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)

The effect of adrenal steroids (mineralo- and glucocorticoids) as well as that of the adrenocorticotrophic peptide tetracosactide (beta 1-24 corticotropin) on the renal kallikrein activity and on the urinary kallikrein excretion of rats was investigated. After the animals had been adapted to metabolic cages, they were injected with deoxycorticosterone acetate (15 mg/kg day), corticosterone (40 mg/kg day), both steroids combined or the vehicle (sesame oil). Additional groups of rats received tetracosactide (0.05, 0.1 or 0.2 mg/day) or the vehicle (100 microliter of 38 X 10(-3) M ZnCl2). After four days of treatment the urinary kallikrein excretion was higher in deoxycorticosterone-treated rats than in their controls. This increase was prevented when corticosterone was administered simultaneously. The renal kallikrein activity of corticosterone as well as that of deoxycorticosterone plus corticosterone-treated rats was subnormal. A dose-related reduction of both the renal kallikrein activity and the urinary kallikrein excretion was observed 2 days after starting the tetracosactide administration. It may be concluded that a stimulation of the endogenous release of glucocorticoids in the rat reduces the renal kallikrein activity and that glucocorticoids can prevent the stimulating effect of mineralocorticoids.
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PMID:The influence of tetracosactide and adrenal steroids on renal kallikrein activity and urinary kallikrein excretion in rats. 299 96

The report of 'kallikrein-like' activity in the rat neuro-intermediate lobe (N-IL) and its possible involvement in pro-opiomelanocortin processing led us to explore the expression of the kallikrein gene(s) in the pituitary. Using 32P-labelled rat pancreatic kallikrein cDNA, we have shown positive hybridization for rat anterior pituitary poly(A)+ RNA, of identical size on Northern blots (approximately 1.0 kb) to rat kidney poly(A)+ RNA run in parallel. Prior adrenalectomy or ovariectomy decreased the level of kallikrein mRNA seen in the anterior pituitary; total RNA from rat N-IL showed no significant hybridization. On hybridization histochemistry the anterior pituitary was strongly positive, and the neural and intermediate lobes negative. The previously reported kallikrein-like activity in the N-IL is therefore probably due to a non-kallikrein kininogenase; in the anterior pituitary, kallikrein may have a physiological role in limited precursor proteolysis, but lack kininogen activity.
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PMID:Kallikrein gene expression in the rat anterior pituitary. 384 24

Glucocorticoid-remediable aldosteronism (GRA) is a hereditary cause of human hypertension in which aldosterone secretion is regulated by adrenocorticotropin (ACTH). A genetic mutation which causes GRA has recently been identified in our laboratory, a hybrid or chimeric gene fusing nucleotide sequences of the 11 beta-hydroxylase and aldosterone synthase genes. The finding that these chimeric gene duplications are sensitive and specific markers for GRA allows for a simple, direct genetic test for this disorder. In preliminary studies, we found a wide range of blood pressure levels (including normotension) in affected GRA subjects. Studies to data indicate that this is not related to environmental factors such as sodium intake. Another possibility is that chimeric gene expression is variable, with low blood pressure subjects having reduced gene expression. However, the data have not demonstrated differences in steroid levels in subjects with severe versus mild hypertension. In fact, it is likely that the wide range in blood pressure levels in affected subjects involves interaction of other systems which control blood pressure. Preliminary data in two kindreds suggest that blood pressure levels are reciprocally related to levels of urinary kallikrein excretion, supporting the notion that GRA is a hypertension-predisposing syndrome, with the resultant blood pressure the interaction of the gene mutation with other blood pressure regulatory systems. Although GRA is a mineralocorticoid excess state, as evidenced by profoundly suppressed levels of plasma renin activity, we have observed (contrary to the reported literature) that normokalemia is a typical finding. In one large normokalemic pedigree, preliminary findings indicate that these subjects have a normal capacity to excrete potassium.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:Glucocorticoid-remediable aldosteronism (GRA): diagnosis, variability of phenotype and regulation of potassium homeostasis. 779 15