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)

Ovine corticotropin-beta-lipotropin common precursor was purified to homogeneity from commercial frozen ovine pituitary glands. A crude preparation was obtained following a procedure published elsewhere (Lee, T.H. and Lee, M.S. (1977) Biochemistry 16, 2824-2829) and was purified by gel filtration on Sephadex G-200 in the presence of 0.5% SDS and 0.1% 2-mercaptoethanol, and under an atmosphere of nitrogen. The gel filtration was repeated once. The partially purified preparation obtained from the second Sephadex G-200 gel filtration was further fractionated by preparative SDS-acrylamide gel electrophoresis, using immunoprecipitated and electrophoretically purified [125I]corticotropin-beta-lipotropin common precursor as a marker. The preparation was judged homogeneous by the appearance of a single protein band in analytical SDS-acrylamide gel electrophoresis, which exhibited both corticotropin and beta-lipotropin immunoreactivities, and a single symmetrical peak in high-pressure liquid chromatography on a reverse phase C18 column. The isolated ovine corticotropin-beta-lipotropin common precursor possessed specific activities of 116 micrograms of immunoreactive corticotropin and 210 micrograms of immunoreactive beta-lipotropin per mg of protein, equivalent to 89 and 62% of theoretical values, respectively. The amino acid composition of the homogeneous preparation was determined.
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PMID:Isolation of corticotropin-beta-lipotropin common precursor from ovine pituitary glands. 674 90

The effect of dextroamphetamine sulfate (Dexedrine) on plasma opioid peptides, hormones, and other metabolites was studied in eight female subjects with idiopathic (orthostatic) edema and five healthy females. All subjects were given 20 mg of dextroamphetamine sulfate, a drug widely used in the treatment of this disorder, and blood samples were collected before and 30, 60, and 90 minutes after treatment. Patients with idiopathic (orthostatic) edema had significantly lower plasma sodium levels but higher blood urea nitrogen, aldosterone, and renin levels. D-amphetamine decreased aldosterone and renin levels in both groups. Plasma adrenocorticotropin levels were lower whereas met-enkephalin levels were higher in idiopathic (orthostatic) edema subjects compared to control subjects. D-amphetamine had no significant effect on plasma beta-endorphin, adrenocorticotrophic hormone, or enkephalins. Our data indicate that opioid peptides, especially enkephalins, and adrenocorticotrophic hormone may be involved in the pathogenesis of idiopathic (orthostatic) edema syndrome, but they seem uninvolved in the aldosterone- and renin-lowering action of amphetamine. It is possible that amphetamine is acting further down the chain, either directly on the adrenal and kidney or the microvasculature, rather than at hypothalamus-pituitary axis.
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PMID:Opioid peptides, adrenocorticotrophic hormone, and idiopathic (orthostatic) edema. 804 56

Adenohypophysial cell types and neurohypophysial tissues were investigated in the cobalt variant of the rainbow trout, which possesses an irregularly-shaped pituitary. The pituitary remnant was completely detached from the hypothalamus in all but one fish, in which a remnant was associated with the hypothalamus. Prolactin (PRL) and growth hormone (GH) cells were predominant cell types in all pituitary remnants, forming PRL and GH areas, respectively. There were fewer somatolactin (SL) and melanophore-stimulating hormone cells than in normal fish. There were few corticotropin cells in cobalt and normal trout. Although aldehyde-fuchsin positive cells were also present, positively-staining fibers were not detected in any of remnants examined. Plasma SL levels were much lower in cobalt than in normal trout. Plasma levels of GH and T3 were significantly lower in cobalt than in normal fish. Plasma levels of PRL, T4 and cortisol, plasma osmolality, ions (Na+, K+, Ca2+, and Mg2+), glucose, triglyceride, free fatty acids, and amino nitrogen concentrations were similar in the two groups. Cobalt variants thus lack hypophysial pars intermedia and neurohypophysial tissues. Various abnormalities of the cobalt variant, such as the cobalt blue body color and the fat deposition in the abdominal cavity, may be related to the absence of the pars intermedia.
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PMID:Pituitary of "cobalt" variant of the rainbow trout separated from the hypothalamus lacks most pars intermedial and neurohypophysial tissue. 826 55

