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

Advantage was taken of a specific and sensitive bioassay for rat plasma adrenocorticotropin (ACTH) based on the dispersion of rat adrenal cells with trysin, to investigate the relationship between plasma corticosterone concentration and inhibition of ACTH release under steady-state conditions achieved by graded rates (0-5.12 mug/min per 100 g body weight) of intravenous infusion of the steroid for 45 min in 28-day adrenalectomized rats. In contrast to prior reports involving suppression of stress-induced ACTH release, the inhibitory effect of corticosterone was shown, under our experimental conditions, to be exerted also on the basal rate of ACTH secretion. Indeed, a slight though not significant decrease of plasma ACTH concentration was observed with the corticosterone infusion rate of 0.64 mg/min per 100 g body weight, and further progressive and highly significant drops in concentration were recorded for infusion rates of 2.56 and 5.12 mg/min per 100 g body weight. An increase of the metabolic clearance rate of corticosterone, observed as a function of the infusion rate, was ascribed to saturation by the steroid of the plasma transcortin binding sites.
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PMID:Feedback inhibition of adrenocorticotropin release by corticosterone infusions in the adrenalectomized rat. 16 24

Adrenocorticotropin and gonadotropin producing cells were localized in the adenohypothysis of normal Lerots by using anti-beta 1-24 ACTH, anti-LH, anti-LH beta, anti-PMSG antisera. In order to study their fine structure two techniques were employed: a superimposition technique which consists of detailed comparisons between the same cells in light, fluorescence and electron microscopic preparations and an immunocytochemical technique on ultra-thin sections using the peroxidase anti-peroxidase complex technique. The superimposistion technique allows an excellent description of cell ultrastructure of individually identified cells of each type. With this method we were able to describe the corticotropin secreting cells as lucent cells with electron dense granules ranging in size from 2500 to 3500 A. The gonodotropin secreting cells are darker and their granules are about 2000 A in diameter.
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PMID:Characterization by different techniques of adrenocorticotropin and gonadotropin producing cells in lerot pituitary (Eliomys quercinus). 16 69

The plasma cortisol response to hypoglycemia is widely used as a test of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal function. It was the aim of this study to determine whether this test gives a reliable indication of pituitary corticotropin (ACTH) release in patients recovering from adrenocortical suppression due to corticosteroid or ACTH therapy. The 16 patients who were studied (6 on more than one occasion) had received in excess of 5 mg predinisone or equivalent daily for over 12 months. The insulin tolerance tests were carried out 18 h after stopping steroid therapy. The tests were then repeated three to four days after adrenal function had been restored (as indicated by urinary oxogenic steroid excretion of greater than 35 mg/24 h) by zinc tetracosactrin administration. The ACTH response to hypoglycemia was significantly impaired in the steroid-treated group. However with the exception of one patient who had persistently elevated resting ACTH levels there was a significant correlation (P less than 0.01) between the maximum increments in plasma cortisol and ACTH during hypoglycemia. No significant difference in sensitivity to endogenous ACTH could be demonstrated between the steroid-treated group and 12 normal control subjects. Following ACTH administration the plasma ACTH and growth hormone responses to hypoglycemia were significantly reduced, but the response in plasma cortisol was not significantly affected. It is concluded that the plasma cortisol response to hypoglycemia gives a useful indication of ACTH release in steroid-treated patients provided that they have not recently received exogenous ACTH.
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PMID:The plasma cortisol and corticotropin response to hypoglycemia following adrenal steroid and ACTH administration. 16 25

Tumor tissues obtained from 4 patients with the ectopic ACTH syndrome were studied for release and synthesis of tumor ACTH, using an in vitro incubation system. The effect of various agents on release of tumor ACTH was evaluated in three cases; beta-MSH released and adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate (cyclic AMP) formed in the tissue were determined in one. Biosynthetic experiments using labeled amino acid incorporation were performed in two cases. Secretion of tumor ACTH was significantly stimulated in all cases by crude rat median eminence extract which was also effective in stimulating beta-MSH secretion associated with elevated tissue cyclic AMP levels in one. Addition of cyclic AMP and dibutyryl cyclic AMP caused a significant increase in release of both tumor ACTH and beta-MSH in one. Biogenic amines (norepinephrine and serotonin) markedly elevated tussie cyclic AMP levels without a corresponding increase of hormone release in one. Incorporation experiments revealed that 3H- or 14C-phenylalanine was incorporated into immunoreactive ACTH of a larger molecular size (big ACTH) in both cases by chromatographic procedures. However, biological activity of big ACTH was found to be undetectable by an in vivo steroidogenic assay. A mild tryptic digestion of the big forms resulted in the appearance of little ACTH to which the major radioactive peak shifted. These data suggest that the mechanism of release of tumor ACTH and beta-MSH is very similar to that of the pituitary, and that intracellular cyclic AMP may in part play some role in release of both hormones. It is also suggested that some ectopic ACTH producing tumors predominantly synthesize big ACTH, a possible precursor of ACTH, with less bioactivity.
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PMID:In vitro release and biosynthesis of tumor ACTH in ectopic ACTH producing tumors. 16 26

