title: Ontogeny of the F8Famide-like (morphine-modulating) peptides in the central nervous system of rats.
abstract: FLFQPQRF-NH2 (F8Famide; FMRFamide-like peptide; morphine-modulating peptide) is a peptide isolated from bovine brain. It has some opiate analgesia modulating effects. In an adult rat central nervous system, F8Famide-like immunoreactivity is found in high concentrations in the posterior pituitary, hypothalamus, pons, medulla, and dorsal spinal cord. By using immunohistochemistry and radioimmunoassay, we studied the development of the F8Famide-immunoreactive system in the rat central nervous system during the ontogeny. F8Famide-immoreactive fibers and terminals first appeared in the median eminence on the twentieth embryonal day. Postnatally the F8Famide-immunoreactive system developed rapidly both in the brain and spinal cord, the immunoreactive structures having an adultlike distribution by the age of 1 week. A transient increase of the F8Famide-immunoreactive material was observed during the third and fourth postnatal weeks. By the age of 4 weeks, the F8Famide-containing neuronal system was adultlike both in distribution and quantity. The results suggest that the F8Famide-like peptides may act as neurotransmitters or neuromodulators from the time of their appearance in the brain and spinal cord. The early appearance and the distribution of the F8Famide-like immunoreactivity suggest that these peptides may participate, in addition to nociceptive mechanisms, in the regulation of blood pressure, feeding behaviour, and endocrine functions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, University of Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kivipelto
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rubenstein
authors.forename: H Y
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Panula
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000254:growth & development*; D001923:Brain Chemistry; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009479:Neuropeptides / Q000032:analysis* / Q000502:physiology; D018377:Neurotransmitter Agents / Q000502:physiology; D009842:Oligopeptides / Q000032:analysis* / Q000502:physiology; D051381:Rats / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000254:growth & development
chemical_list: D009479:Neuropeptides; D018377:Neurotransmitter Agents; D009842:Oligopeptides; C053651:phenylalanyl-leucyl-phenylalanyl-glutaminyl-prolyl-glutaminyl-arginyl-phenylalaninamide; C061209:A18Famide