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)

Depolarizing stimuli increase the release of neurotransmitter met-enkephalin from rat striatal slices. Bay K8644, a calcium agonist, significantly enhances the submaximal release of this peptide. Several organic calcium antagonists, including nimodipine, nifedipine, nicardipine, gallopamil and flunarizine, are able to inhibit the potassium-evoked met-enkephalin release both in vitro and ex vivo. The data suggest that the release of this neuropeptide is modulated by calcium antagonist-sensitive calcium channels.
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PMID:Calcium antagonists inhibit met-enkephalin immunoreactive material release: in vitro and ex vivo experiments. 168 85

Peptides have recently been found to function as neuromodulators or neuromediators within nociceptive pathways at central and peripheral sites. More complex and varied in their chemistry compared to "classical" low molecular weight monoamine neurotransmitters, peptides may nonetheless co-exist with these within a single neuron. The biological activity of a peptide results from an "address" segment that permits receptor binding and a "message" segment that initiates reactions within the cell. Opioid peptides (endorphins) are derived from three precursors and act by altering ionic fluxes of potassium or calcium across cell membranes. Nonopioid peptides active in nociception include calcitonin and its gene-related peptide C.G.R.P., bradykinin, substance P, somatostatin, cholecystokinin, and corticotropin-releasing hormone, among others. Ongoing investigations show significant responses of several peptide systems in experimental models relevant to vascular pain. Although the creation of novel peptide analogues has therapeutic promise, their present clinical use must be cautious in light of reports of neurotoxicity after intraspinal application of some of these compounds in animal models.
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PMID:Neuropeptides and pain. 170 17

1. Intracellular and whole-cell recordings were made from primary cultures of rat intermediate pituitary cells; beta-endorphin secretion was also measured by radioimmunoassay. The effects of dopamine receptor activation on hormone secretion, calcium currents and resting potassium conductance were compared. 2. Spontaneous sodium-dependent action potentials occurred in 82% of cells recorded with intracellular microelectrodes and 64% of cells recorded with whole-cell patch electrodes; the same proportion of cells showed spontaneous calcium-dependent depolarizations in the presence of tetrodotoxin. 3. Calcium currents recorded from holding potentials of -90 or -70 mV showed transient and sustained components, both of which activated at -40 mV and had similar current-voltage relations. Bay K 8644 (1 microM) increased both components by about 130% while nifedipine (1-10 microM) decreased them by a maximum of 30%. Nickel (500 microM) inhibited transient and sustained components by 68 and 50%; cadmium (100 microM) abolished the current. omega-Conotoxin (1 microM) reversibly inhibited the transient component by 26%. 4. The dopamine D2 receptor agonist, quinpirole (0.1-10 microM) inhibited transient and sustained components in all cells by a maximum of 40 and 25% respectively. Quinpirole did not alter the time course of the current. 5. Quinpirole (1-100 nM) hyperpolarized 90% of cells from which intracellular recordings were made and 55% of cells recorded from with whole-cell patch pipettes. Maximum hyperpolarization of 16 +/- 4 mV from a resting potential of -44 +/- 5 mV was observed with 100 nM-quinpirole; concentration producing half-maximal effect was 3 nM. The hyperpolarization resulted from an increase in potassium conductance. 6. Quinpirole (1-100 nM) decreased basal beta-endorphin secretion by 55% and abolished secretion stimulated by Bay K 8644 or isoprenaline; concentrations producing half-maximal inhibitions were 5-10 nM. Tetrodotoxin (1 microM), nifedipine (1 microM), nickel (500 microM) and cadmium (100 microM) did not alter basal or stimulated secretion although higher concentrations of cadmium did inhibit stimulated hormone release. 7. Pertussis toxin pre-treatment prevented all actions of quinpirole. 8. Thus, concentrations of quinpirole that abolished stimulated hormone secretion did not alter calcium currents; conversely, concentrations of calcium channel blockers that partially or completely inhibited calcium currents did not alter basal or stimulated secretion. These results may indicate that calcium influx through the voltage-dependent calcium channels measured in these experiments does not contribute significantly to hormone release from melanotrophs.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
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PMID:Dopamine actions on calcium currents, potassium currents and hormone release in rat melanotrophs. 171 75