Modifications of adrenocortical steroidogenic response to ACTH as a consequence of acute prior exposure to this hormone, were studied in 106 normal subjects divided in 15 experimental groups. Adrenocortical response was assessed by the changes in plasma cortisol level and in urinary excretion of cortisol, 17-ketogenic and 17-ketosteroids; in some experiments plasma 11-deoxycortisol, corticosterone, progesterone and 17-hydroxyprogesterone were determined as well, together with urinary excretion of the unconjugated form of 11-deoxycortisol and corticosterone. Slow (8-h) intravenous administration of ACTH in amounts producing maximal response, leaves the adrenal cortex in a hyperresponsive state in case of further stimulation for up to 3 days, while the adrenocortical secretion comes back to baseline in the meantime. This potentiation phenomenon seems to concern essentially cortisol secretion since, among the compounds measured only cortisol and 11-deoxycortisol secretions increased progressively in amplitude when ACTH was administered repeatedly. Futhermore the degree of ACTH-induced adrenocortical hyperresponsiveness was found to depend on the amount of ACTH injected and on the time during which the adrenal cells are exposed to high peptide hormone concentrations. Increased adrenocortical responsiveness to ACTH persists when endogenous corticotropin secretion was suppressed for a few days by dexamethasone in normal subjects. Thus the potentiation phenomenon is not critically dependent on continued exposure of adrenal cells to endogenous corticotropin.
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PMID:Potentiation of adrenocortical response upon intermittent stimulation with corticotropin in normal subjects. 16 85

The failure of certain adrenal tumors to respond to ACTH was investigated in vivo be administration of corticotropin-(1-24)-tetracosapeptide (ACTH1-24) and dexamethasone and in vitro by studying the binding properties of ACTH1-24 and prostaglandin E1 (PGE1) and their effect on adenylate cyclase activity of the tumors' crude membranes; in addition, in five cases the stimulation of cortisol production in isolated adrenal cells by both hormones and dibuttyryl cyclic adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate (cAMP) was also studied. The results obtained in 13 hormone-producing tumors of the human adrenal cortex, i.e. 10 carcinomas and 3 adenomas, were compared with those found in normal human adrenal glands. According to the adenylate cyclase responses to ACTH1-24 and PGE1, the tumors fall into different categories. In the first group are six rumors in which the adenylate cyclase was stimulated by both ACTH1-24 and PGE; in addition specific binding could be demonstrated for the two hormones in all six. The binding affinity for 125I-ACTH1-24 was found to be about 10 times higher than that for 125I-ACTH11-24. In the one tumor in which the experiment was performed, bound 125I-ACTH1-24 was displaced by ACTH1-10. These results are similar to the ones found in normal human adrenal preparations. For two rumors of the group in which ACTH did not increase steroidogenesis in vivo, the biochemical abnormality might be located beyond cAMP formation. A second group encompasses six tumors in which the steroidogenesis in vivo and the adenylate cyclase activity were insensitive to ACTH1-24 but in which the enzyme was stimulated by PGE1 and NaF. However, these preparations bound 125I-ACTH1-24 and 125I-ACTH11-24, the binding affinity being similar for both peptides but 10 times lower than the one found in normal adrenal cortex for 125I-ACTH1-24. In the only case of this group where it was tested, ACTH1-10 did not displace bound 125I-ACTH1-24. This result strongly suggests the possibility of a modification or a loss of the receptor site that binds the N-terminal sequency (1-10) of ACTH, the biologically active part of the molecule. In the last tumor, both PGE1 and ACTH were unable to stimulate adenylate cyclase activity and steroid production in a preparation of isolated adrenal cells, although steroidogenesis was stimulated by dibutyryl though steroidogenesis was stimulated by dibutyryl cAMP. No specific binding for PGE1 could be demonstrated. However, 125I-ACTH1-24 and 125I-ACTH11-24 were found to be bound to the tumor with the same affinity.
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PMID:ACTH and prostaglandin receptors in human adrenocortical tumors. Apparent modification of a specific component of the ACTH-binding site. 16 92

