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

Increasingly strong evidence suggests that cholinergic neurons in the mesopontine tegmentum play important roles in the control of wakefulness and sleep. To understand better how the activity of these neurons is regulated, the potential afferent connections of the laterodorsal (LDT) and pedunculopontine tegmental nuclei (PPT) were investigated in the rat. This was accomplished by using retrograde and anterograde axonal transport methods and NADPH-diaphorase histochemistry. Immunohistochemistry was also used to identify the transmitter content of some of the retrogradely identified afferents. Following injections of the retrograde tracer wheatgerm agglutinin-conjugated horseradish peroxidase (WGA-HRP) into either the LDT or the PPT, labelled neurons were seen in a number of limbic forebrain structures. The medial prefrontal cortex and lateral habenula contained more retrogradely labelled neurons from the LDT, whereas in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis and central nucleus of the amygdala, more cells were labelled from the PPT. Moderate numbers of neurons were seen in the magnocellular regions of the basal forebrain, and many labelled neurons were observed in the lateral hypothalamus, the zona incerta, and the midbrain central gray from both the LDT and the PPT. Accessory oculomotor nuclei in the midbrain as well as eye movement-related structures in the lower brainstem contained some neurons labelled from the LDT, and fewer neurons from the PPT. A few labelled neurons were seen in somatosensory and other sensory relay nuclei in the brainstem and the spinal cord. Retrograde labelling was seen in a number of extrapyramidal structures, including the globus pallidus, entopenduncular and subthalamic nuclei, and substantia nigra following PPT injections; with LDT injections, labelling was similar in density in the substantia nigra but virtually absent in the entopeduncular and subthalamic nuclei. Data with the fluorescent retrograde tracer fluorogold combined with immunofluorescence indicated that many neurons in the zona incerta-lateral hypothalamic region that were retrogradely labelled from the LDT contained alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone. Numerous neurons were labelled throughout the reticular formation of the brainstem following either LDT or PPT injections. Many neurons retrogradely labelled in the LDT and PPT, the dorsal and median raphe nuclei, and the locus ceruleus contained choline acetyltransferase, serotonin, and tyrosine hydroxylase, respectively. The anterograde tracers WGA-HRP and phaseolus vulgaris leucoagglutinin were used to confirm some of the projections indicated by the retrograde labelling data; anterograde labelling was seen in the LDT and PPT following injections of one of these tracers into the medial prefrontal cortex, lateral hypothalamus, and the contralateral LDT.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
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PMID:Afferent connections of the laterodorsal and the pedunculopontine tegmental nuclei in the rat: a retro- and antero-grade transport and immunohistochemical study. 128 Nov 70

The mammalian carotid body consists of preneural type I (glomus) cells synaptically coupled to afferent axon terminals and enveloped by type II (sustentacular) cells. Recent studies indicate the presence of multiple putative neurotransmitters in this arterial chemoreceptor organ. A double-labeling immunocytochemical technique was utilized which allows simultaneous visualization of two neurochemicals in a single cell. The issue of transmitter co-occurrence in type I cells of the cat carotid body was addressed using specific antibodies for seven neurochemical agents: tyrosine hydroxylase, dopamine-beta-hydroxylase, choline acetyltransferase, serotonin, substance P, met-enkephalin and chromogranin. A high degree (greater than 70%) of co-localization was observed for most pairs of markers, indicating the co-existence of multiple neuroactive agents in type I cells of the cat carotid body. The intensity of staining varied greatly among cells but formed a pattern. Thus, for tyrosine hydroxylase and dopamine-beta-hydroxylase, the majority of double-labeled type I cells exhibited equivalently low or high levels of both, while for the neuropeptides unequal levels of the two markers predominated. Neuropeptides also co-existed in type I cells with catecholamine-synthesizing enzymes and with serotonin. The functional significance of such patterns of multiple co-existence involving biogenic amines and neuropeptides is discussed. Our results indicate a high degree of co-occurrence of reaction product for amine-synthesizing enzymes (tyrosine hydroxylase, dopamine-beta-hydroxylase and choline acetyltransferase), the indoleamine serotonin, and the neuropeptides substance P and met-enkephalin.
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PMID:The co-existence of biogenic amines and neuropeptides in the type I cells of the cat carotid body. 137 55

