title: Beta-endorphinergic innervation of mu and delta receptor containing neurons in the dorsal raphe nucleus.
abstract: A pre-embedding double immunostaining technique was used to determine the role of beta-endorphin in synapse, particularly in neurons with a postsynaptic membrane containing micro-1 or delta-1 opioid receptors. A small number of beta-endorphin immunoreactive axon terminals in the dorsal raphe nucleus was found to make direct synapses on micro-1 or delta-1 opioid receptor-immunoreactive dendrites, some of which showed immunostaining of their postsynaptic membranes, although with low frequencies. These results suggest that beta-endorphin can play a direct role through the micro-1 or delta-1 opioid receptors at synapses, but the main route would be through other opioid receptor at the synapse or even not through the synapse.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Showa University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Q P
authors.initials: QP
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Guan
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nakai
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D008297:Male; D016253:Microscopy, Immunoelectron; D009474:Neurons / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D017729:Presynaptic Terminals / Q000648:ultrastructure; D011903:Raphe Nuclei / Q000737:chemistry / Q000166:cytology*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D017465:Receptors, Opioid, delta / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism*; D017450:Receptors, Opioid, mu / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism*; D013569:Synapses / Q000648:ultrastructure; D001615:beta-Endorphin / Q000032:analysis / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D017465:Receptors, Opioid, delta; D017450:Receptors, Opioid, mu; D001615:beta-Endorphin