-
International Journal of Molecular... Dec 2020β-Endorphins are peptides that exert a wide variety of effects throughout the body. Produced through the cleavage pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC), β-endorphins are the... (Review)
Review
β-Endorphins are peptides that exert a wide variety of effects throughout the body. Produced through the cleavage pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC), β-endorphins are the primarily agonist of mu opioid receptors, which can be found throughout the body, brain, and cells of the immune system that regulate a diverse set of systems. As an agonist of the body's opioid receptors, β-endorphins are most noted for their potent analgesic effects, but they also have their involvement in reward-centric and homeostasis-restoring behaviors, among other effects. These effects have implicated the peptide in psychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders, making it a research target of interest. This review briefly summarizes the basics of endorphin function, goes over the behaviors and regulatory pathways it governs, and examines the variability of β-endorphin levels observed between normal and disease/disorder affected individuals.
Topics: Animals; Behavior; Behavior, Animal; Brain; Energy Metabolism; Humans; Inflammation; Stress, Physiological; beta-Endorphin
PubMed: 33396962
DOI: 10.3390/ijms22010338 -
The Western Journal of Medicine Apr 1979
Topics: Endorphins; Happiness; Humans
PubMed: 442629
DOI: No ID Found -
British Medical Journal (Clinical... Jan 1984
Topics: Autonomic Nervous System; Endorphins; Enkephalins; Humans; Limbic System; Neurotransmitter Agents; Receptors, Opioid
PubMed: 6140977
DOI: 10.1136/bmj.288.6413.259 -
ESC Heart Failure Apr 2020Sacubitril/valsartan is a first-in-class angiotensin receptor-neprilysin inhibitor developed for the treatment of heart failure with reduced ejection fraction. Its... (Observational Study)
Observational Study
AIM
Sacubitril/valsartan is a first-in-class angiotensin receptor-neprilysin inhibitor developed for the treatment of heart failure with reduced ejection fraction. Its benefits are achieved through the inhibition of neprilysin (NEP) and the specific blockade of the angiotensin receptor AT1. The many peptides metabolized by NEP suggest multifaceted potential consequences of its inhibition. We sought to evaluate the short-term changes in serum endorphin (EP) values and their relation with patients' physical functioning after initiation of sacubitril/valsartan treatment.
METHODS AND RESULTS
A total of 105 patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction, who were candidates for sacubitril/valsartan treatment, were included in this prospective, observational, multicentre, and international study. In a first visit, and in agreement with current guidelines, treatment with angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors or angiotensin receptor blocker was replaced by sacubitril/valsartan because of clinical indication by the responsible physician. By protocol, patients were reevaluated at 30 days after the start of sacubitril/valsartan. Serum levels of α- (α-EP), γ-Endorphin (γ-EP), and soluble NEP (sNEP) were measured using enzyme-linked immunoassays. New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class was used as an indicator of patient's functional status. Baseline median levels of circulating α-EP, γ-EP, and sNEP were 582 (160-772), 101 (37-287), and 222 pg/mL (124-820), respectively. There was not a significant increase in α-EP nor γ-EP serum values after sacubitril/valsartan treatment (P value = 0.194 and 0.102, respectively). There were no significant differences in sNEP values between 30 days and baseline (P value = 0.103). Medians (IQR) of Δα-EP, Δγ-EP, and ΔsNEP between 30 days and baseline were 9.3 (-34 - 44), -3.0 (-46.0 - 18.9), and 0 units (-16.4 - 157.0), respectively. In a pre-post sacubitril/valsartan treatment comparison, there was a significant improvement in NYHA class, with 36 (34.3%) patients experiencing improvement by at least one NYHA class category. Δα-EP and ΔsNEP showed to be significantly associated with NYHA class after 30 days of treatment (P = 0.014 and P < 0.001, respectively). Δα-EP was linear and significantly associated with NYHA class improvement after 30 days of sacubitril/valsartan treatment.
CONCLUSIONS
These preliminary data suggest that beyond the haemodynamic benefits achieved with sacubitril/valsartan, the altered cleavage of endorphin peptides by NEP inhibition may participate in patients' symptoms improvement.
