Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UNIPROT:P61278 (somatostatin)
 22,083 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

As previously shown with adenosine, somatostatin, which is ineffective alone, enhanced the alpha 1-adrenergic-agonist-stimulated production of inositol phosphates in cultured striatal astrocytes. This effect was suppressed in cells pretreated with pertussis toxin. It required external calcium and was selectively antagonized by both mepacrine, an inhibitor of phospholipase A2, and 5,8,11,14-eicosatetraynoic acid, a nonmetabolizable analog of arachidonic acid. In addition, a long-lasting elevation of cytosolic calcium and a release of arachidonic acid were observed only under the combined stimulation of somatostatin and alpha 1-adrenergic receptors. Arachidonic acid could in turn inhibit glutamate uptake into astrocytes, and the resulting external accumulation of glutamate could account for the somatostatin-evoked amplification of the alpha 1-adrenergic-agonist-stimulated hydrolysis of inositol-phospholipids. The effect of somatostatin was indeed reproduced by glutamate or glutamate uptake inhibitors and suppressed by enzymatic removal of external glutamate. Thus, astrocytes may contribute to long-term plasticity events in glutamatergic synapses through regulation of external glutamate levels.
 ...
PMID:Somatostatin potentiates the alpha 1-adrenergic activation of phospholipase C in striatal astrocytes through a mechanism involving arachidonic acid and glutamate. 168 48

Sharp pain is conducted rapidly by myelinated delta A fibers and diffused pain slowly by nonmyelinated C fibers to pseudobipolar neurons in the posterior ganglion and from there to neurons located in the posterolateral horn of the spinal cord. From here on nociferous impulses are transmitted by excitatory peptides (e.g. substance P) or amino acids (e.g. glutamate, aspartate) through interconnecting neurons of the pain pathways, primarily on the contralateral side, to the brain stem and from there to the sensory cortex, where they are appreciated and acted upon. There are specific inhibitory receptors located on axon terminals, near to the release sites of the excitatory amino acids and peptides. Stimulation of these receptors by their appropriate ligands such as endogenous (e.g. enkephalis, endorphins) or exogenous opioids, clonidine, serotonin, somatostatin inhibits the release of excitatory neurotransmitters and relieves pain. There are at least 3 different opioid receptors, called mu-, kappa- and delta-receptors in the spinal cord. These can be differentiated from one another by their specific affinity toward different endogenous or exogenous opioids and the pure narcotic antagonist, naloxone. It appears that the nociferous impulses transmitted by parallel pathways equipped with different inhibitory receptors have to be integrated to produce pain sensation and partial inhibition of transmission in different pathways or complete inhibition in one of the pathways may relieve pain. In recent years the concept of "selective spinal analgesia" has been applied clinically for the relief of postoperative, obstetrical and chronic pain. At first it was expected that the intrathecal or peridural administration of morphine will produce analgesia without the side effects of systemically administered morphine. It soon became evident, however, that intrathecally and peridurally administered morphine after several hours of delay reaches the fourth ventricle and by stimulating mu-receptors may cause respiratory depression and other undesired effects (e.g. nausea, vomiting, pruritus). Several different approaches are being investigated for the production of selective spinal analgesia without side effects. They include: a. the use of more lipophilic, long-lasting opioids (e.g. lofentanil) which would be almost completely absorbed by the spinal cord and therefore would not reach the medullary centers; b. the development of opioids with specific affinity to kappa- and for delta- and little or no affinity to mu-receptors, primarily responsible for side effects; and c. combining lower doses of opioid agonists with alpha 2-adrenergic agonists (e.g. clonidine) or with somatostatin. It is conceivable that in the not-too-distant future, it will be possible to achieve through these measures, selective spinal analgesia without side effects.
 ...
PMID:Pain control with intrathecally and peridurally administered opioids and other drugs. 168 73

