title: Co-existence of the enkephalinergic system and the melanotropinergic system in the rat duodenum shown by immunohistochemistry.
abstract: The immunohistochemical distribution of alpha-melanotropin (alpha-MSH) and Met-enkephalin (Met-ENK) immunoreactivities in the rat duodenum was examined by using immunofluorescence microscopy. Alternately staining of adjacent frozen serial sections with specific antisera directed to alpha-MSH or Met-ENK revealed that within a subpopulation of myenteric plexus perikarya alpha-MSH immunostaining co-exists with that of Met-ENK. Some myenteric plexus nerve fibres also contain both Met-ENK and alpha-MSH immunoreactivity. These findings might indicate that the genes encoding for the precursors of melanotropins (the pro-opiomelanocortin precursor) and enkephalin (the pro-enkephalin precursor) are generated from a common, large and single ancestor gene which remained conserved during evolution in the rat enteric nervous system.
authors.forename: H J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Wolter
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004386:Duodenum / Q000032:analysis / Q000294:innervation*; D004744:Enkephalin, Methionine / Q000032:analysis*; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D006651:Histocytochemistry; D008297:Male; D009074:Melanocyte-Stimulating Hormones / Q000032:analysis*; D009197:Myenteric Plexus / Q000032:analysis*; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains
chemical_list: D004744:Enkephalin, Methionine; D009074:Melanocyte-Stimulating Hormones