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)

A 7-month-old infant had the infantile spasm syndrome, consisting of flexor and extensor spasms, developmental delay, and hypsarrhythmia. Corticotropin produced delay, and hypsarrhythmia. Corticotropin produced improvement in the clinical symptoms and reverted the generalized electroencephalographic abnormalities to more focal ones. Removal of a choroid plexus papilloma of the left lateral ventricle was followed by clinical recovery. One year later the child was normal developmentally and neurologically and was seizure free on anticonvulsant therapy.
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PMID:Choroid plexus papilloma and infantile spasms. 44 63

Sex difference in the circadian rhythm of the hypothalamic content of Corticotropin-Releasing Factor (CRF) and plasma corticosterone levels was examined in the rat. In the male rat the CRF content was higher in the afternoon than in the morning. In contrast, the hypothalamic CRF content in the female rat was higher in the morning. The peak value was found at 8 a.m. and it fell rapidly around noon with a concomitant sharp rise in the plasma corticosterone. Thus, the whole pattern of CRF content during a 24-hour period makes a mirror image of that of plasma corticosterone. The influence of gonadal hormones on the sex difference was then examined by following variations in the CRF content after ovariectomy. Even after chronic ovariectomy, essential features of the female pattern of CRF rhythm persisted: rapid fall of the CRF content was accompanied by a sharp rise in the plasma corticosterone level. It is noteworthy however that ovariectomy reduced the morning level of CRF activity without elevating the afternoon level, resulting in a peak shift toward noon. The female pattern of CRF rhythmpersisted similarly after bilateral ganglionectomy which is known to affect the biogenic amine rhythm in the pineal gland. The persistence of the female pattern may suggest some endogenous nature of the rhythm. It was then possibly that sex differentiation in the central nervous system (CNS) might be related with manifestation of the female pattern. In order to elucidate this point, postnatal development of circadian rhythm of CRF activity was examined in male and female rats separately. It was found that the CRF rhythm became manifest both in male and female rats around the third week of postnatal life and there was no essential difference in their rhythm pattern. In other words, both male and female rats begin their CRF rhythm with so-called male pattern, with higher values in the afternoon than in the end of the third week of life. In contrast, the CRF rhythm in females rats showed a marked change at ages of five to six weeks during which the onset of puberty intervened in our series of experiment;during this period, the CRF rhythm in female rats turned into the so-called female pattern, with higher values of CRF activity in the morning than in the afternoon. It was of interest that a marked rise in the plasma corticosterone, characteristic of mature female rats, concomitantly appeared. Further attempt were made to examine the effect of gonadal hormones in the periratal period. The hypothalamic CRF content in androgen sterilized female rats as well as in neonatally castrated male rats showed no circadian rhythm. The results implicate subtleness of hormonal effect in simulating physiological processes. In fact, CRF rhythms are variable depending on stages of the estrous cycle: during proestrus and estrus, the CRF content was markedly higher in the morning (9 a.m.) than in the afternoon (4 p.m.). But no significant difference was observed between them during diestrus I and II...
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PMID:[Sex difference in the circadian rhythm of corticotropin-releasing activity in the rat hypothalamus (author's transl)]. 108 54

