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)

Rabbits were anesthetized with urethane and were given intracisternal injections of the following substances: adrenocorticotropin, beta-melanocyte stimulating hormone, choroid plexus peptide IIF, epinephrine, serotonin, histamine, oxytocin, lysine and a arginine vasopressins, acetylcholine and melatonin. The effects on the concentration of 3', 5' cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) in cerebrospinal fluid were then measured. Only melatonin and acetylcholine caused a significant (p less than 0.05) effect on cGMP concentration. Both agents increased the nucleotide's concentration within 30 min. Melatonin was about 1,000 times more potent than acetylcholine; the mininal effective doses were 1 mug and 1,000 mug, respectively.
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PMID:Injection of melatonin into cisterna magna increases concentration of 3', 5' cyclic guanosine monophosphate in cerebrospinal fluid. 18 65

Melatonin levels exhibited a day-night rhythm with highest levels at night. Nocturnal plasma melatonin concentrations were unrelated to sleep stages, whereas secretion of GH was temporally related to slow wave sleep. Levels of corticotropin rose in the later sleep cycles. We found no relationship between endogenous nocturnal melatonin and adenohypophyseal hormone levels. The results indicate that in young men nocturnal levels of melatonin are controlled separately from those of LH, PRL, corticotropin, and GH.
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PMID:Overnight plasma profiles of melatonin and certain adenohypophyseal hormones in men. 23 75

The present experiment investigated the opposite effects of synthetic alpha-MSH and Melatonin on acquisition and extinction of a passive avoidance response (PAR) and on emotionality, as indexed by defecation, in the PA box. It was found that intraperitoneal (IP) administration of alpha-MSH delayed extinction and increased defecation responses whereas IP administration of Melatonin facilitated extinction of the PAR and decreased defecation. The present experiment confirmed MSH-Melatonin opposition on memory and on the defecation response.
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PMID:Effects of melanocyte-stimulating hormone (MSH) and melatonin on passive avoidance and on an emotional response. 88 81

Melatonin, the most important indole hormone produced by the pineal gland, appears to inhibit tumor growth; moreover, altered melatonin secretion has been reported in cancer patients. Despite these data, the possible use of melatonin in human neoplasms remains to be established. The aim of this clinical trial was to evaluate the therapeutic, immunological and endocrine effects of melatonin in patients with metastatic solid tumor, who did not respond to standard therapies. The study was carried out on 14 cancer patients (colon, six; lung, three; pancreas, two; liver, two; stomach, one). Melatonin was given intramuscularly at a daily dose of 20 mg at 3.00 p.m., followed by a maintenance period in an oral dose of 10 mg daily in patients who had a remission, stable disease or an improvement in PS. Before and after the first 2 months of therapy, GH, somatomedin-C, beta-endorphin, melatonin blood levels and lymphocyte subpopulations were evaluated. A partial response was achieved in one case with cancer of the pancreas, with a duration of 18+ months; moreover, six patients had stable disease, while the other eight progressed. An evident improvement in PS was obtained in 8/14 patients. In patients who did not progress, T4/T8 mean ratio was significantly higher after than before melatonin therapy, while it decreased in patients who progressed. On the contrary, hormonal levels were not affected by melatonin administration. This study would suggest that melatonin may be of value in untreatable metastatic cancer patients, particularly in improving their PS and quality of life; moreover, based on its effects on the immune system, melatonin could be tested in association with other antitumor treatments.
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PMID:Endocrine and immune effects of melatonin therapy in metastatic cancer patients. 252 69

The goal of this study was to examine the effects of melatonin, as well as those of melatonin and corticotropin (1-24 adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH); Synacthen Depot) administered together, on the mitotic activity of adrenocortical cells in male and female mice. Melatonin was given subcutaneously once daily, in late-afternoon injections (between 16:00 and 18:00) in doses of 1 microgram, 10 micrograms, and 100 micrograms, and ACTH in a dose of 0.1 mg (10 U) daily for 10 days. Additionally, the highest dose of melatonin (100 micrograms daily) was administered together with ACTH. The metaphase-arrest technique using colchicine as a stathmokinetic agent was employed in the study. Melatonin, in all the examined doses, significantly decreased mean mitotic activity rate (MMAR) of the adrenal cortex in both male and female mice. Moreover, in a dose of 100 micrograms, melatonin suppressed the mitogenic effect of ACTH on the adrenal cortex. Furthermore, the present study investigated the effects of melatonin (5 x 10(-7)M), N-acetylserotonin (NAc-5HT) (5 x 10(-7)M), and ACTH (250 mU/ml or 1,000 mU/ml) alone as well as the effect of ACTH (250 mU/ml) applied jointly with melatonin on the mitotic activity of adrenocortical cells in rat adrenal explants incubated in vitro. Both pineal indoleamines (melatonin and NAc-5HT) significantly decreased the MMARs of adrenocortical cells. Corticotropin, as well as ACTH and melatonin applied together, also reduced the MMAR of adrenocortical cells. The present data suggest that melatonin may be directly involved in the inhibitory control of adrenocortical cell proliferation.
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PMID:Melatonin inhibits mitotic activity of adrenocortical cells in vivo and in organ culture. 272 51