Thirty-six crossbred gilts (71.7 +/- .9 kg and 140.1 +/- .9 d) were assigned to one of three doses (0, 35, or 70 micrograms.kg BW-1 x d-1) of recombinant porcine somatotropin (rpST). The doses of rpST were adjusted weekly, and i.m. injections continued until d 50. Gilts were pen fed (six gilts/pen) a 17% CP corn-soybean diet (1.2% lysine and 3.2 Mcal of ME/kg). At d 50, feed intake, feed:gain ratios (P = .02), and blood urea nitrogen were decreased (P < .001) by increasing rpST doses, whereas ADG was increased (P = .04) by increasing rpST doses. Injections of rpST did not affect (P > .05) conception rate, age, or weight at puberty. Numbers of blastocysts or corpora lutea observed at d 10.4 +/- 1.5 of gestation (42.2 d after final rpST injection) were unaffected (P > .05) by rpST treatment. Anterior and posterior pituitary weights were increased (P < or = .003) linearly with rpST dose. However, liver, adrenal, and heart weights were unaffected (P > .05) by rpST. After a withdrawal period of 42.2 +/- 2.0 d, rpST increased (P < or = .02) the estimated percentage of lean by 5.8% and longissimus muscle area by 10.4%. Eighteen hours before the initial rpST injection (d 0), 10 gilts per rpST dose were catheterized. Catheterizations were repeated on d 40. The rpST or diluent was given i.m. in the extensor muscle of the neck 1 h after initiation of blood collection. Adrenocorticotropic hormone (1.4 IU/kg BW) was administered through the catheter 3 h after initiation of blood collection.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:Influence of porcine somatotropin on endocrine and histological variables in gilts. 832 16

Beta-endorphin, metenkephaline, and ACTH were radioimmunoassayed in the peripheral blood plasma of 4 groups of patients subjected to microsurgery by different techniques. In 3 groups electropulsed exposure of the CNS was a component of general combined ataralgesia. In group 1 (13 patients) two Lenar devices were employed, in group 2 (5 patients) Skat-202 device, in group 3 (7 patients) Elean device. Group 4 (17 patients) were controls administered drugs according to the same protocols as in the rest three groups. Anesthesia was considered adequate in all the groups. The hypoalgesic effect of electroexposure was the most expressed in group 1: fentanyl was not injected in 53% cases, and in 47% its dose, 0.74 microgram/kg/h, was 2.25 times lower than in controls (1.58 micrograms/kg/hm p < 0.05); the drug doses in groups 2 and 3 (0.82 and 0.8 microgram/kg/h) were 1.9 and 2 times lower than in controls, respectively, p < 0.05. The levels of ACTH and opioid peptides were measured at 6 stages: 1) several days before surgery; 2) after premedication, 10-15 min after the patient was brought into the operation room; 3) before discontinuing nitrogen oxide; 4) after discontinuing nitrogen oxide; 5) when the patient regained consciousness after the end of surgery; and 6) after extubation of the trachea. During surgery under electromedicamentous anesthesia the level of ACTH in the plasma was the same as initially or comparable to the level of this hormone at the same stages in the control group. The content of opioid peptides changed at stressogenic stages of anesthesia and surgery. In patients administered drug anesthesia beta-endorphin levels were shifted, in those operated on under electromedicamentous anesthesia the metenkephaline compound of the opiate system was altered. Activation of various components of endogenous opiate system in electromedicamentous and drug anesthesia may be due to differences in the mechanisms of this types of anesthesia at the given level of the antinociceptive system of the organism. No stable reaction of endorphin level on the electroexposure could be detected. There was no evident relationship between changes in the levels of opioid peptides and the decrease of fentanyl consumption. Besides, it is possible that the analgesic effect of electroexposure is mediated not only by the opioid, but by other mechanisms of endogenous antinociceptive system as well.
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PMID:[The content of beta-endorphin, met-enkephalin and ACTH in the blood plasma during electric and drug anesthesia]. 896 32