Corticotropin releasing factor (CRF) infused bilaterally into the lateral ventricles of awake, chronically cannulated, male Sprague-Dawley rats produced a dose-dependent increase in the in vitro activity of cortical and midbrain tryptophan hydroxylase after 60 min. The maximal increase in enzyme activity of 60% over that of vehicle-treated controls was reached 45 min after an infusion of 3 micrograms CRF. The increase in enzyme activity after a single dose of CRF resembled that seen after exposure of rats to an acute sound stress: it was reversed by preincubation of the enzyme preparation with alkaline phosphatase and was nonadditive with the increase in activity obtained in the presence of phosphorylating conditions. The response to intracerebroventricularly administered CRF was abolished by bilateral adrenalectomy, but restored by repeated daily systemic administration of the synthetic glucocorticoid, dexamethasone (500 micrograms/day, i.p. for 3 days), to the adrenalectomized rats. Intracerebroventricular administration of the glucocorticoid antagonist, RU 38486 (200 micrograms/day for 4 days), also blocked the acute increase in tryptophan hydroxylase activity in response to CRF. Finally, bilateral lesions to the central nucleus of the amygdala, a region involved in mediating behavioral, endocrine and autonomic responses to stressful stimuli, abolished the increase in enzyme activity in response to intraventricular CRF. The glucocorticoid sensitivity of the response to CRF, as well as the involvement of the central nucleus of the amygdala support the view that CRF may have a role in mediating the enhancement of tryptophan hydroxylase activity by acute sound stress.
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PMID:Increase in cortical and midbrain tryptophan hydroxylase activity by intracerebroventricular administration of corticotropin releasing factor: block by adrenalectomy, by RU 38486 and by bilateral lesions to the central nucleus of the amygdala. 130 22

A single intravenous injection of oxytocin into pregnant sheep (123 to 144 days' gestational age) causes a bout of myometrial activity and an increase in fetal plasma corticotropin levels. We hypothesized that a sustained increased frequency of myometrial contractures accelerates the normal increase in fetal adrenal secretion in sheep in the last 3 weeks of gestation. To test this hypothesis, pulses of saline solution (group 1, 9 ewes and 10 fetuses) or oxytocin (group 2, 11 ewes and 12 fetuses) 600 or 960 microU/kg/min for 5 of every 30 minutes were infused into the maternal jugular vein for 6 days beginning at day 128 +/- 2 (mean +/- SD) days' gestational age. Total myometrial activity increased to 160% of baseline in group 2 by day 6. Myometrial activity did not change throughout the study in group 1. Maternal plasma cortisol concentrations did not rise during oxytocin infusion when compared with their own baselines (group 2) and were not different from concentrations in saline-infused ewes (group 1). By day 4 of oxytocin administration fetal plasma cortisol concentrations had risen significantly above baseline in group 2 (p less than 0.05). Fetal plasma cortisol concentrations did not rise in group 1. Corticotropin levels were not elevated in the fetal carotid arterial plasma of either group. A small but significant decrease occurred in fetal carotid arterial PO2 in group 2 by day 6 but not in group 1. In conclusion, increased myometrial activity produced by pulsed oxytocin is accompanied by increased fetal plasma cortisol concentrations, demonstrating that long-term alteration of myometrial activity affects fetal adrenal function over several days at this critical period of gestation.
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PMID:Oxytocin given in a pulsatile manner to the ewe at 120 to 140 days' gestational age increases fetal sheep plasma cortisol. 131 Feb

The hemodynamic and metabolic effects of 11 days of sham (saline) and corticotropin injection were examined in five different strains of rats: Sprague-Dawley, spontaneously hypertensive (SHR), Wistar-Kyoto (WKY), Brattleboro, and Long Evans. Corticotropin significantly increased systolic blood pressure (SBP) compared with sham injection in all strains: final SBP in Sprague-Dawley was 108 +/- 5 mm Hg corticotropin, 94 +/- 4 mm Hg sham; SHR 146 +/- 6 mm Hg corticotropin, 141 +/- 3 mm Hg sham; WKY 117 +/- 3 mm Hg corticotropin, 103 +/- 3 mm Hg sham; Brattleboro 108 +/- 5 mm Hg corticotropin, 93 +/- 2 mm Hg sham; and Long Evans 103 +/- 5 mm Hg corticotropin, 90 +/- 4 mm Hg sham (P less than .001). Corticotropin also produced a decrease in body weight and increases in water intake and urine output. Increases in urine electrolyte excretion were seen in some, but not all strains. The rise in pressure in the Brattleboro rats indicated that vasopressin is not essential for the corticotropin-induced rise in pressure. Blood pressure rises in SHR were not exaggerated. Withdrawal of corticotropin in Sprague-Dawley rats led to rapid reversal of the corticotropin-induced hemodynamic and metabolic changes. Thus, strain does not appear to be an important factor in corticotropin hypertension in the rat, in contrast to deoxycorticosterone hypertension.
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PMID:Corticotropin effects on blood pressure and fluid and electrolyte homeostasis in five strains of rats. 131 27

