Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UNIPROT:P01189 (beta-endorphin)
 21,003 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Hormone production in the human feto-placental unit has been studied extensively yet relatively little is known about the regulatory mechanisms involved. A tissue culture approach has been used to examine the effect of potential controlling factors on steroid production by the human mid-term fetal adrenal and mid-term and term placenta. Adrenal. The pituitary peptides corticotropin (ACTH) and alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (alpha-MSH) had the most significant influence on adrenal steroidogenesis in both the fetal and definitive zones. Their effects were not identical: they enhanced dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate (DHA-S) production in a comparable manner but alpha-MSH had much less of a stimulatory effect on cortisol biosynthesis. Medium from homologous fetal pituitary cultures mimicked the effects of alpha-MSH rather than ACTH. Homologous placental culture medium and progesterone enhanced only cortisol production and only in the fetal zone cells. These results demonstrate that specific fetal pituitary and placental factors influence fetal adrenal activity and suggest a functional zonation of the fetal adrenal. Placenta. DHA, DHA-S and 16-hydroxy-DHA stimulated oestrogen biosynthesis while high concentrations of DHA and DHA-S (but not 16-hydroxy-DHA) inhibited progesterone production. Luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LRH) inhibited both oestrogen and progesterone biosynthesis. Placental steroidogenesis can therefore be influenced not only by the fetus, through its increasing adrenal output of oestrogen precursors, but also by factors originating within the placenta itself.
 ...
PMID:Regulation of hormone production in the human feto-placental unit. 627 68

Amniotic fluid beta-endorphin (beta-EP) and beta-lipotropin (beta-LPH) were measured by radioimmunoassay after silicic acid extraction and gel chromatographic separation of the two peptides in uncomplicated second-trimester and term pregnancies, in diabetic patients at term, and in pregnancies complicated by Rh-isoimmunization, premature labor, and intrauterine growth retardation. Furthermore, the lecithin/sphingomyelin (L/S) ratios as well as the dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA-S) and cortisol levels were determined in most of the amniotic fluid specimens. Both the mean (+/- SE) beta-EP (65.3 +/- 9.1 fmol/ml) and beta-LPH (150 +/- 15.8 fmol/ml) concentrations were significantly higher in the 20 patients with normal pregnancies of 16 to 21 weeks' duration than those found in 21 patients with uncomplicated term pregnancies of 38 weeks' gestation, averaging 42.6 +/- 6.0 and 80.1 +/- 10.7 fmol/ml, respectively. The mean amniotic fluid beta-EP and beta-LPH concentrations measured in the latter subjects were similar to those observed in 23 diabetic patients with otherwise uncomplicated term pregnancies. The mean amniotic fluid beta-EP and beta-LPH levels found in the limited number of patients with Rh-isoimmunization (N = 9), premature labor (n = 8), and intrauterine growth retardation (n = 5) with pregnancies of 24 to 36, 24 to 36, and 34 to 38 weeks' gestation, respectively, were not significantly different from the mean amniotic fluid beta-EP and beta-LPH concentrations of uncomplicated term pregnancies. In all patients but those with Rh-isoimmunization, beta-EP concentrations exhibited a positive correlation with beta-LPH levels. However, the molar beta-LPH:beta-EP ratio was significantly lower at term than during the early second trimester. Neither beta-EP nor beta-LPH correlated with the amniotic fluid L/S ratio and only beta-LPH exhibited a significant inverse correlation with amniotic fluid DHEA-S. The latter was significantly higher in uncomplicated term than second-trimester pregnancies. These results confirm that immunoassayable beta-EP is present in amniotic fluid and declines toward term. These data demonstrate that immunoassayable beta-LPH is present in amniotic fluid and show a more pronounced decrease toward the end of pregnancy than beta-EP. Neither peptide, at least on account of the amniotic fluid levels, appears to be associated with fetal maturation. The physiologic significance of amniotic fluid beta-EP and beta-LPH and their possible role as markers of fetal response to stress remain to be elucidated.
 ...
PMID:Amniotic fluid beta-endorphin and beta-lipotropin concentrations during the second and third trimesters. 630 49

One hundred nineteen euprolactinemic anovulatory infertility patients who were being evaluated for induction of ovulation with clomiphene citrate were studied to determine the prevalence of increased adrenal androgen (AA) secretion in this group. Fifty percent of these patients exhibited increased AA secretion, as evidenced by an elevated serum dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA-S) level. Seventy-seven percent of these women with elevated levels of DHEA-S were nonhirsute . Twenty-six patients with elevated serum DHEA-S levels underwent adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) stimulation tests in order to determine a possible mechanism(s) for the increase in DHEA-S. Plasma ACTH, as well as total, low-density lipoprotein, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol were also measured. These levels were normal and did not correlate with the elevated levels of DHEA-S. Seven of 16 patients (34%) had exaggerated responses of serum DHEA-S and of 17-OH pregnenolone to ACTH stimulation. In six of these seven patients, our data suggested the occurrence of a mild deficiency of 3 beta-ol dehydrogenase-isomerase. All of these six patients were considered to have polycystic ovary syndrome. While these data do not explain the increased AA secretion in the majority of patients with elevated levels of DHEA-S, we suggest that serum DHEA-S is frequently elevated in anovulatory infertile patients.
 ...
PMID:The prevalence and significance of elevated dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate levels in anovulatory women. 632 4