Although it seems highly likely that mammalian isocortex evolved from a structure resembling reptilian telencephalic cortex, it has been uncertain if this occurred by the laminar differentiation of three-layered reptilian cortex into six-layered mammalian isocortex without the addition of new cell types or by laminar differentiation with the addition of new cell types. To distinguish between these two possibilities, immunohistochemical techniques were used to study turtles to see if the same major neuronal cell types, as defined by neurotransmitter or neuropeptide content, present in mammalian isocortex are also present in the specific part of reptilian cortex thought to be the forerunner of at least parts of isocortex, namely the dorsal cortex. Neurons containing the following substances are the major transmitter-specific types of neurons known to be present in mammalian isocortex: cholecystokinin-8 (CCK8), vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP), acetylcholine, substance P (SP), neuropeptide Y (NPY), somatostatin (SS), LANT6, enkephalin, GABA and glutamate (GLUT). In turtles, only those of the above substances that are found in large numbers of neurons in layers V-VI in mammalian isocortex, irrespective of whether they are also present in layers II-IV (i.e. SP, NPY, SS, LANT6, GABA and GLUT), were present in neurons in dorsal cortex. The neurons containing these substances in dorsal cortex in turtles were generally highly similar in morphology to their counterparts in mammalian isocortex. In contrast, neurons labeled for CCK8, VIP or acetylcholine, which are mainly found in neurons of layers II-IV of mammalian isocortex, were absent or extremely rare in dorsal cortex. The absence or paucity of neurons labeled for these latter substances in dorsal cortex in turtles did not reflect an overall staining failure of the antisera used since the same antisera yielded excellent labeling of neurons, fibers and terminals in many other brain regions in turtles. Thus, dorsal cortex in turtles appears to lack several of the major cell types characteristic of layers II-IV of mammalian isocortex, but possesses a number of the major cell types characteristic of layers V-VI of isocortex. The findings support and extend a previous suggestion by Ebner [1976], based on hodological data, that dorsal cortex in turtles may lack the types of neurons found in the more superficial layers of mammalian isocortex.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
 ...
PMID:A comparison of neurotransmitter-specific and neuropeptide-specific neuronal cell types present in the dorsal cortex in turtles with those present in the isocortex in mammals: implications for the evolution of isocortex. 168 5

Somatostatin (SRIF) release from fetal rat cortical cells was stimulated by exposure to 10(-5) M N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) (250 +/- 20% of basal at 96 h). A similar but much less potent effect was seen with kainate (KA) but not with quisqualate (Q) which inhibited SRIF release (KA 150 +/- 13%, Q 65 +/- 18% of basal at 96 h). Similar data were obtained for intracellular levels of SRIF. Dose-dependent experiments showed that the EC50 for the stimulatory action of NMDA was 2-3 x 10(-6) M with a Bmax of around 10(-5) M. At 10(-4) M KA and Q but not NMDA reduced tissue content and release of SRIF (KA: 47 +/- 14, 67 +/- 17%; Q: 36 +/- 13, 42 +/- 6% of basal for content and release, respectively). These findings indicate that cortical SRIF content and release is enhanced by exposure to NMDA but not by KA or Q. We suggest that SRIF-containing neurones are sensitive to glutamate damage through the activation of non-NMDA rather than NMDA receptors.
 ...
PMID:Prolonged exposure to N-methyl-D-aspartate increases intracellular and secreted somatostatin in rat cortical cells. 168 30

A detailed neurochemical analysis of the distribution of markers for the most relevant neurotransmitter systems within the rat hippocampal formation has been performed. The hippocampi, obtained from unfrozen brains of male Sprague-Dawley rats were subdissected into tissue parts containing mainly CA1, CA3 or the dentate gyrus, respectively. Each part was further divided into ventral and dorsal halves. In these six hippocampal subregions the concentrations of noradrenaline, dopamine, serotonin, 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol, 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid and the putative neurotransmitter amino acids glutamate, aspartate, GABA, glycine and taurine, and the levels of somatostatin and neuropeptide Y and the activities of choline acetyltransferase, acetylcholinesterase and glutamate decarboxylase were measured. A marked heterogeneity in the subregional distribution of markers for various neurotransmitter systems within the hippocampal formation was observed. Each neuronal marker was characterized by an individual pattern of distribution. Most of the markers showed a concentration-gradient, increasing from dorsal to ventral; only taurine was more abundant in the dorsal than in the ventral parts and no dorsoventral difference was seen for aspartate, glycine and neuropeptide Y. The highest molar ratios of total 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol to noradrenaline and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid to serotonin were found in the dorsal hippocampus. The levels of noradrenaline, GABA and glutamate decarboxylase activity were highest in the dentate gyrus and lowest in CA1. The concentrations of somatostatin were highest in CA1; those of serotonin were highest in CA3. Highest activities of choline acetyltransferase and acetylcholinesterase were found in the dentate gyrus; lowest activities were found in CA3. In CA3 the lowest values of glutamate, aspartate, taurine and somatostatin were also found. The heterogeneity in the distribution of individual neurochemical markers allows insights into possible functional differences of hippocampal subregions and provides a relevant basis for future neurochemical investigations in this brain area.
 ...
PMID:Regional heterogeneity in the distribution of neurotransmitter markers in the rat hippocampus. 168 35

A cell line has been established in continuous culture of human cerebral cortical neurons obtained from a patient with unilateral megalencephaly, a disorder associated with continued proliferation of immature neuronal cells. When differentiated in the presence of nerve growth factor, 1-isobutyl-3-methylxanthine, and dibutyryl adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate (cAMP), the cells display mature neuronal morphology with numerous long, extensively branched processes with spines and varicosities. The cells stain positively for neurofilament protein and neuron-specific enolase (selective neuronal markers) but are negative for glial markers, such as glial fibrillary acidic protein, S-100, and myelin basic protein. The cells also stain positively for the neurotransmitters gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), glutamate, somatostatin, cholecystokinin-8, and vasoactive intestinal polypeptide. These cells may facilitate characterization of neurons in the human central nervous system.
 ...
PMID:Human cortical neuronal cell line: establishment from a patient with unilateral megalencephaly. 169 58

