Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UNIPROT:P01189 (beta-endorphin)
 21,003 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Striated muscle of the esophagus was until recently considered to consist of "classical" skeletal muscle fibers innervated by cholinergic vagal motoneurons. The recently described co-innervation originating from enteric neurons expressing nNOS, VIP, NPY, and galanin added a new dimension of complexity. The aim of this study was to summarize current knowledge about, and to get further hints as to the possible function of enteric co-innervation of striated esophageal muscle fibers. Aldehyde fixed rat esophagi were processed for immunocytochemistry for CGRP or VAChT (to demonstrate vagal motor terminals), nNOS/NADPH-d, VIP, NPY, and galanin (to demonstrate enteric terminals), met-enkephalin, mu opiate receptor, muscarinic receptors m1-3, soluble guanylyl cyclase, and cGMP dependent kinase type I and II. Motor endplates were visualized using fluorochrome tagged alpha-bungarotoxin to label nicotinic receptors, or with AChE histochemistry. Besides light and confocal laser scanning microscopy, immuno electron microscopy was also employed. Up to 80% of motor endplates were co-innervated. In addition to nNOS, VIP, NPY, and galanin, many enteric terminals in esophageal motor endplates expressed met-enkephalin. Some appeared to stain for the muscarinic m(2) receptor. There was prominent immunostaining for the micro opioid receptor in the sarcolemma at both junctional and extrajunctional sites. Immunostaining for soluble guanylyl cyclase was prominent immediately beneath the clusters of nicotinic receptors. Enteric varicosities and vagal terminals intermingled in motor endplates often without intervening teloglial processes. During ontogeny, initially high co-innervation rates were reduced to adult levels in a cranio-caudally progressing manner. We conclude that, in addition to a possible nitrergic, VIP-, NPY-, and galaninergic modulation of neuromuscular transmission by enteric neurons, opioidergic mechanisms could play a role. On the other hand, cholinergic influence on enteric neurons may be exerted also by the nucleus ambiguus via motor endplates, in addition to the input from the dorsal motor nucleus. The observations that enteric nerve fibers contact striated muscle fibers at specialized sites, i.e., motor endplates, and that these contacts appear in an ordered cranio-caudal sequence after cholinergic motor endplates have been established point to a specific function in neuronal control of esophageal muscle rather than to be an unspecific "hangover" from the smooth muscle past of this organ.
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PMID:Enteric co-innervation of striated muscle fibers in the esophagus: just a "hangover"? 1114 27

Sympathetic axons in the upper eyelid and in tissues in the superior retro-orbital space were examined for NPY immunoreactivity. Sympathetic nerve terminals containing co-localised NPY were associated with blood vessels, the conjunctiva and the Meibomian glands. The acini of the Harderian gland completely lacked sympathetic innervation. Sympathetic axons lacking NPY were only found in the tarsal muscle. In addition, a minority of terminals, located in the more proximal part of the tarsal muscle, contained weak immunoreactivity to NPY. Injections of the retrograde tracer, Fast Blue, into the eyelid or retro-orbital space labelled postganglionic somata in the superior cervical ganglion. While many retrogradely labelled somata were immunoreactive for NPY, around half lacked NPY immunoreactivity and so are likely to project to the tarsal muscle. Most of the retrogradely labelled postganglionic somata lacking NPY were surrounded by terminals immunoreactive for met-enkephalin, leu-enkephalin and met-enkephalin arg-gly-leu which were all found to be present in the same nerve terminals. Sectioning the cervico-sympathetic trunk eliminated all enkephalin-immunoreactive pericellular baskets. Many enkephalin-immunoreactive pericellular terminals contained co-localised VAChT, calretinin and calbindin immunoreactivity, but completely lacked nitric oxide synthase immunoreactivity. A second population of nerve terminals that were immunoreactive for nitric oxide synthase also surrounded tarsal muscle-projecting neurons, but these terminals lacked immunoreactivity to enkephalin. Thus, postganglionic neurons projecting to the tarsal muscle are of at least two chemical phenotypes (with or without NPY) and they receive convergent input from at least two populations of preganglionic neurons with distinctive chemical phenotypes.
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PMID:Chemical coding of sympathetic neurons controlling the tarsal muscle of the rat. 1279 4

Several lines of evidence support a role for pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP) in the regulation of energy balance. In the present study, we have used fluorescent in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry to investigate in detail the cellular localization and chemical content of PACAP mRNA- and peptide-containing neuronal cell bodies in the mediobasal hypothalamus of the rat. PACAP mRNA-containing cell bodies were demonstrated in high numbers in the ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus (VMH) and in lower numbers in the arcuate nucleus (Arc). In colchicine-treated rats, PACAP immunoreactivity was demonstrated in many cell bodies of the VMH and several cell bodies of the ARC. Double-labeling revealed that PACAP immunoreactivity was present in approximately 20% of pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) neurons in the ventrolateral Arc as shown by presence of alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (alpha-MSH), but not in agouti-related peptide (AgRP)-containing neurons in the ventromedial aspect of the Arc. PACAP immunoreactivity was also colocalized with the vesicular acetylcholine transporter (VAChT; a marker for cholinergic neurons) in Arc POMC neurons. Brainstem POMC neurons in the commissural part of the solitary tract nucleus were devoid of PACAP immunoreactivity. However, several VAChT-positive neurons in the dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus nerve were also PACAP immunoreactive, whereas VAChT-positive neurons of the motor nucleus of the hypoglossal nerve were PACAP-negative. The results show presence of PACAP with alpha-MSH in a subpopulation of hypothalamic POMC neurons and point further to the neurochemical heterogeneity of hypothalamic, but not brainstem, POMC neurons.
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PMID:Presence of pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP) defines a subpopulation of hypothalamic POMC neurons. 1800 99

Considerable evidence suggests that dynorphin participates in the regulation of energy balance. In this study, we have used immunohistochemistry to investigate in detail the cellular localization of pro-dynorphin (DYN) immunoreactive cell bodies in the mediobasal hypothalamus with special reference to neurons producing orexigenic or anorexigenic transmitters. In colchicine-treated rats, DYN immunoreactivity was demonstrated in many cell bodies of the arcuate nucleus (Arc). Double-labeling revealed that DYN immunoreactivity was present in approximately 30% of pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) neurons in the ventrolateral Arc as shown by presence of alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (alpha-MSH) and cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript (CART). In contrast, DYN immunoreactivity was not demonstrated in agouti-related peptide (AgRP)- or neuropeptide Y (NPY) -containing neurons in the ventromedial aspect of the Arc. Dynorphin immunoreactivity was also colocalized with the vesicular acetylcholine (ACh) transporter (VAChT; a marker for cholinergic neurons) in the cell soma of Arc POMC neurons. Brainstem POMC neurons in the commissural part of the solitary tract nucleus (NTS) were devoid of DYN immunoreactivity, whereas DYN immunoreactivity was detected in a few NPY-containing NTS neurons and cholinergic DMX neurons. Our results showing presence of DYN together with alpha-MSH in a subpopulation of hypothalamic POMC neurons further point to the neurochemical heterogeneity of hypothalamic POMC neurons. The results suggest a role for DYN in control of energy balance by mediating the effect of peripheral hormones such as leptin and insulin.
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PMID:Dynorphin in pro-opiomelanocortin neurons of the hypothalamic arcuate nucleus. 1847 30