The authors examined the effects of the alpha 2-adrenergic agonist guanabenz and other alpha-adrenergic ligands on aldosterone secretion and cyclic nucleotide content in isolated rat adrenal glomerulosa cells. Guanabenz inhibited aldosterone secretion stimulated by potassium, angiotensin II (AII), and adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), exhibiting IC50 values of 35 microM, 43 microM, and 58 microM for stimulation by 10 mM K+, 1 nM AII, and 10 pM ACTH, respectively. Guanabenz did not affect the cGMP content of purified adrenal glomerulosa cells but inhibited ACTH stimulation of cAMP accumulation. Guanabenz inhibition of ACTH-induced cAMP may represent a mechanism for inhibition of aldosterone secretion, however, guanabenz also inhibited aldosterone secretion stimulated by the cAMP analog dibutyryl cAMP. The effect of guanabenz on the early and late pathways of steroidogenesis was tested in the isolated rat glomerulosa cells using 25-OH cholesterol and steroid precursors to aldosterone. Guanabenz inhibited the steroidogenic response to 25-OH cholesterol stimulation of aldosterone secretion but induced a much smaller inhibition of the steroidogenic response to exogenous pregnenolone, progesterone, and 11-deoxycorticosterone. These results suggested that guanabenz inhibited aldosterone secretion primarily through inhibition of the early component of the steroidogenic pathway prior to pregnenolone formation. The effects of guanabenz were not mimicked by other alpha-adrenergic ligands suggesting that these effects of guanabenz were not mediated through activation of alpha-adrenergic receptors.
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PMID:Guanabenz-induced inhibition of aldosterone secretion from isolated rat adrenal glomerulosa cells. 184 75

In sheep, parturition is initiated by an increase in fetal adrenal secretion of cortisol. In term fetuses, adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) secretion is increased despite increasing plasma concentrations of cortisol. The present study was performed to investigate whether fetal ACTH secretion is under negative-feedback control by cortisol. Ten chronically catheterized fetal sheep (140 days gestation) were used in this study. Five were infused with hydrocortisone sodium succinate (10 micrograms/min) and five with 0.9% physiological saline for 5 h. Fetal and maternal blood samples were drawn at 1-h intervals. Infusion of hydrocortisone sodium succinate significantly increased fetal plasma cortisol concentration from 38.2 +/- 8.4 ng/ml to mean levels between 74.6 +/- 11.6 and 88.5 +/- 4.7 ng/ml. Fetal plasma ACTH concentration was significantly decreased from 129 +/- 36 to 31 +/- 5 pg/ml after 5 h of infusion. Infusion of saline did not alter fetal plasma cortisol or ACTH concentration. Neither of the infusions significantly altered maternal plasma concentrations of ACTH or cortisol, or fetal or maternal blood gases, or plasma concentrations of sodium or potassium. With one exception, all fetuses were born alive at 145 +/- 1 and 144 +/- 1 days gestation in the saline- and hydrocortisone sodium succinate-infused groups, respectively. The results of this study demonstrate that at 140 days gestation fetal ACTH secretion is under negative-feedback control by cortisol.
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PMID:Cortisol inhibits ACTH secretion in late-gestation fetal sheep. 184 1

Several monokines, proteins secreted by monocytes and macrophages, alter release of hormones from the anterior pituitary. We report here the ability of femtomolar concentrations of interleukin 2 (IL-2), a lymphokine released from T lymphocytes, to alter directly pituitary hormone release. The effects of concentrations of IL-2 ranging from 10(-17) to 10(-9) M on anterior pituitary hormone release were evaluated in vitro. Hemipituitaries were preincubated in 1 ml of Krebs-Ringer bicarbonate buffer (KRB) followed by incubation for 1 or 2 hr with KRB or KRB containing different concentrations of IL-2. This was followed by incubation for 30 min in 56 mM potassium medium to study the effect of pretreatment with IL-2 on subsequent depolarization-induced hormone release. Prolactin (PRL), luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), corticotropin (ACTH), growth hormone (GH), and thyrotropic hormone (TSH) released into the incubation medium were measured by radioimmunoassay. IL-2 stimulated the basal release of PRL at 1 or 2 hr but suppressed the subsequent depolarization-induced PRL release, perhaps because the readily releasable pool of PRL was exhausted. The minimal effective dose (MED) was 10(-15) M. Conversely, IL-2 significantly suppressed the basal release of LH and FSH at 1 or 2 hr, with a MED of 10(-16) M, thus demonstrating a reciprocal action of the cytokine on lactotrophs and gonadotrophs. The subsequent depolarization-induced release of LH and FSH was suppressed, indicative of a persistent inhibitory action of IL-2. IL-2 stimulated ACTH and TSH release at 1 hr and the MEDs were 10(-12) and 10(-15) M, respectively. Conversely, IL-2 significantly lowered the basal release of GH at 1 hr, with a MED of 10(-15) M. The release of GH was not altered at 2 hr. The high potassium-induced release of ACTH, TSH, and GH was not affected. The results demonstrate that IL-2 at picomolar concentrations affects the release of anterior pituitary hormones. This cytokine may serve as an important messenger from lymphocytes exerting a direct paracrine action on the pituitary by its release from lymphocytes in the gland or concentrations in the blood that reach the gland may be sufficient to activate it.
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PMID:Anterior pituitary hormone control by interleukin 2. 184 83