The neurotoxic effects produced by ibotenic acid (IA) induced chemical lesions of the central nervous system (CNS) cholinergic system were examined on the opioid peptidergic system in adult rats. Forebrain cholinergic systems were bilaterally lesioned by the infusion of IA (1 or 5 micrograms/site) into the nucleus basalis magnocellularis (NBM). One week after the injections, the animals were sacrificed, and activities of acetylcholinesterase (AChE), choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) and concentrations of beta-endorphin (beta-End) and Met-enkephalin (Met-Enk) were measured in different brain regions. Animals treated with IA showed a decrease in the activity of ChAT (-24%), AChE (-36%) and beta-End level (-33%) in the frontoparietal cortex (FC). For the first time we report that these changes were associated with a compensatory increase in the activity of ChAT (+27%), AChE (+25%), beta-End level (+66%) in the remaining part of the cortex, i.e. cortex devoid of frontal cortex (C-FC). Met-enkephalin level increased by 59% in the frontoparietal cortex and did not change in the cortex devoid of frontal cortex upon IA treatment. These results suggest that IA treatment results in changes in the activity of cortical ChAT and AChE, and beta-End level in the same direction. Injection of IA in the NBM did not cause a change in the activity of ChAT or AChE in other brain regions such as hippocampus, striatum or midbrain. In addition to cortex devoid of frontal cortex, midbrain also showed a significant increase in the beta-End level in the IA treated animals. However, pituitary beta-End decreased in the neurotoxin treated animals.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:The neurotoxic actions of ibotenic acid on cholinergic and opioid peptidergic systems in the central nervous system of the rat. 161

The purpose of the present study was to determine whether neurochemicals normally found within neuron somata, fibers, and terminals of the hippocampal formation would also be present in transplanted hippocampal tissue that had developed in lesion cavities made in adult rat brains by aspiration of the hippocampus and overlying dorsolateral neocortex. Embryonic Day 15 or 16 rat brian tissue containing hippocampus with some medial pallial anlage was transplanted into the site of hippocampal aspiration lesions in adult male rats. One hundred ten to one hundred thirty-five days later the brains of these rats were sectioned and processed using the avidin-biotin-horseradish peroxidase immunocytochemical procedure to visualize choline acetyltransferase, met-enkephalin (MENK), neurotensin (NT), somatostatin, substance P, tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), or vasoactive intestinal polypeptide. Sections from two brains were stained using the thiocholine technique for visualization of acetylcholinesterase. All of these substances were found within cell bodies and/or fibers in the transplants. However, several abnormalities were noted. In addition to TH-immunoreactive fibers, TH-immunoreactive cell bodies were found in the transplants. Since TH is not expressed in mature hippocampal or cortical neurons this suggests that mechanisms for suppression of manufacture of this enzyme are lacking or inhibited in the transplants. Further, although all of the peptides were present either in fibers or in both cell bodies and fibers, the density of staining for NT and MENK was less than would be expected for normal hippocampus, and none of the cell bodies or fibers reacting for the peptides exhibited any apparent organization resembling that normally observed in hippocampus or cortex. However, some histological organization was present and the cholinergic markers were associated with this organization. These data suggest that some tropic and/or trophic factor such as nerve growth factor is present in the transplants to guide cholinergic innervation.
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PMID:Neurochemical anatomy of fetal hippocampus transplanted into large lesion cavities made in the adult rat brain. 170 34