Dehydroepiandrosterone (3 beta-hydroxy-5-androsten-17-one, I) sulfate (Ia) has been characterized in the anterior and the posterior parts of the brain of adult male rats. Its level (1.58 +/- 0.14 and 4.89 +/- 1.06 ng/g, mean +/- SD, in anterior and posterior brain, respectively) largely exceeded that of I in brain (0.42 +/- 0.10 and 0.12 +/- 0.03 ng/g in anterior and posterior brain, respectively) and of Ia in plasma (0.26 +/- 0.13 ng/ml). Brain Ia level did not seem to depend on adrenal secretion; it was unchanged after administration of corticotropin or dexamethasone for 3 days, and no meaningful change occurred in brain 15 days after adrenalectomy plus orchiectomy, compared with sham-operated controls. In contrast, stress conditions prevailing 2 days after adrenalectomy plus orchiectomy or after the corresponding sham operation resulted in a significantly increased concentration of Ia in the brain. Changes of Ia level in brain occurred irrespective of changes in corresponding plasma samples. It is proposed that Ia formation or accumulation (or both) in the rat brain depends on in situ mechanisms unrelated to the peripheral endocrine gland system.
 ...
PMID:Characterization and measurement of dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate in rat brain. 645 35

Desacetyl alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (MSH) (ACTH 1-13) is the main form of immunoreactive alpha-MSH circulating in human plasma. This study evaluates the possibility that a dopaminergic inhibitory mechanism could be operative during human development. Thus, alpha-MSH and ACTH 1-13 plasma levels were measured after dopaminergic blockade (domperidone (0.3 mg/kg body weight, maximum 10 mg, p.o.) in 13 prepubertal (aged 4.5-12.3 y) and 12 pubertal (aged 10.2-16.9 y) children. Both peptides were measured by RIA after plasma extraction on Sep-pak C-18 cartridges and reverse phase HPLC. The chromatographic profile of alpha-MSH immunoreactivity falls into two main peaks, corresponding to the retention time of alpha-MSH and ACTH 1-13. Moreover, in prepubertal children domperidone induced a significant increase of alpha-MSH from 1.7 (median) to 5.0 pmol/L, whereas no changes in alpha-MSH plasma levels were found in pubertal subjects (from 5.0 to 4.1 pmol/L). Similarly, ACTH 1-13 plasma levels significantly increased from 3.0 to 19.8 pmol/L in prepubertal children remaining stable in pubertal ones (from 7.8 to 4.6 pmol/L). Moreover, a significant negative correlation was found between basal DHEA-S levels and the plasma alpha-MSH increase after domperidone. These data demonstrate that: 1) ACTH 1-13 is the main form of immunoreactive alpha-MSH in prepubertal life and 2) the dopaminergic inhibition of both ACTH 1-13 and alpha-MSH plasma levels is apparent only in prepubertal subjects.
 ...
PMID:Changes in dopaminergic control of circulating melanocyte-stimulating hormone-related peptides at puberty. 747 4

In 56 infertile women, aged 20 to 35, beta-endorphin (beta-EP) was determined out of the sample of peripheral blood plasma as well as the serum testosterone (T), progesterone (Prg), estradiol (E2), dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA-S), sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) at the medium (from the 6th to 9th day) and at the late follicular stage of the menstrual cycle (from the 10th to 14th day), the early luteal stage (from the 15th to 19th day) and at the late luteal stage of the cycle (from the 20th to 25th day). According to the gathered results of T, DHEA-S and the evaluated indexes of free androgenes of--FAI, women were grouped into two groups. Those with hyperandrogenism (n = 30) and those without hyperandrogenism (n = 26), with two subgroups: those with ovulation and those without it. Women with ovulation and without hyperandrogenism showed statistically significant higher concentration of beta-EP at the late luteal stage of the cycle in comparison with those without ovulation belonging to the same group (n = 9; 5.5 +/- 1.4 vs n = 7; 3.5 +/- 0.6; p < 0.01) as well as concerning the early luteal stage of their own cycle (5.5 +/- 1.4 vs 4.3 +/- 0.3; p < 0.5).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
 ...
PMID:[Levels of beta-endorphins in peripheral blood plasma in infertile women with and without symptoms of hyperandrogenism]. 773 49

The high incidence of non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) in women with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCO) is believed to occur secondary to the insulin resistance associated with their androgenicity. In the present study, we have examined the interrelationships between glucose tolerance, androgenicity, and various in vivo and in vitro parameters of insulin sensitivity in 11 obese PCO patients with NIDDM, 14 PCO patients without diabetes, and 14 weight-matched controls. Both groups of PCO patients were hypertestosteronemic, hyperinsulinemic, and insulin-resistant when compared with a group of weight-matched controls. However, PCO patients with NIDDM differed from those without diabetes in that they had elevated basal and corticotropin-stimulated adrenal steroids (cortisol, dehydroepiandrosterone [DHEA], dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate [DHEAS]). The hyperglycemia of our diabetic patients was not related to their elevated testosterone levels or to their degree of insulin resistance, but was significantly and positively correlated with adrenal hypersecretion, which in turn was associated with postreceptor defects in insulin action. These findings would suggest that enhanced adrenocortical activity may be an important factor underlying the development of NIDDM in women with PCO.
 ...
PMID:Enhanced adrenocortical activity as a contributing factor to diabetes in hyperandrogenic women. 817 46