A depletion of large cholinergic neurons in the nucleus basalis of Meynert is a consistent finding in Alzheimer's disease (AD). The nucleus basalis of Meynert also contains interneurons and afferents that may modulate its functioning. In the present study we examined neurochemical markers for neuropeptides, amino acid neurotransmitters, and monoaminergic neurotransmitters in postmortem samples of the nucleus basalis in 16 control subjects and 30 patients with AD. There were no significant changes in glutamate, aspartate, taurine, gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), and catecholamines; however, concentrations of serotonin, 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid, and 5-hydroxytryptophol were significantly reduced. Choline acetyltransferase activity was significantly reduced, consistent with previous reports. Galanin immunoreactivity was significantly increased twofold in the patients with AD, but there were no significant changes in substance P, somatostatin, or neuropeptide Y immunoreactivity. Since galanin inhibits acetylcholine release, and produces cognitive deficits in animals, increased galanin immunoreactivity in the nucleus basalis of Meynert in AD may contribute to the cognitive deficits that characterize the illness.
 ...
PMID:Galanin immunoreactivity is increased in the nucleus basalis of Meynert in Alzheimer's disease. 169 71

In the present study we investigated the relative vulnerability of neuronal subsets in the striatum to ischemia that was induced by bilateral transient ligation of the common carotid arteries in gerbils. After 4 days of survival, brains were evaluated using histochemical methods (NADPH-diaphorase and silver degeneration procedures) and neurochemical methods with radioimmunoassays for somatostatin-, neuropeptide Y-, and substance P-like immunoreactivity and measurements of amino acids using high-pressure liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection. NADPH-diaphorase-positive neurons were strikingly preserved in the ischemic dorsolateral portion of the striatum, in which there was severe neuronal loss. There was no significant depletion of NADPH-diaphorase-positive neurons in the striatum or cerebral cortex. Concentrations of neuropeptide Y-like and somatostatin-like immunoreactivity were unchanged despite a significant 25% depletion of substance P-like immunoreactivity and gamma-aminobutyric acid. Ischemic brain damage may be mediated by a neurotoxic effect of glutamate acting at the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor. Previous studies of NMDA excitotoxin lesions in rat striatum have shown a sparing of neurons containing NADPH-diaphorase, somatostatin, and neuropeptide Y. The similar sparing of these neurons following ischemic lesions in gerbil striatum provides further evidence that NMDA receptor activation may play a role in ischemic injury.
 ...
PMID:Selective sparing of NADPH-diaphorase-somatostatin-neuropeptide Y neurons in ischemic gerbil striatum. 197 76

Alzheimer's disease is characterized by markedly reduced concentration of acetylcholine in hippocampus and neocortex, caused by degeneration of cholinergic neurons. Acetylcholine is essential in learning and memory. However, despite correlation between cholinergic defect and intellectual impairment in Alzheimer's disease, the effect of substitution therapy with cholinergics is very limited. Especially in younger Alzheimer patients, the degenerative process also affects other transmitter systems. Particularly the concentrations of serotonin, somatostatin and glutamate are significantly reduced. It is not elucidated how these transmitter defects contribute to symptomatology. The serotonin defect is thought to underlie the emotional and behavioural symptoms. The somatostatin defect is correlated to the reduced cerebral metabolism and thus might be a central phenomenon. The glutamate defect has been suggested to represent the neurochemical correlate to clinical dementia, because the activity in the hippocampal glutamatergic synapses is normally increased during learning. Therapeutically, the multiple transmitter defects imply that simple transmitter substitution can be expected to be of only limited value in Alzheimer's disease.
 ...
PMID:[Neurotransmitters in Alzheimer's disease]. 197 61

In CA3 hippocampal neurons of the rat, brief anoxic episodes produce a depolarization which is probably due to a synaptic release of glutamate. Diazoxide, an activator of ATP-sensitive K+ channels (K+ ATP), blocks the anoxic depolarization and has no effect in control oxygenated artificial cerebrospinal fluid. The hormone somatostatin which activates K+ ATP channels in the pancreas also reduces the anoxic depolarization in CA3 neurons. We suggest that drugs that open K+ ATP channels may constitute a novel approach to selectivity reducing the deleterious effects of excessive release of glutamate during anoxia without producing a generalized blockade of glutamatergic synaptic transmission.
 ...
PMID:Activators of ATP-sensitive K+ channels reduce anoxic depolarization in CA3 hippocampal neurons. 197 42


<< Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Next >>