Topics: Endorphins; Heart Failure; Humans; Neprilysin; Pilot Projects; Prospective Studies; Stroke Volume
PubMed: 32045114
DOI: 10.1002/ehf2.12607 -
The Biochemical Journal Mar 1982beta-Endorphin, the most potent known naturally occurring analgesic agent, is found in pituitary and brain in company with a series of structurally and biosynthetically... (Review)
Review
beta-Endorphin, the most potent known naturally occurring analgesic agent, is found in pituitary and brain in company with a series of structurally and biosynthetically related peptides that are essentially devoid of opiate activity. In studies of beta-endorphin it is important to discriminate between the active and inactive forms of the peptide. This review describes the use of chemical and immunological methods for localizing the peptides in the tissues, extracting and resolving the peptides by chromatography, and determining the concentrations of the peptides by radioimmunoassay. These approaches have allowed the distribution of beta-endorphin and its related peptides to be assigned unequivocally in regions of rat pituitary and brain. It has been found that the multifunctional corticotropin-endorphin prohormone can undergo processing by different mechanisms in different tissues, permitting the intrinsic activities of its fragments to be expressed selectively. The different processing patterns can be attributed to the existence of highly specific enzymes, characteristic of individual cells, which regulate the formation of this potent opiate.
Topics: Amino Acid Sequence; Animals; Brain; Chromatography, Gel; Chromatography, Ion Exchange; Endorphins; Fluorescent Antibody Technique; Humans; Pituitary Gland; Radioimmunoassay; Rats
PubMed: 7046734
DOI: 10.1042/bj2020561 -
General and Comparative Endocrinology Mar 2006The endocrine stress response is pivotal in vertebrate physiology. The stress hormone cortisol-the end product of the endocrine stress axis-(re-)directs energy flows for... (Review)
Review
The endocrine stress response is pivotal in vertebrate physiology. The stress hormone cortisol-the end product of the endocrine stress axis-(re-)directs energy flows for optimal performance under conditions where homeostasis may be or become at risk. Key players in the continuous adaptation process are corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) from the hypothalamic nucleus preopticus (NPO), pituitary adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) and cortisol produced by the interrenal cells in the headkidney (adrenal equivalent of fish). CRF is a member of a large family of related peptides that signals through CRF-receptor subtypes specific for central and peripheral actions of the peptide. CRF is "chaperoned" by a unique and phylogenetically very well-conserved binding protein (CRFBP); the functions of the CRFBP can only be speculated on so far, but its mRNA and protein abundance are important indicators of the central CRF-system activity, and indeed its mRNA levels are altered by restraint stress. Moreover, the unique structure and size of the CRFBP provide good tools in phylogenetic studies, that date the CRF-system to at least one billion years old. Pro-opiomelanocortin is produced and processed to ACTH and endorphin in the hypothalamic NPO and pituitary pars distalis ACTH-cells, to MSH and acetylated endorphins in the pituitary pars intermedia MSH-cells. ACTH is the prime corticotrope in acute stress conditions. In carp, MSH, considered a mild corticotrope in chronic stress responses in other fish, lacks corticotropic effects (in line with the absence of the melanocortin-5 receptor in headkidney); yet, an unknown corticotropic signal substance in the pars intermedia of carp awaits elucidation. Interesting observations were made on the CRF control of pituitary cells. CRF stimulates ACTH-cells, but only when these cells experience a mild dopaminergic block. Endorphin, produced in the NPO and transported via axons to the pituitary gland in vivo, reverses the stimulatory CRF action on MSH-cells to a differential inhibition of N-acetyl beta-endorphin release in vitro (MSH release is not affected). We speculate that the consistently observed elevation of plasma MSH during chronic stress may exert central actions related to feeding and leptin regulated processes. A BOLD-fMRI study revealed the functional anatomy of the stress response at work in a paradigm, where carp were exposed to a sudden water temperature drop. In carp (and other fish), the endocrine stress axis is already operational in very early life stages, viz., around hatching and comprises hypothalamic, pituitary, and interrenal signaling to adjust the physiology of the hatchling to its dynamically changing environment. Understanding of stress during early life stages is critical as the consequent rises in cortisol may have long lasting effects on survival and fish quality.
Topics: Animals; Carps; Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone; Endorphins; Hypothalamus, Anterior; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Melanocyte-Stimulating Hormones; Pro-Opiomelanocortin; Stress, Physiological
PubMed: 16403502
DOI: 10.1016/j.ygcen.2005.11.005 -
Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine Feb 1996Reactions to claims of near-death experiences (NDE) range from the popular view that this must be evidence for life after death, to outright rejection of the experiences... (Review)
Review
Reactions to claims of near-death experiences (NDE) range from the popular view that this must be evidence for life after death, to outright rejection of the experiences as, at best, drug induced hallucinations or, at worse, pure invention. Twenty years, and much research, later, it is clear that neither extreme is correct.
