Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UNIPROT:P20366 (substance P)
 21,176 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Substance P is a neuropeptide that has been identified in the ovary, fallopian tube, uterus, and vagina and in the hypothalamic-pituitary axis in both an animal model and human ovaries. We sought to determine if substance P is present in peritoneal fluid and, if so, whether it correlated with the cause of infertility. Its presence was determined by radioimmunoassay in the peritoneal fluid of 66 patients undergoing diagnostic laparoscopy for clinical indications related to infertility. Total volume of peritoneal fluid and cycle day were recorded; patients were evaluated in groups according to diagnosis: endometriosis (n = 24), pelvic adhesions (n = 18), and normal controls (n = 24). The level of substance P (mean +/- SEM) was 122 +/- 19 pg/ml for endometriosis and 130 +/- 19 pg/ml for pelvic adhesions. These values were not significantly different from the normal controls (130 +/- 25 pg/ml). There was no significant difference in levels between follicular and luteal phase of the menstrual cycle. We conclude that substance P is present normally in peritoneal fluid and that its levels are not affected by pelvic endometriosis or adhesions.
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PMID:Substance P in peritoneal fluid. 137 Jul 40

Adhesions in the peritoneal cavity have been implicated in the cause of intestinal obstruction and infertility, but their role in the aetiology of chronic pelvic pain is unclear. Nerves have been demonstrated in human pelvic adhesions, but the presence of pain-conducting fibres has not been established. The purpose of this study was to use an animal model to examine the growth of nerves during adhesion formation at various times following injury and to characterize the types of fibres present. Adhesions were generated in mice by injuring the surface of the caecum and adjacent abdominal wall, with apposition. At 1-8 weeks post-surgery, adhesions were processed and nerve fibres characterized histologically, immunohistochemically, and ultrastructurally. Peritoneal adhesions had consistently formed by 1 week after surgery and from 2 weeks onwards, all adhesions contained some nerve fibres which were synaptophysin, calcitonin gene-related peptide, and substance P-immunoreactive, and were seen to originate from the caecum. By 4 weeks post-surgery, nerve fibres were found to originate from both the caecum and the abdominal wall, and as demonstrated by acetylcholinesterase histochemistry, many traversed the entire adhesion. Ultrastructural analysis showed both myelinated and non-myelinated nerve fibres within the adhesion. This study provides the first direct evidence for the growth of sensory nerve fibres within abdominal visceral adhesions in a murine model and suggests that there may be nerve fibres involved in the conduction of pain stimuli.
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PMID:Growth of nerve fibres into murine peritoneal adhesions. 1105 24

Intra-abdominal adhesions are a costly, long-term sequela of abdominal surgeries. They occur in up to 94% of patients following abdominal operation and cause significant postoperative morbidity including difficult reoperative surgeries, small bowel obstructions, and infertility. The pathophysiology of adhesion formation remains poorly defined, and a uniformly effective method of adhesion prevention does not exist. Research focused on understanding the mechanisms underlying adhesion formation is essential for the development of safe and effective therapeutic approaches to adhesion prevention. The proinflammatory peptide substance P (SP), known to participate in inflammatory and wound-healing events, may contribute to the early processes of adhesion formation. SP is the most widely studied ligand of the neurokinin-1 receptor (NK-1R), and we have determined in a rat model that intraoperative administration of an NK-1R antagonist, CJ-12-255 (Pfizer), that blocks ligand binding to the NK-1R, significantly reduces adhesion formation. It also has been determined that animals administered the NK-1R antagonist intraperitoneally have increased peritoneal fibrinolytic and matrix metalloproteinase activities, and reduced levels of oxidative stress postoperatively, all of which may contribute to the observed reduction in adhesion formation. Studies suggest that intra-abdominal adhesion formation begins within hours of surgery and that the regulation of fibrin deposition, and degradation is of key importance. A pharmacologic agent, such as an NK-1R antagonist, administered at the time of surgery that could augment postoperative peritoneal fibrinolytic activity without compromising wound healing, would be a beneficial tool in the prevention of postoperative adhesions.
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PMID:Inhibitory effects of a neurokinin-1 receptor antagonist on postoperative peritoneal adhesion formation. 1907 71

The occurrence of reproductive infertility has become an increasing concern in the developed world, particularly following the recent trend of attempts at pregnancy later in maternal life. Most existing therapies for infertility, such as clomiphene and gonadotropins, aim to manipulate the traditional components of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis. Several secretagogues of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) have been identified, including glutamate, neuropeptide tyrosine (NPY) and substance P; however, the broad array of action of these secretagogues in the CNS make them unsuitable as therapeutic targets. In the last 5 years, the Kisspeptin system has emerged as a critical regulator of reproduction and as a putative novel target of therapy for reproductive disorders. This review summarizes the relevant contemporary literature related to Kisspeptin, and assesses the potential applications of this group of peptides as a novel therapeutic target.
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PMID:Kisspeptin offers a novel therapeutic target in reproduction. 1933 51

The recent description of infertility in humans with loss-of-function mutations in genes for neurokinin B (NKB) or its receptor (NK3R) has focused attention on the importance of this tachykinin in the control of GnRH secretion. In a number of species, NKB neurons in the arcuate nucleus also produce two other neuropeptides implicated in the control of GnRH secretion: (1) kisspeptin, which is also essential for fertility in humans, and (2) dynorphin, an inhibitory endogenous opioid peptide. A number of characteristics of this neuronal population led to the hypothesis that they may be responsible for driving synchronous release of GnRH during episodic secretion of this hormone, and there is now considerable evidence to support this hypothesis in sheep and goats. In this article, we briefly review the history of work on the NKB system in sheep and then review the anatomy of NKB signaling in the ewe. We next describe evidence from a number of species that led to development of a model for the role of these neurons in episodic GnRH secretion. Finally, we discuss recent experiments in sheep and goats that tested this hypothesis and led to a modified version of the model, and then broaden our focus to briefly consider the possible roles of NKB in other species and systems.
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PMID:A role for neurokinin B in pulsatile GnRH secretion in the ewe. 2400 70