This prospective randomized study examined the acute-phase response and wound healing, comparing laparoscopic (LA) and open posterior (PA) adrenalectomy in a cushingoid porcine model. Repository corticotropin gel was given to 40 pigs for 21 days. Biochemical and tissue parameters of Cushing syndrome were confirmed. The pigs were randomized to undergo LA or PA. In addition to operating time and morbidity, the acute-phase response was compared by measuring the postoperative white blood cell count, fasting glucose, C-reactive protein, and nitrogen balance. Wound healing was assessed by (1) scored (1-4) gross appearance at 48 hours and 1 and 2 weeks; (2) histologic examination; and (3) tensile strength. There was no difference in operating time (mean +/- SD) (36 +/- 9 minutes open vs. 37 +/- 7 minutes laparoscopic), perioperative mortality, degree of leukocytosis, fasting glucose, or C-reactive protein (p > 0.05). Nitrogen balance, wound scores, and tensile strength at 24 hours and 1 week were more favorable in the LA group than in the PA group (p < 0.05). In the cushingoid porcine model, laparoscopic adrenalectomy was less catabolic and was associated with fewer wound complications than the open posterior adrenalectomy. These findings provide support for continued pursuit of laparoscopic methods for adrenalectomy in the clinical setting.
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PMID:Laparoscopic versus open posterior adrenalectomy: comparison of acute-phase response and wound healing in the cushingoid porcine model. 959 37

This study was conducted to determine the impact of diesel exhaust inhalation on the fetus. Seventy-two pregnant rats and 18 nonpregnant rats were divided into three groups: a group exposed to total diesel engine exhaust containing 5.63 mg/m(3) particulate matter, 4.10 ppm nitrogen dioxide, and 8.10 ppm nitrogen oxide; a group exposed to filtered exhaust without particulate matter; and a group exposed to clean air. The exposure period was from day 7 until day 20 of pregnancy. In addition, 15 pregnant rats were treated with aromatase inhibitors or testosterone to clarify the process by which diesel exhaust exerts its toxicity. The anogenital distance was significantly longer in male and female fetuses from both exhaust-exposed groups than in those of the control. Differentiation of the testis, ovary, and thymus was delayed and disturbed. Maternal testosterone and progesterone levels, which increased due to pregnancy whether or not the rats were exposed, were significantly higher and lower, respectively, in the pregnant rats exposed to total exhaust and filtered exhaust. The serum adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) level and urinary excretion of 17-hydroxycorticosteroids (OHCS) did not differ among the pregnant groups. These results indicate that elevated testosterone did not result from elevated maternal adrenal function. The feto-placental-ovarian unit and inhibition of aromatase activity and synthesis caused by diesel exhaust inhalation might have played an essential role in the accumulation of testosterone. Since both exhaust-exposed groups showed almost the same reactions toward the inhalation, the gaseous phase must have included the relevant toxicants.
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PMID:The masculinization of the fetus during pregnancy due to inhalation of diesel exhaust. 1126 19