Corticotropin releasing factor, a neuropeptide secreted by the hypothalamus, was recently found to be also secreted by the placenta. However, the biological role of placental CRF is obscure. In this study, we performed Northern blots and in situ hybridizations to determine the time course and site of placental CRF production. Then we measured maternal and fetal CRF, ACTH, cortisol and DHAS levels during the course of pregnancy. The results of these studies indicated that placental CRF mRNA is 1.5 kb in size and its expression increases dramatically near term. It was shown that placental CRF is transcribed in the cytotrophoblast layer. Both maternal and fetal CRF, ACTH and cortisol increased near term. The DHAS level was significantly higher on the fetal side than in the maternal plasma. It was assumed that on the maternal side, placental CRF activates the basal level of the pituitary-adrenal axis to produce more corticosteroids. The increased corticosteroids may compete with progesterone receptors and cause the removal of a progesterone block of uterine muscle contraction. On the fetal side, placental CRF activates the pituitary-adrenal axis to produce corticosteroids and DHAS. The increased corticosteroids may again compete with progesterone receptors. The increased DHAS directly affects the uterine cervix to cause ripening of it.
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PMID:[Molecular biological studies on expression of placental CRF gene and its product]. 132 31

Introduction of a socially naive male rat into the home territory of a resident counterpart results in agonistic interactions, leading to the rapid social defeat of the intruder. Exposure to the aggressive resident produces a stress-response profile consisting of neuroendocrine activation and coping behaviors such as submission. The present studies examined the dependence of these adaptive responses on endogenous brain Corticotropin-Releasing Factor (CRF), a peptide hormone known to coordinate neuronally mediated- and pituitary-adrenal responses to stress. The Elevated Plus-Maze was employed as an animal model of emotionality in which stressors reduce subsequent exploration of open maze arms without walls in favor of enclosed maze arms. A CRF antagonist, alpha-hel CRF9-41, administered intracerebroventricularly (5 and 25 micrograms i.c.v.) immediately post-stress and 5 min prior to maze testing reversed the heightened emotionality produced by the resident exposure stressor. This action paralleled that of an anxiolytic dose of the short-acting benzodiazepine, midazolam (1.5 mg/kg i.p.). Intra-amygdaloid administration of lower doses of the CRF antagonist (125, 250 and 500 ng i.c.) also reversed, dose-dependently, the effect of exposure to an aggressive resident without altering the behavior of unstressed control animals. Further, the enhanced release of ACTH and corticosterone following social conflict was not modified over the short term by the intra-amygdaloid dose of CRF antagonist (250 ng i.c.) which was effective in reversing stress-induced hyper-emotionality. These results suggest that limbic system CRF substrates exert an anxiogenic effect on the exploratory behavior of socially defeated rats via a pituitary-adrenal-independent mechanism.
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PMID:Corticotropin-releasing factor antagonist reduces emotionality in socially defeated rats via direct neurotropic action. 132 98

