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)

The effect of ventromedial-arcuate (VMH-ARC) nuclei lesions on plasma growth hormone (GH) response to human growth hormone-releasing factor (GRF, 1 microgram/kg b.wt., i.v.) was studied in conscious rats after they had received chlorpromazine (CPZ) or CPZ plus antiserum against somatostatin (ASS). When rats were pretreated with CPZ alone, there was no difference in basal plasma GH level between VMH-ARC lesioned rats and controls. The magnitude of plasma GH response to GRF in 5 out of 6 VMH-ARC lesioned rats exceeded that of controls. When the same observation was repeated using the same rats after they had received ASS and CPZ, basal plasma GH levels of controls were significantly higher than those of VMH-ARC lesioned rats, and the magnitude of the plasma GH response to GRF was augmented in both groups of rats. The plasma GH response to GRF was comparable between two groups, though the peak plasma GH response to GRF was slightly but significantly lower in VMH-ARC lesioned rats as compared to controls. Pituitary GH content was reduced significantly in VMH-ARC lesioned rats as compared to controls. The results demonstrate that the pituitary responsiveness to GRF does not appear to be altered significantly in rats bearing bilateral VMH-ARC lesions. In addition, the placement of electrolytic lesions in VMH-ARC regions causes reduced SS secretion into the hypophyseal portal vessels and leads to an augmentation of plasma GH response to GRF.
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PMID:Effect of hypothalamic ventromedial lesions on plasma growth hormone response to growth hormone-releasing factor in rats. 286 81

Cysteamine (beta-mercaptoethylamine, MEA) is a naturally occurring sulfhydryl compound that depletes pituitary PRL, causes a reduction in brain and gut somatostatin (SRIF), and suppresses norepinephrine (NE) and epinephrine (EPI) synthesis by inhibition of dopamine-beta-hydroxylase (DBH). SRIF inhibits GH and TSH secretion, whereas, NE and EPI facilitate their release. The objectives of this investigation were to: (1) determine the dose-response and time course of DBH inhibition by MEA in vivo and in vitro, and correlate these findings with MEA tissue levels and (2) assess the function of SRIF and NE/EPI in regulation of episodic GH and TSH secretion using MEA. Animals were administered MEA (75-300 mg/kg, s.c.) and hypothalamic levels of dopamine (DA), NE, EPI, serotonin (5-HT) and MEA were measured by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and electrochemical detection. DBH activity was measured in vitro after exposure to MEA +/- N-ethylmaleimide (NEMI). Chronically cannulated rats were administered MEA (100 or 300 mg/Kg) and serial blood samples were removed in undisturbed animals, and after 30 min swimming stress. Cannulated rats with bilateral lesions of the ventromedial/arcuate nuclei (VMN/ARC) were administered MEA (150 mg/kg). MEA caused a dose-related decrease in NE/EPI nd in increase in DA at doses greater than or equal to 150 mg/kg. Tissue MEA was highest at 4 h (679 +/- 64 pM/mg tissue), but still measureable after 24 h. MEA inhibited DBH in vitro (95% inhibition at 10(-3) M); NEMI blocked inhibition. Stress-induced GH supression and corticosterone release were partially blocked by a low dose of MEA (100 mg/kg).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:Cysteamine effects on monoamines, dopamine-beta-hydroxylase and the hypothalamic-pituitary axis. 408 89

The GI tract is one of nature's great pharmacies. Most, if not all, biologically active peptides can be found there, and it is quite likely that others remain to be discovered. Our ability to exploit this resource has expanded considerably over the past two decades. Advances in analytical techniques have allowed investigators to rapidly isolate and purify new compounds from tissue extracts. Sequencing and de novo synthesis of newly discovered peptides are now routine, and the structural modifications required to alter activity and tailor a compound to a particular use are easily made. A number of gastrointestinal peptides or their analogues for use in clinical studies are available from commercial sources (see Table 7). Somatostatin is the first gut peptide to successfully complete development and yield a pharmaceutical compound with a broad range of action. Several of the peptides discussed in this article have similar potential. TRH stands out as a candidate because of its effectiveness in the treatment of experimental spinal cord injury and a variety of shock states. Such a broad range of action in critical fields may justify the intensive development required to yield potent, long-acting, and highly specific analogues. Similarly, the antimetastatic and immunostimulant properties of the enkephalins offer promise for new therapies in the treatment of AIDS, ARC, and cancer. Studies with amylin may lead to new and more precise regimens of blood sugar control in insulin-dependent diabetics and could in turn, prevent some of the worst long-term effects of the disease. The development of effective intranasal forms of GHRH could spare children with GH-GHRH deficiency the distress of repeated injections and help to prevent excessive GH blood levels. Secretin, glucagon, or CGRP might be used one day in cardiovascular emergencies, and VIP or its analogues could prove effective in the treatment of asthma. Although preliminary results with many of these peptides are encouraging, further progress will require the development of standardized experimental models and a more rigorous approach to experimental design. Many of the studies reported here suffered from small patient numbers, a narrow or nonexistent range of doses, or the use of only one or two dosing regimens. Lack of objective criteria for determining the level of response, e.g., in studies of mental illness or degenerative diseases, and the ethical problems of withholding treatment from some patients to establish proper controls further hamper research in this area. If the questions of efficacy and safety are to be resolved, thorough, well-planned trials will be required.
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PMID:Therapeutic uses of gastrointestinal peptides. 812 75