Isolated adrenal cells from Vitamin E-deficient and control rats were prepared by a trypsin digestion method. Cyclic adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate (cyclic AMP) formation was studied in response to adrenocorticotropin (ACTH) in the presence and absence of ascorbate by measuring the conversion of prelabeled adenosine 5'-triphosphate [14C]ATP to cyclic [14C]AMP. Ascorbate (0.5 mM) inhibited ACTH-induced cyclic [14C]AMP formation in adrenal cells isolated from Vitamin E-deficient rats but had no effect in the control cells. The inhibitory effect of ascorbate on ACTH-induced cyclic AMP formation in Vitamin E-deficient rats decreased as the concentration of ACTH increased. In Vitamin E-deficient rats ascorbate inhibited ACTH-induced cyclic [14C]AMP formation after 30 min of incubation. There was no further significant accumulation of cyclic [14C]AMP at 60 min or 120 min although in the absence of ascorbate cyclic [14C]AMP continued to be formed. The in vitro addition of alpha-tocopherol reduced the inhibition of ACTH-induced cyclic [14C]AMP formation by ascorbate in Vitamin E-deficient rats. These studies suggest that alpha-tocopherol and ascorbate may affect ACTH-induced cyclic AMP formation through interaction with the membrane-bound enzyme adenylate cyclase.
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PMID:Effect of ascorbic acid on ACTH-induced cyclic AMP formation and steroidogenesis in isolated adrenal cells of vitamin E-deficient rats. 16 1

Pituitary sections from 15 to 21 day-old rat foetuses have been studied with the immunofluorescence technique, using antibodies anti alpha-MSH, anti beta-MSH and anti beta (1-24) ACTH. The first ACTH cells appear on day 17 of pregnancy in the pars distalis of the hypophysis and only on day 18 in the pars intermedia. beta-msh cells have been observed on day 16 in the pars anterior and on day 17 in the pars intermedia, while alpha-MSH cells appear only on day 18 and exclusively in the pars intermedia. The cytodifferentiation of the beta-MSH and ACTH cells occurs in the pars intermedia with about a 24 hours delay in comparison to that of the pars distalis. The first revealed cells are always located in the posterior half of the pituitary gland. The corticostimulating activity of the hypophysis has been tested with the fluorescence intensity of the corticotrophs, the adrenal weight, the adrenal content in corticosterone and the plasma corticosterone level. The fluorescence of the corticotrophs increases on day 18, shows a maximum on day 19 and decreases until term. The adrenal weight rises regularly between day 16 to day 20, thereafer the increase subsides. Adrenal and plasma corticosterone concentrations reach a peak on day 19 of pregnancy. These data suggest that hypophyseal corticostimulating activity is very high between days 18 and 19 and decreases between days 19 and 21.
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PMID:Ontogenesis of the alpha-MSH, beta-MSH and ACTH cells in the foetal hypophysis of the rat. Correlation with the growth of the adrenals and adrenocortical activity. 16 96

The effects of cholera toxin on isolated rat adrenocortical cells have been investigated. Both steroid and cyclic AMP output from adrenal cells were increased by the toxin in a dose dependent fashion. The concentration of toxin for half maximal stimulation for both of these responses was about 40 ng/ml. Maximal steroidogenesis and cyclic AMP output was obtained with similar concentrations of the toxin. A correlation was observed between the low amounts of cyclic AMP produced in response to all doses of cholera toxin and to physiologically significant concentrations of adrenocorticotropin (ACTH) (less than 0.1 munit/ml; i.e. submaximal for steroidogenesis in this system). This was in direct contrast to the much higher levels of cyclic AMP generated by concentrations of ACTH greater than 1 munits/ml. Time course studies demonstrated a time-lag between toxin addition and steroid response of at least 40 min. Binding of cholera toxin to adrenal cells was rapid and was 90% complete within 15 min at both 37 and 0 degrees C. These data indicate that most of the delay in response to cholera toxin is due to processes subsequent to the initial binding interaction. Following the initial delay the subsequent maximal rate of steroidogenesis brought about by cholera toxin was very similar to that obtained with a concentration of ACTH that was maximal for steroidogenesis. Significant increases in cyclic AMP levels were detected about 20 min before increased steroidogenesis was apparent. Possible explanations for this result are considered. The results presented indicate great potential use for cholera toxin in the study of adrenal steroidogenic control mechanisms, particularly at the level of receptor mechanisms and the role of cyclic AMP.
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PMID:On the mechanism of action of cholera toxin on isolated rat adrenocortical cells. Comparison with the effects of adrenocorticotropin on steroidogenesis and cyclic AMP output. 17 Sep 75

In the Cat, after Falck and Hillarp method, all the fluorescent cells of the PI and the anterior lobe of adenohypophysis can be revealed with specific anti-sera to ACTH(1-24), ACTH(17-39), bovine beta-MSH and porcine beta-LPH. With the lead hematoxyline staining method, two types of cells are recognizable in the anterior lobe, in which the non hormonal constituents of the granules must be different.
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PMID:[Cytoimmunological and histochemical study of cat adenohypophyseal cells, made fluorescent by the Falck and Hillarp technic]. 17 Oct 38


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