalectomized and sham-adrenalectomized controls. In contrast, chronic administration of adrenocorticotropic hormone and alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone to intact hamsters did not significantly alter melanoma growth. These observations support the suggestion that adrenocorticosteroids influence the growth of Malignant Melanoma No. 1 hamster melanoma and provide a model for studying the regulation of growth of a glucocorticoid-positive neoplasm originating outside the reticuloendothelial system.
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PMID:Biological behavior of MM1 hamster melanoma. 628 Aug 53

Rat steroidogenic tissues take up cholesterol, and it has been suggested that this process plays a regulatory role in steroid hormone synthesis. To provide evidence for this hypothesis, we carried out studies in lipoprotein-deficient rats. Lipoprotein deficiency, achieved by treating male rats with pharmacological amounts of estradiol, led to profound lowering of plasma cholesterol (8 +/- 2 versus 54 +/- 4 mg/dl) and adrenal cholesteryl ester content (113 +/- 57 versus 747 +/- 108 micrograms/organ). Basal serum corticosterone levels were decreased by 50%, and the response to adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) was totally abolished. Injection of high density lipoprotein (HDL) to estradiol-treated animals restored the response of corticosterone to ACTH. Comparable in vitro studies with adrenal cell suspensions obtained from lipoprotein-deficient rats confirmed the in vivo data. Measurement of [14C]acetate incorporation and uptake of both HDL- and low density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol in these adrenal cells showed a progressive increase with the duration of estradiol treatment, and neither of these two phenomena was altered by ACTH. These results provide in vitro and in vivo evidence for the hypothesis that normal adrenal steroidogenesis depends upon cholesterol delivery from plasma. Furthermore, under the conditions studied, ACTH does not stimulate adrenal de novo cholesterol biosynthesis nor the uptake of either HDL- or LDL-cholesterol.
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PMID:Role of exogenous cholesterol in regulation of adrenal steroidogenesis in the rat. 628 49

6 women affected by hirsutism, either of idiopathic origin or due to polycystic ovary syndrome, have been treated with cyproterone acetate and ethynyl estradiol in combined therapy using, respectively, 100 mg and 50 micrograms/day, from the 5th to the 25th day of the cycle. The adrenal function was assessed before treatment and at the end of the 4th month of therapy, evaluating the peripheral plasma concentrations of pregnenolone (delta 5P), progesterone, 17-OH-progesterone, dehydro-epiandrosterone sulfate, androstenedione, testosterone, and cortisol in basal conditions and after dexamethasone suppression and an adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) stimulation test. A group of healthy, untreated females were examined in the early follicular phase, as controls, Before therapy, the hirsute patient showed testosterone and androstenedione plasma levels, which were significantly higher than in the controls, and a significant reduction in pregnenolone response to ACTH. After 4 months of therapy with cyproterone acetate plus ethynyl estradiol, a significant decrease was found in testosterone and androstenedione plasma levels, and pregnenolone basal plasma levels, dexamethasone suppressibility, and response to ACTH were also markedly reduced, showing a significant difference versus the same patients before therapy and versus the control group. The existence of an impairment in adrenal function after cyproterone acetate plus ethynyl estradiol therapy at the given dose seems to be evident only in the case of directly ACTH-dependent adrenal enzymatic activities responsible for cholesterol cleavage to pregnenolone.
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PMID:Impaired pregnenolone secretion after combined cyproterone acetate and ethynyl estradiol therapy in hirsute patients. 628 18

A heptapeptide solution in acetate buffer (pH = 4, 150 micrograms/kg) of the amino acid sequence common to ACTH, alpha- and beta-MSH and lipotrophin, when injected intravenously into rabbits produced an increase in total lipids, cholesterol and free fatty acids after 1 h and a decrease in plasma calcium and phosphate after 2 h. No significant modification in the amount of creatinine, uric acid, urea, total proteins, CO2, Cl-, K+ or Na+ was observed.
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PMID:In-vivo hypocalcaemic, hypophosphataemic and hyperlipaemic activities in the common peptide sequence of adrenocorticotrophin, melanocyte-stimulating hormone and lipotrophin. 630 30

