title: Immunohistochemical studies using antibodies to leucine-enkephalin: initial observations on the nervous system of the rat.
abstract: Enkephalins are peptides which have pharmacological properties similar to those of morphine. Guinea pigs were immunized with a leucine-enkephalin/thyroglobulin conjugate. Immunofluorescence histochemistry with antiserum revealed a widely distributed system of axons and their terminals in the nervous system of the rat. Prominent networks of enkephalin-like immunoreactivity were found in some brainstem nuclei and in portions of the limbic forebrain. The myenteric plexus in the gastrointestinal tract also contained fluorescent fibers. The distribution of the positive immunofluorescence parallels the occurrence of enkephalin as revealed by biochemical techniques. Some areas known to have a high opiate receptor density were also shown to contain striking networks of enkephalin-like immunoreactivity. Such findings provide morphological support for the hypothesis that enkephalins are contained in nerve terminals close to opiate receptors.
authors.affiliation: Department of Histology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Elde
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hökfelt
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Johansson
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Terenius
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000918:Antibody Specificity; D001369:Axons / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D004743:Enkephalin, Leucine / Q000032:analysis* / Q000276:immunology; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D006168:Guinea Pigs; D008297:Male; D009197:Myenteric Plexus / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D009420:Nervous System / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats
chemical_list: D004743:Enkephalin, Leucine