Recent reports point to a link between the pineal gland and the opioid system. In order to investigate this relationship, two separate studies were performed on humans. Beta-endorphin plasma levels were determined after melatonin administration (0.2 mg/kg b.w. i.m. at 2 p.m.). Melatonin serum values were evaluated after administration of FK 33-824, a met-enkephalin analogue (0.3 mg i.v. infusion at 9 a.m.). A significant decrease of beta-endorphin plasma levels was observed 120 minutes after melatonin injection. Melatonin release was stimulated by FK 33-824, with a peak at 30 minutes. The present results provide evidence of the inhibitory effect of melatonin on beta-endorphin secretion and the stimulatory action of the opioid peptides on the pineal gland. However, further studies will be required to clarify the relationship between the opioid system and the pineal gland.
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PMID:A clinical study on the relationship between the pineal gland and the opioid system. 293 80

It is known that prolonged therapy with cytotoxic drugs may affect the endocrine system. The present study was carried out to establish whether administration of chemotherapeutic drugs acutely influences hypophyseal and pineal activities. Nineteen patients affected by solid tumors were included in the study, 5 of whom were treated with CMF, 4 with FEC, 4 with CEV, and 6 with CDDP. Cytotoxic drugs were intravenously administered. Venous blood samples were collected at zero time and at 30, 60, 120 and 180 min after drug administration. On a separate occasion, venous blood samples were drawn during a saline infusion only. In each sample FSH, LH, GH, PRL, TSH, cortisol, melatonin and beta-endorphin were determined by the RIA method. The only significant changes observed in this study were a rise in PRL and a decrease in beta-endorphin after CDDP administration. Melatonin was enhanced after CDDP and CMF, and cortisol decreased after CMF and FEC, but their variations were not statistically significant with respect to those seen during saline infusion.
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PMID:Acute effects of various chemotherapeutic combinations on hypophyseal and pineal hormone secretions in cancer patients. 295 96

A melatonin-induced supersensitivity of the gonadotropin-secretory system to the negative feedback action of sex steroids is thought to be important to the timing of seasonal reproduction. However, little is known concerning this action of melatonin. In the present study the antigonadal action of melatonin in the anterior hypothalamus (AH) of the white-footed mouse, Peromyscus leucopus, was used to examine the neuroendocrine mechanism whereby melatonin enhances the sensitivity to sex steroid negative feedback. Mice received a melatonin-containing pellet in the AH for 14 weeks, at which time they were castrated and treated sc with a Silastic testosterone (T) capsule for 3 weeks. At the time of castration, weight of the testes and the concentration of T in the blood of mice with a melatonin pellet were greatly reduced compared to mice with a blank (melatonin-free) implant in the AH (P less than 0.01). In mice treated with melatonin the physiological dose of T significantly reduced the concentrations of LH in blood and pituitary (P less than 0.05). This dose of T, however, had little effect on LH in mice with a blank pellet in the AH. Melatonin in the AH markedly increased the content of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) in the mediobasal hypothalamus (P less than 0.05) in mice treated with T; however, there was little effect of melatonin and/or T in any other region examined. Melatonin and T had little effect on the contents of immunoreactive beta-endorphin (B-EP) in the hypothalamus, but T alone increased the content of B-EP in the preoptic area. These results are evidence that melatonin and T act in concert to induce the reproductively-quiescent state by suppressing secretion of GnRH from the hypothalamus.
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PMID:Melatonin acts in the brain to mediate seasonal steroid inhibition of luteinizing hormone secretion in the white-footed mouse (Peromyscus leucopus). 296 12

Adult hedgehogs, maintained in captivity under natural environmental conditions of photoperiod and ambient temperature, were bled monthly. Plasma was assayed for melatonin, testosterone, prolactin, thyroxin, beta-endorphin and both plasma and urine for cortisol. Melatonin concentrations followed a circannual pattern, maximal between November and February at photoperiods less than 10L:14D, which is suggested as a key photoperiod. beta-Endorphin concentrations were maximal between March and September, coinciding with the reproductively active season of the hedgehog. Prolactin values were elevated during hibernation, indicating continued hypothalamo-pituitary axis activity. Testosterone and thyroxin levels were high between February and July and February and August respectively. During spring thyroxin concentrations rose 1 month later in females than males, reflecting the earlier arousal of the males from hibernation. There were no marked seasonal cycles of plasma or urinary cortisol. The results indicate photoperiod as the main factor in regulating hedgehog seasonality, with melatonin, beta-endorphin and prolactin important in the timing of reactivation of reproduction. Sexual differences in hedgehogs suggests environmental fine tuning of endogenous cycles, males being ready to inseminate females early in spring, while females only begin full breeding activity when conditions are suitable.
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PMID:Seasonal endocrine cycles in the European hedgehog, Erinaceus europaeus. 297 32

The authors refer the results of their study in 15 healthy women in whom 24-hours serum melatonin (MT) and cortisol (F) were assayed by RIA method. Both hormones showed a clear circadian rhythm: Melatonin reached the highest values between 24.00 and 04.00 while cortisol were at the lowest values. The relationships between Corticotropin Releasing Factor (CRF) and pineal function are analysed. A strict correlation between the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis and melatonin is suggested.
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PMID:Pineal gland hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis relationships. 378 29


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