Thirty-two patients with various severe or selected dermatoses were chosen for treatment with cortisone acetate by mouth. The criteria for selection included refractoriness to previous therapy and absence of ascertainable contraindications. The initial dose of cortisone acetate varied between 100 and 200 mg. per day. The dose was reduced as quickly as each patient's response permitted, with the object of reaching the lowest effective dose as quickly as possible. Response of most patients to the hormone was dramatic, with abatement of symptoms within 24 hours and substantial improvement of clinical signs within 24 to 48 hours. Details of the results are tabulated. Adverse effects, possibly attributable to the hormone, were noted in five patients. In two instances, moon facies developed, one with hypertrichosis and a 20-lb. (9.1-kg.) gain in weight. However, both of these patients had received corticotropin (ACTH) prior to the cortisone. A third patient showed hyperpigmentation of the areas of skin usually exposed and not covered by clothing. Two additional patients each complained of hyperexcitability and insomnia. All these undesirable effects diminished or disappeared after the dose was reduced or administration of cortisone was discontinued. The effectiveness of this new therapeutic approach in a wide variety of skin diseases is clearly demonstrated by the excellent response noted in this series of selected cases. No other modality known to us has comparable beneficial effects. It is to be stressed, however, that the benefits generally stop soon after cortisone therapy is discontinued, unless the disease or the attack is one with spontaneous remissions. Disagreeable and sometimes dangerous effects still preclude the use of this treatment except in serious diseases and situations, and unless the patient can be kept under sufficiently close and expert surveillance.
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PMID:Centennial Paper. November 1951 (Arch Dermatol Syphilol: Cortisone acetate administered orally in dermatologic therapy by Marion B. Sulzberger, Victor H. Witten and Stanley N. Yaffe. 635 55

The existence of an alpha-MSH-like molecule in the frog brain led us to investigate the role of the pituitary gland in the maintenance of the alpha-MSH content in 3 different regions of the brain. Acetic acid extracts of hypothalamus, rhombencephalon and telencephalon were analyzed by means of a highly specific radioimmunoassay for alpha-MSH in normal, sham-operated, pituitary disconnected and hypophysectomized frogs. Transection of the pituitary stalk gave rise to a significant decrease in alpha-MSH content in the intermediate lobe of the pituitary gland (-71% after 3 days), but did not affect alpha-MSH content in the distal lobe or in the brain. Eight days after total hypophysectomy, an alpha-MSH immunoreactive compound, co-eluting with synthetic alpha-MSH on Sephadex G-25, was found in the 3 brain regions studied. Removal of the whole pituitary gland did not significantly modify alpha-MSH content in the hypothalamus and the telencephalon. A slight increase in alpha-MSH was even observed in the rhombencephalon of hypophysectomized animals. Furthermore, no modification in alpha-MSH immunoreactivity occurred in any region of hypophysectomized animals. These results demonstrate the existence of alpha-MSH-like material in the brain of Rana ridibunda and establish that brain alpha-MSH in the frog is not of pituitary origin.
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PMID:Effect of hypophysectomy and pituitary stalk transection on alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone-like immunoreactivity in the brain of the frog, Rana ridibunda Pallas. 728 56

A sensitive and simple radioreceptor assay system for measuring methionine(met)-enkephalin-like substance in human cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) was developed using a particulate fraction of rat brain as a receptor preparation and [3H]dihydromorphine as a radiolabeled ligand in the presence of 1 mM ethylenediamine tetracetate (EDTA) and 2 mM magnesium acetate. Metenkephalin-like substance was purified from CSF by the combination of Sephadex G-10 and SP-Sephadex (H+) column chromatographies to be free of sodium and large molecular weight substance such as beta-endorphin. The assays were carried out on samples obtained from normal subjects and patients with the disease of the brain or pituitary by lumbar or ventricular puncture. Mean level in samples obtained from normal subjects by lumbar puncture was 2.6 +/- 1.0 pmoles/ml.
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PMID:Radioreceptor assay of methionine-enkephalin-like substance in human cerebrospinal fluid. 742 37


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