The objective of the study was to relate plasma dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA-S) concentrations to the progression of HIV infection in individual HIV-infected men with hemophilia and to obtain information on the cause of DH EA-S alterations. Blood samples were obtained from 16 men with hemophilia; in 9 men serial samples were available for up to 11 years after HIV-1 infection. Control samples were obtained from men of comparable ages without hemophilia or HIV infection. Measurements were made of CD4+ cell counts, plasma adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), cortisol, DHEA, DHEA-S, and prolactin. Before HIV infection, men with hemophilia had significantly lower plasma levels of DHEA-S than control men. After infection, 3 of 9 subjects studied serially had little or no change in plasma DHEA-S levels or in CD4+ cell counts over 11 years. Four of the 9 i n whom AIDS developed had progressive decreases in plasma DHEA-S concentrations that, in some cases, preceded a precipitous fall in CD4+ cell counts. Major decreases in plasma DHEA-S levels before falls in CD4+ counts were observed in 2 ot her subjects who had other severe illnesses. None of the decreases in DHEA-S levels were associated with decreased concentrations of plasma cortisol, ACTH, or prolactin. We conclude that plasma DHEA-S is an indicator of general health rather than a specific indicator for progression of HIV. The decrease in plasma DHEA-S is not related to ACTH stimulation of the adrenal gland or to cortisol secretion, but it may be related to cytokines that can inhibit 17-hydroxylation of DH EA-S precursors.
 ...
PMID:Longitudinal study of adrenal steroids in a cohort of HIV-infected patients with hemophilia. 864 55

We observed the acute effects of Qigong training on the levels of human endogenous opioid peptides, such as beta-endorphin, and other stress hormones [adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH), cortisol, and dehydroepiandrosterone-sulfate (DHEA-S)] in a group of ChunDoSunBup Qigong trainees. At pre (-10 min), mid (40 min) and post (70 min) time of training, blood was taken for the determination of plasma level of hormones. The level of beta-endorphin was significantly increased during the mid-time of training while the level of ACTH declined at the mid- and post-time of training. Cortisol and DHEA-S were not significantly changed during training. This result suggests that Qigong training, as a stress coping method, affects and plays a role in hormonal regulation related to the maintenance of homeostasis in man.
 ...
PMID:Acute effect of qigong training on stress hormonal levels in man. 887 77

The reported number of adrenal incidentalomas has been increasing because of wider application of imaging techniques. Patients with asymptomatic cortisol producing adrenal adenoma (ASCA) which secretes cortisol without clinical evidence of Cushing's syndrome has been more frequently observed than previously assumed, and they have a risk of adrenal insufficiency after adrenalectomy. Therefore patients with incidentalomas should be screened for cortisol overproduction. The aim of this study is to discover an easy screening test to uncover ASCA. We investigated the hormone profiles of 4 patients with ASCA in comparison with 11 patients with non-functional adrenal tumor and 10 patients with adrenal Cushing's syndrome. We also investigated the expression of dehydroepiandrosterone sulfotransferase (DHEA-ST) in surgically removed attached non-neoplastic adrenal tissues by immunostaining, which was considered to represent the degree of suppression of the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis. Serum dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA-S) levels of all the patients with ASCA and adrenal Cushing's syndrome were lower than those of healthy subjects of corresponding age, but they were within the normal range in the patients with non-functional adrenal tumors. The serum DHEA-S level reflects the degree of suppression of the normal adrenal gland by cortisol hypersecretion from adrenal tumors. But the serum level of DHEA-S decreases with age, and because the normal range of serum DHEA-S is low in elderly subjects, we should be careful to evaluate the level of DHEA-S in elderly patients with adrenal Cushing's syndrome or ASCA. The immunohistochemical study showed DHEA-ST expression was noticeably suppressed in the adjacent adrenal cortex in ASCA and adrenal Cushing's syndrome. The decreased expression of DHEA-ST may reflect autonomous neoplastic cortisol secretion and subsequent ACTH suppression in ASCA and adrenal Cushing's syndrome. A single measurement of plasma ACTH or measurement of ACTH response to corticotropin-releasing hormone was not enough to screen for ASCA because of the wide variation among the cases. Dexamethasone suppression test is essential in identifying ASCA and also a single determination of serum DHEA-S is easy and may be useful for the screening of ASCA in adrenal incidentalomas in young and middle aged subjects, and is especially useful for outpatients.
 ...
PMID:Serum levels of dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate in patients with asymptomatic cortisol producing adrenal adenoma: comparison with adrenal Cushing's syndrome and non-functional adrenal tumor. 893 May 26


<< Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 Next >>