title: Involvement of opioid peptides in the regulation of reproduction in the prawn Penaeus indicus.
abstract: The possible involvement of an endogenous opioid system in the regulation of ovarian development in the prawn Penaeus indicus was investigated. Injection of leucine-enkephalin significantly increased the ovarian index and oocyte diameter in a dose-dependent manner. In contrast, injection of methionine-enkephalin significantly decreased the ovarian index and oocyte diameters. These results provide evidence to support the hypothesis that an opioid system is involved in the regulation of reproduction in crustaceans.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biotechnology, Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati-517 502, India. psreddy@vsnl.com
authors.forename: P S
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Reddy
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D048429:Cell Size / Q000187:drug effects; D004743:Enkephalin, Leucine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004744:Enkephalin, Methionine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005260:Female; D009865:Oocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects; D010053:Ovary / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D033561:Penaeidae / Q000502:physiology*; D012098:Reproduction
chemical_list: D004744:Enkephalin, Methionine; D004743:Enkephalin, Leucine