The arcuate nucleus/ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus (ARC/VMH) region is thought to relay estrogen feedback signals to gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) cells in the sheep brain. This region sends major projections to the lateral preoptic area (lPOA), ventral bed nucleus of the stria terminals (vBnST) and the ventro-caudal division of the median preoptic nucleus (vcMePON) with little direct input to GnRH cell bodies, suggesting interneuronal relay to GnRH neurons. The brain stem also provides input to the POA. The present study aimed to identify possible relay circuits in the POA and BnST to GnRH neurons. Biotinylated dextran amine (BDA) was injected into lPOA (n=6), vBnST (n=2), vcMePON (n=3) and periventricular nucleus (PeriV; n=1) of ewes for anterograde tracing. GnRH immunoreactive (IR) perikarya appearing to receive input from BDA-containing varicosities were identified by fluorescence microscopy, with further analysis by confocal microscopy. When BDA was injected into rostral and caudal regions of lPOA (n=3), no tracer-filled varicose fibers were found in contact with GnRH-IR perikarya. Injections into the center of the lPOA (n=3) indicated direct projections to GnRH-IR cells. Injections into the vBnST, vcMePON and PeriV indicated that cells of these regions also provide input to GnRH cells. BDA-containing varicosities found in the MPOA were immunoreactive for NPY or were GABAergic or glutamatergic when the tracer was injected into vBnST and lPOA, but not when injections were placed in the vcMePON. With injection into the PeriV, tracer-filled varicosities in the MPOA were not immunoreactive for somatostatin or enkephalin. Injection of FluoroGold into ventral POA retrogradely labeled cells in the above mentioned areas, but few were also immunoreactive for estrogen receptor-alpha. Thus, cells of the vBnST, lPOA, vcMePON and PeriV project to GnRH neurons. These cells may provide an interneuronal route to GnRH neurons from the ARC/VMH, the brain stem and other regions of the brain.
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PMID:Evidence that projections from the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis and from the lateral and medial regions of the preoptic area provide input to gonadotropin releasing hormone (GNRH) neurons in the female sheep brain. 1580 94

Siberian hamsters are seasonal mammals that survive a winter climate by making adaptations in physiology and behaviour. This includes gonadal atrophy, reduced food intake and body weight. The underlying central mechanisms responsible for the physiological adaptations are not fully established but involve reducing hypothalamic tri-iodthyronine (T3) levels. Juvenile Siberian hamsters born or raised in short days (SD) respond in a similar manner, although with an inhibition of gonadal development and growth instead of reversing an established long day (LD) phenotype. Using juvenile male hamsters, the present study aimed to investigate whether the central mechanisms are similar before the establishment of the mature LD phenotype. By in situ hybridisation, we examined the response of genes involved in thyroid hormone (Dio2 and Dio3, which determine hypothalamic T3 levels) and glucose/glutamate metabolism in the ependymal layer, histamine H3 receptor and VGF as representatives of the highly responsive dorsomedial posterior arcuate nucleus (dmpARC), and somatostatin, a hypothalamic neuropeptide involved in regulating the growth axis. Differential gene expression of type 2 and type 3 deiodinase in the ependymal layer, histamine H3 receptor in the dmpARC and somatostatin in the ARC was established by the eighth day in SD. These changes are followed by alterations in glucose metabolism related genes in the ependymal layer by day 16 and increased secretogranin expression in the dmpARC by day 32. In conclusion, our data demonstrate similar but rapid and highly responsive changes in gene expression in the brain of juvenile Siberian hamsters in response to a switch from LD to SD. The data also provide a temporal definition of gene expression changes relative to physiological adaptations of body weight and testicular development and highlight the likely importance of thyroid hormone availability as an early event in the adaptation of physiology to a winter climate in juvenile Siberian hamsters.
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PMID:Hypothalamic gene expression rapidly changes in response to photoperiod in juvenile Siberian hamsters (Phodopus sungorus). 2248 58

Hypothalamic peptidergic neurons using kisspeptin (KP) and its co-transmitters for communication are critically involved in the regulation of mammalian reproduction and puberty. This article provides an overview of neuropeptides present in KP neurons, with a focus on the human species. Immunohistochemical studies reveal that large subsets of human KP neurons synthesize neurokinin B, as also shown in laboratory animals. In contrast, dynorphin described in KP neurons of rodents and sheep is found rarely in KP cells of human males and postmenopausal females. Similarly, galanin is detectable in mouse, but not human, KP cells, whereas substance P, cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript and proenkephalin-derived opioids are expressed in varying subsets of KP neurons in humans, but not reported in ARC of other species. Human KP neurons do not contain neurotensin, cholecystokinin, proopiomelanocortin-derivatives, agouti-related protein, neuropeptide Y, somatostatin or tyrosine hydroxylase (dopamine). These data identify the possible co-transmitters of human KP cells. Neurochemical properties distinct from those of laboratory species indicate that humans use considerably different neurotransmitter mechanisms to regulate fertility.
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PMID:Neuropeptide co-expression in hypothalamic kisspeptin neurons of laboratory animals and the human. 2571 11