The aim of this paper is to study the effect of 1, 2 or 3 months' administration of chlorpromazine (CPZ), thioridazine (TDZ) (2 or 6 mg/kg) or haloperidol (HAL) (0.25 or 1 mg/kg) IP on the level of leu- and met-enkephalin (ENK) in striatum. A dose- and time-dependent increase of striatal ENK level was observed after chronic administration of the neuroleptics (NL), but 8 days after withdrawal of chronically administered NL striatal ENK was decreased. Apomorphine pretreatment significantly attenuated the elevation in ENK produced by chronic injections of NL. In perfusion fluid obtained from the lateral ventricle of animals treated 1 month with HAL a dose-dependent increase of ENK levels was observed, which was augmented by potassium ions. It is concluded that: 1) Chronic administration of neuroleptic drugs that block dopamine receptors increases the level and the release of striatal enkephalins; 2) The results support the hypothesis that activation of dopaminergic neurons tonically inhibits the synthesis of enkephalins in the striatum.
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PMID:Chronic treatment with chlorpromazine, thioridazine or haloperidol increases striatal enkephalins and their release from rat brain. 188 95

Two dogs with idiopathic chylothorax and 2 dogs with experimentally induced (ie, ligation of the cranial vena cava) chylothorax were treated by intermittent thoracic drainage. Of these 4 dogs, 3 that did not have evidence of renal failure had normal or near-normal serum sodium and potassium concentrations before thoracic drainage began, and all 3 developed repeatedly marked hyponatremia and hyperkalemia during thoracic drainage. Another dog became weak and depressed, ostensibly because of hyperkalemia. Serum sodium and potassium concentrations in 1 dog with spontaneous chylothorax returned to normal after chylothorax resolved and thoracic drainage was stopped. The other 3 dogs died or were euthanatized, and the effect of stopping thoracic drainage could not be evaluated. In 3 dogs in which it was measured, normal-to-high plasma cortisol concentration was observed before and after adrenocorticotropin administration, and 2 dogs also had hyperaldosteronemia. Hyponatremia was hypothesized to be caused by sodium loss via thoracic drainage whereas hyperkalemia may have been multifactorial in origin, but probably was attributable, at least, in part to decreased renal potassium clearance.
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PMID:Hyponatremia and hyperkalemia associated with idiopathic or experimentally induced chylothorax in four dogs. 191 42

The localization of an ouabain-sensitive potassium-dependent p-nitrophenylphosphatase part of the Na+,K(+)-ATPase complex in the white rat's brain has been studied at the ultrastructural level. The physiological pH of incubation medium highly increases the specificity of ultracytochemical enzyme demonstration. The main characteristics of the enzymatic p-NPP hydrolysis used for this methodological technique are discussed.
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PMID:[An electron microscopic study of the localization of the activity of the ouabain-sensitive, potassium-dependent p-nitrophenylphosphatase component of the Na, K-ATPase complex in the rat brain]. 196 42

This report presents evidence for the depolarization-dependent release of met-enkephalin from the superior colliculus of the rabbit. Collicular tissue was placed in superfusion chambers and met-enkephalin accumulation in the superfusate was measured by radioimmunoassay. Exposure to high potassium concentrations (30 mM and 56 mM) increased met-enkephalin release. This is the fourth transmitter shown to be released from collicular tissue. Furthermore, we have obtained the first evidence that suggests that met-enkephalin release is susceptible to muscarinic modulation. While the depolarization-dependent release of met-enkephalin was depressed in the presence of atropine (1 microM), hexamethonium (100 microM) did not block the increase of met-enkephalin release induced by high potassium.
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PMID:Release of met-enkephalin and its modulation through acetylcholine receptors in the rabbit superior colliculus. 198 58


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