The effects of highly selective mu and delta opioid peptide agonists were determined in two rat models of experimentally-induced convulsions, the flurothyl threshold test and the maximal electroshock test. Intracerebroventricular injections of the mu selective enkephalin DAGO (0.3-2.2 nmol) resulted in a dose-related protection in both seizure models. Pretreatment with a low dose of naloxone (2...

The 3',5'-cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP)-inducible enhancer of the human enkephalin gene is located within an imperfect palindrome of 23 base pairs. We have found that a 23-base-pair oligonucleotide duplex containing the enhancer undergoes a reversible conformational transition from the duplex to two individual hairpin structures each formed from one strand of the duplex. Each individual...

We apply the parallel SGA and parallel fmGA to the minimization of an empirical energy model of the pentapeptide Met Enkephalin Figure We choose Met enkephalin for two reasons First previous re search e orts have investigated the use of various op timization techniques for the prediction of its tertiary structure via energy minimization Second the native conformation is known and its energy has...

This study reports the in vitro influence of morphine, dextromoramide, levomoramide, and methionine-enkephalin upon normal human T blood lymphocytes by using the active and total rosette tests. Morphine and dextromoramide inhibited the percentage of active T rosettes. This effect was completely reversed in the presence of naloxone, their specific antagonist. The specificity was further demonstr...

The distribution of choline acetyltransferase (ChoAcTase)-like immunoreactivity in the superior cervical ganglion and the stellate ganglion was analyzed with immunohistochemistry. A dense network of ChoAcTase-immunoreactive nerve fibers was observed in both ganglia studied. The ChoAcTase-positive fibers were found in all parts of the ganglia but had a differential distribution, giving rise to a...

The adult rat cerebellum has minimal enkephalin immunoreactivity and is devoid of opiate-binding activity. Using novel monoclonal antibodies to the mammalian enkephalin precursor, we describe the immunofluorescent detection of proenkephalin, in the absence of mature enkephalin peptides, in subpopulations of rat cerebellar neurons and astrocytes. In cryostat sections, neurons that express proenk...

Adams, David J. and Carlo Trequattrini. Opioid receptor-medinized the effects of these substances in rabbit (Weitzell et ated inhibition of v-conotoxin GVIA-sensitive calcium channel al. 1984) and canine heart (Musha et al. 1989). currents in rat intracardiac neurons. J. Neurophysiol. 79: 753–762, Endogenous opioid peptides were found in rat and guinea 1998. Modulation of depolarization-activat...