This paper presents the works and methods of our respective laboratories using electron microscopic immunocytochemistry to identify and localize cochlear neurotransmitters. Antibodies to various prospective neurotransmitters and associated enzymes have been used to study the ultrastructural localization of several candidates for olivocochlear efferent neurotransmitters previously suggested by light microscopic immunocytochemistry. Antibodies against enkephalins label lateral olivocochlear efferent fibers. Antibodies against choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) (an enzyme marker for acetylcholine) label a major population of both lateral and medial efferent fibers and terminals, whereas antibodies to gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) label what might be a small subpopulation of both the lateral and medial efferent systems. The GABA-like immunostained medial efferent fibers are preferentially located in the upper turns of the guinea pig cochlea, particularly the third turn. Immunoelectron microscopy shows that neither GABA nor ChAT immunolabels all medial efferent terminals, regardless of cochlear turn. All the different types of immunolabeled efferent terminals have been observed to make characteristic synaptic contacts; lateral efferent terminals on afferent dendrites and medial efferent terminals on outer hair cells and occasionally on type II afferent dendrites. Other types of contacts involving GABA-like, and sometimes met-enkephalin-like, immunostained fibers are occasionally seen particularly in the upper turns of the cochlea. Immunoelectron microscopic results suggest that both medial and lateral efferent systems might be further subdivided on the basis of differences in neurotransmitters. Future trends of immunocytochemical research on cochlear neurotransmitters are proposed, particularly colocalization studies, which show a complex pattern of coexistence of neurotransmitters in the lateral efferent system.
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PMID:Immunoelectron microscopic localization of neurotransmitters in the cochlea. 197 30

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 efferent neurons of the gerbil vestibular system were investigated by retrograde tracing techniques and cytochemical staining for acetylcholinesterase (AChE), choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) and a number of peptides. The location, bilateral distribution, cell area and number of neurons in two identified groups of retrogradely labelled cells were described and quantified. The larger of the two groups was located dorsolateral to the facial nerve genu, ventral and medial to the vestibular nuclei. Unilateral tracer injection in the vestibular end organs labelled cells bilaterally in this and the smaller group, which was located immediately ventral to the genu. No cells were found that individually projected bilaterally to both labyrinths. After injections of horseradish peroxidase (HRP) in the utricle or saccule, significantly more cells were located on the contralateral side of the brainstem. The average (+/- SD) cross sectional area of labelled cell bodies associated with the otolith organs was 259.8 (+/- 75.2) microns 2. ChAT immunoreactive and AChE positive cells were found in an area coextensive with the location of the dorsal efferent group. In double-labelling studies, cell bodies in the same group that had been retrogradely labelled with a utricular injection of HRP, were immunocytochemically stained for calcitonin gene-related peptide and met-enkephalin. In contrast, the ventral group of efferents did not have cells that were cytochemically stained for either of the acetylcholine-related enzymes or either peptide. The significance of the existence of peptidergic vestibular efferent neurons is discussed.
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PMID:Identification of vestibular efferent neurons in the gerbil: histochemical and retrograde labelling. 259 41

The aim of this study was to investigate the neurochemical coding of myenteric neurons in the guinea pig gastric corpus by using immunohistochemical methods. Antibodies and antisera against calbindin (CALB), calretinin (CALRET), choline acetyltransferase (ChAT), calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), dopamine beta-hydroxylase (DBH), beta-endorphin (ENK), neuropeptide Y (NPY), neuron-specific enolase (NSE), nitric oxide synthase (NOS), protein gene product 9.5 (PGP), parvalbumin (PARV), serotonin (5-HT), somatostatin (SOM), substance P (SP), tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), and vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) were used. Double- and triple-labeling studies revealed colocalization of certain transmitters and enabled the identification of distinct subpopulations of gastric enteric neurons. NPY/VIP/NOS/ENK were present in 28% of all neurons, whereas 11% had NPY/VIP/DBH/ChAT; NOS-only neurons made up 2% of the population. The combination SP/ChAT/ENK occurred in 21% of the population, whereas SP/ChAT/ENK/CALRET and SP/CHAT/SOM/ +/- CALRET was identified in 5% and 6% of all cells, respectively. 5-HT-containing neurons comprised 2% of all cells and could be further classified by the presence of additional antigens as 5-HT/SP/(ChAT) or 5-HT/VIP/(ChAT). Approximately 21% of all neurons contained only ChAT with no additional antigen present and are referred to as ChAT/-. Gastric myenteric ganglion cells were not immunoreactive for CALB, PARV, CGRP, or TH. The results of this study indicate that gastric myenteric neurons can be characterized on the basis of different chemical coding. Neurochemical coding of corpus myenteric neurons revealed some similarities and significant differences in comparison with other regions of the gut. These differences might reflect adaptation of enteric nerves according to regional specialization and the distinct functions of the proximal stomach as a gastric reservoir.
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PMID:Neurochemical coding of enteric neurons in the guinea pig stomach. 753 52