Water quality associated with nitrate (NO3-) leaching from agricultural soils is an important environmental issue. This paper describes a new modelling approach to quantitatively evaluate the effect of the use of fertilisers on global nitrate leaching. A global process-based simulation model was previously developed for the nitrogen cycle in terrestrial ecosystems, in which soil inorganic nitrogen in the form of ammonium (NH4+) and NO3- was considered. After introducing data on world fertiliser consumption (FAO, 1995) into the steady-state model, the extent of disturbance to the nitrogen cycle caused by fertilisation was calculated. Although fertilisation resulted in an annual increase in net primary production (NPP, represented as carbon) of 18 Gt year-1, NO3- leaching and gaseous losses of nitrogen oxides and ammonia were also accelerated. Most regions with heavy fertiliser application (over 100 kg ha-1 year-1) showed a high annual leaching load equal to or more than 20 kg ha-1 year-1. About 2.5% of the land area occupied by terrestrial ecosystems suffered a serious leaching load of more than 30 kg ha-1 year-1. Of the total amount of applied fertilisers (138 Tg year-1) 19% was lost to NO3- leaching, 8% to gaseous ammonia, and 3% to gaseous nitrogen oxides. The rest was assumed to be fixed in the ecosystems through vegetation uptake.
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PMID:A modelling approach to global nitrate leaching caused by anthropogenic fertilisation. 1133 42

The effects of hydrocortisone, corticosterone, and pituitary adrenocorticotropin on antibody production were studied immunochemically in rabbits. Hydrocortisone in doses as low as 2.5 mg. per day (approximately 1.0 mg. per kg. per day) markedly depressed antibody production whereas corticosterone in doses four times as large exerted no significant effect. Corticotropin in doses of 15 units daily exerted an effect similar to that of corticosterone, but its effect was more like that of hydrocortisone when given in doses twice as great. This finding is in agreement with observations that the prolonged administration of corticotropin in sufficient dosage leads to increased output of hydrocortisone by the adrenal cortex of the rabbit. Corticosterone did not antagonize the effect of hydrocortisone on antibody production, but seemed to act additively with it. Although each of the hormones tested induced some adverse effect on nitrogen balance as measured by the weights of the animals, and hydrocortisone induced the more striking decreases in weight, there was no direct correlation between the effects of these hormones on antibody production and their effects on weight.
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PMID:Effects of corticosterone, hydrocortisone, and corticotropin on production of antibodies in rabbits. 1327 88

The episodic nature of water availability in arid and semiarid ecosystems has significant consequences on belowground carbon and nutrient cycling. Pulsed water events directly control belowground processes through soil wet-dry cycles. Rapid soil microbial response to incident moisture availability often results in almost instantaneous C and N mineralization, followed by shifts in C/N of microbially available substrate, and an offset in the balance between nutrient immobilization and mineralization. Nitrogen inputs from biological soil crusts are also highly sensitive to pulsed rain events, and nitrogen losses, particularly gaseous losses due to denitrification and nitrate leaching, are tightly linked to pulses of water availability. The magnitude of the effect of water pulses on carbon and nutrient pools, however, depends on the distribution of resource availability and soil organisms, both of which are strongly affected by the spatial and temporal heterogeneity of vegetation cover, topographic position and soil texture. The 'inverse texture hypothesis' for net primary production in water-limited ecosystems suggests that coarse-textured soils have higher NPP than fine-textured soils in very arid zones due to reduced evaporative losses, while NPP is greater in fine-textured soils in higher rainfall ecosystems due to increased water-holding capacity. With respect to belowground processes, fine-textured soils tend to have higher water-holding capacity and labile C and N pools than coarse-textured soils, and often show a much greater flush of N mineralization. The result of the interaction of texture and pulsed rainfall events suggests a corollary hypothesis for nutrient turnover in arid and semiarid ecosystems with a linear increase of N mineralization in coarse-textured soils, but a saturating response for fine-textured soils due to the importance of soil C and N pools. Seasonal distribution of water pulses can lead to the accumulation of mineral N in the dry season, decoupling resource supply and microbial and plant demand, and resulting in increased losses via other pathways and reduction in overall soil nutrient pools. The asynchrony of resource availability, particularly nitrogen versus water due to pulsed water events, may be central to understanding the consequences for ecosystem nutrient retention and long-term effects on carbon and nutrient pools. Finally, global change effects due to changes in the nature and size of pulsed water events and increased asynchrony of water availability and growing season will likely have impacts on biogeochemical cycling in water-limited ecosystems.
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PMID:Water pulses and biogeochemical cycles in arid and semiarid ecosystems. 1498 96


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