Concentrations of immunoreactive beta-endorphin and corticotropin in plasma were studied in 27 healthy physically active women at rest and after the exercise test on a treadmill requiring 60% and 90% of the maximal oxygen consumption. Eleven of the subjects were on a combination-type of oral contraceptive pills, and the remaining 16 did not use any pills. Plasma immunoreactive beta-endorphin levels at rest were higher in pill non-users than in pill users. Corticotropin levels at rest did not differ between the pill users and non-users. After the 60% exercise test a slight increase was found in the concentrations of corticotropin and beta-endorphin in the pill non-users but not in the pill users. In the 90% exercise test, plasma beta-endorphin and corticotropin levels increased significantly in both groups. We conclude that the use of oral contraceptives may elevate the threshold of the intensity of exercise required to increase beta-endorphin and corticotropin secretion. Decreased resting concentration of beta-endorphin in pill users can be explained by suppression of normal cyclic ovarian function.
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PMID:Effect of oral contraceptives on plasma beta-endorphin and corticotropin at rest and during exercise. 133 27

A regimen of twice daily metyrapone injections (100 mg/kg), resulted in pharmacological adrenalectomy of pregnant rats and fetuses in utero, i.e. depression of plasma corticosterone and elevation of plasma adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH). Toxicity was minimal on days 14-17 of pregnancy, and increased with higher maternal weight and pregnancy progression. Corticotropin releasing hormone (CRH) messenger RNA abundance in the pregnant adults increased significantly within 48 h of metyrapone initiation. No change in CRH gene expression in the paraventricular nucleus of fetuses (days 17-18) was seen, even after 72 h of the regimen. This is compatible with the independence of CRH gene expression of glucocorticoid feedback in the fetal rat.
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PMID:CRH gene expression in the fetal rat is not increased after pharmacological adrenalectomy. 133 78

The sturgeon is a primitive actinopterigian fish that, unlike modern teleosts, possess a portal vascular system that connects a true median eminence with the anterior pituitary as in mammals. The occurrence and localization of corticotropin and corticotropin releasing factor-like immunoreactivies were examined in the brain of the sturgeon (Acipenser ruthenus L.) by immunocytochemistry with antisera raised against synthetic non-conjugated human corticotropin, and rat/human corticotropin releasing factor. In the hypothalamus, corticotropin-immunoreactive parvicellular perikarya were found in the infundibular nucleus and in dendritic projections to the infundibular recess. In addition, ependymofugal corticotropin-immunoreactive fibres were found to terminate in the ventral hypothalamus. Corticotropin releasing factor-immunoreactive neurons were found in the rostral portion of the ventral hypothalamus (tuberal nucleus), and in the vicinity of the rostral aspect of the lateral recess. These cells projected to the dorsal hypothalamus, the ventral hypothalamus, the median eminence, the anterior and posterior telencephalon, the tegmentum mesencephali, and the pars nervosa of the pituitary. An affinity-purified UI antiserum failed to stain the sturgeon hypothalamus. Corticotrophs in the rostral pars distalis of the pituitary were also corticotropin-immunoreactive. In the neurointermediate lobe, only about 50% of cells of the pars intermedia appeared to be corticotropin-positive, the rest appeared unstained. These results suggest that the presence of corticotropin-like and corticotropin releasing factor-like peptides in the brain is a relatively early event in vertebrate evolution, already occurring in Chondrostean/Actinopterigian fishes, as exemplified by A. ruthenus. The close spatial relationship between corticotropin releasing factor immunoreactivity and corticotropin immunoreactivity in the ventral hypothalamus of A. ruthenus supports a possible interaction between the two systems in that area of the sturgeon brain. The pars intermedia might be an important site for corticotropin synthesis, even though the possibility cannot be excluded that the antiserum was recognizing the proopiomelanocortin molecule. The occurrence of corticotropin releasing factor immunoreactivity in the region of median eminence/pars intermedia of the sturgeon suggests that the sturgeon corticotropin releasing factor might regulate the adenohypophyseal release of proopiomelanocortin products in the same manner as in other vertebrates. The presence of extrahypothalamic corticotropin releasing factor-immunoreactive projections suggests further neuromodulatory functions for this peptide in A. ruthenus.
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PMID:Comparative localization of corticotropin and corticotropin releasing factor-like peptides in the brain and hypophysis of a primitive vertebrate, the sturgeon Acipenser ruthenus L. 133 41


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