Topics: Death; Endorphins; Humans; Hypoxia; Parapsychology; Temporal Lobe; Thanatology
PubMed: 8683504
DOI: 10.1177/014107689608900204 -
International Journal of Environmental... Aug 2022The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of β-endorphins and serotonin on the course of treatment, disease-free time, and overall survival of patients with...
The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of β-endorphins and serotonin on the course of treatment, disease-free time, and overall survival of patients with ovarian cancer. This study may contribute to the identification of modifiable factors that may influence the treatment of ovarian cancer. The research was carried out in a group of 162 patients of which 139 respondents were included in the research; ovarian cancer was diagnosed in 78 of these patients. The study consisted of three stages. In the first stage of diagnostics, a survey among the patients was carried out. In the second stage-5 mL of blood was collected from each patient ( = 139) in the preoperative period to determine the concentration of β-endorphin and serotonin. In the third stage-blood samples were collected from those patients who had completed chemotherapy treatment or had surgery. Concentrations of β-endorphin and serotonin were measured by the Luminex method, using the commercial Luminex Human Discovery Assay kit. The average age of the patients was 62.99 years. The level of β-endorphin significantly differs among patients diagnosed with ovarian cancer and among patients in the control group (202.86; SD-15.78 vs. 302.00; SD-24.49). A lower level of β-endorphins was found in the patients with a recurrence of the neoplastic process compared to those without recurrence (178.84; SD-12.98 vs. 205.66; SD-13.37). On the other hand, the level of serotonin before chemotherapy was higher in the group of people with disease recurrence compared to those without recurrence (141.53; SD-15.33 vs. 134.99; SD-10.08). Statistically significantly positive correlations were found between the level of β-endorphin and both disease-free time (β-endorphin levels before chemotherapy: rho Spearman 0.379, < 0.027; β-endorphin levels after chemotherapy: rho Spearman 0.734 < 0.001) and survival time (β-endorphin levels before chemotherapy: rho Spearman 0.267, < 0.018; β-endorphin levels after chemotherapy: rho Spearman 0.654 < 0.001). 1. The levels of serotonin and β-endorphin levels are significantly related to ovarian cancer and change during treatment. 2. High mean preoperative concentrations of β-endorphins were significantly related to overall survival and disease-free time.
Topics: Biological Factors; Endorphins; Female; Humans; Middle Aged; Ovarian Neoplasms; Serotonin; beta-Endorphin
PubMed: 36078233
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph191710516 -
Clinical Cardiology May 1984
Review
Topics: Endorphins; Enkephalin, Leucine; Enkephalin, Methionine; Epinephrine; Growth Hormone; Hormones; Humans; Male; Naloxone; Norepinephrine; Physical Exertion; Prolactin; Renin
PubMed: 6370526
DOI: 10.1002/clc.4960070502 -
FEBS Letters Jan 1984alpha-Endorphin and gamma-endorphin, two closely related peptides of the pro-opiomelanocortin family with characteristic biological activities, were purified to...
alpha-Endorphin and gamma-endorphin, two closely related peptides of the pro-opiomelanocortin family with characteristic biological activities, were purified to homogeneity from single human pituitary glands and chemically identified. Isolation of the peptides was based on size fractionation by Sephadex G-75 chromatography followed by two HPLC steps using reverse-phase and paired-ion reverse-phase systems and was monitored by radioimmunoassay. During the isolation procedure alpha- and gamma-endorphin-sized material behaved chromatographically and immunologically indistinguishably from synthetic alpha- and gamma-endorphin. The amino acid composition and NH2-terminus of isolated peptides demonstrated their identity as authentic alpha-endorphin and gamma-endorphin. Acetylated forms were absent. In addition, evidence is provided that large forms with alpha- and gamma-endorphin immunoreactivity detected during gel filtration are human lipotropin-(1-74) and -(1-75), respectively. The data substantiate that alpha-endorphin and gamma-endorphin exist as endogenous peptides in the human pituitary gland.
Topics: Amino Acids; Chromatography, Gel; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; Endorphins; Humans; Pituitary Gland; Radioimmunoassay; alpha-Endorphin; gamma-Endorphin
PubMed: 6198214
DOI: 10.1016/0014-5793(84)80093-9