The participation of sympathetic adrenal innervation in the control of the neonatal adrenocortical system and in changes in adrenal sensitivity after maternal separation for 24 h was tested in 10- and 23-day-old pups. Chemical sympathectomy by guanethidine (20 mg/kg body wt) decreased basal and stimulated corticosterone compound B (B) secretion without affecting adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) release, abolished the enhanced adrenal sensitivity to ACTH induced by maternal separation in 10-day-old pups, but did not modify adrenal sensitivity following ether stress in 23-day-old pups. Guanethidine treatment did not affect body and adrenal weight or adrenal choline acetyltransferase activity, but it increased tyrosine hydroxylase activity at both ages. Both chronic guanethidine treatment and acute corticotropin-releasing factor immunoneutralization reduced plasma B levels after maternal separation without affecting plasma ACTH levels. Maternal separation in 10-day-old pups enhanced basal and stimulated ACTH and B secretion after exposure to ether vapors and insulin-induced hypoglycemia (IIH). In nonseparated pups, IIH did not stimulate ACTH secretion and caused small increases in B secretion; however, the enhanced response of separated pups to IIH was due to the effects of intraperitoneal injection.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:Chemical sympathectomy and maternal separation affect neonatal stress responses and adrenal sensitivity to ACTH. 777 91

The striatum of the human brain has a highly differentiated neurochemical architecture visible in stains for many of the neurotransmitter-related molecules present in the striatum. The distributions for these chemical markers have never been analyzed comprehensively. We compared the distributions of multiple neurochemical markers in a serial-section analysis of the caudate nucleus, the putamen, and the ventral striatum in normal human brains. The cholinergic system was identified with choline acetyltransferase (ChAT). The organization of the cholinergic fiber system was compared with that of striatal systems expressing immunoreactivity for calbindin D28k, met-enkephalin, substance P, tyrosine hydroxylase, and parvalbumin. Each striatal region analyzed displayed a unique neurochemical organization. In the dorsal caudate nucleus, the distribution of all markers followed the classical striosome/matrix organization as previously reported. In the dorsal putamen, ChAT-staining was less intense, and striosomes were delineated primarily by unstained fiber bundles. In the ventral caudate nucleus/nucleus accumbens region, the boundaries of ChAT-stained regions were not always visible with stains for calbindin, enkephalin, and substance P. The ventral putamen displayed a similar organization, except in its lateral part, where ChAT-poor regions were often found adjacent to, rather than in register with, regions expressing low levels of the other markers (calbindin, enkephalin, substance P, and tyrosine hydroxylase). Our findings suggest that, in addition to the classical striosome-matrix organization visible in the dorsal caudate nucleus and putamen, there is further neurochemical differentiation in a large ventral part of the caudate nucleus and putamen and in the ventral striatum-nucleus accumbens proper. The more complex relationships among the different neurochemical systems in the ventral striatum may reflect the increase in size in the primate of striatal regions associated with association and limbic cortex.
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PMID:Neurochemical architecture of the human striatum. 921 37


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