title: Orexin-A expression in human peripheral tissues.
abstract: Orexin-A is a neuropeptide present in the brain and is known to regulate feeding and sleeping. In this study, we examined the systemic distribution of orexin-A in human tissues. Immunoreactivity for orexin-A was detected in ganglion cells of the thoracic sympathetic trunk, myenteric plexuses and endocrine cells of the gastrointestinal tract, islet cells of the pancreas and syncytiotrophoblasts and decidual cells of the placenta. In the gastrointestinal tract, orexin-A immunoreactivity was detected in the myenteric plexuses from 26 gestational weeks to birth. In double immunostaining in the pancreas, a great majority of insulin-positive cells was simultaneously positive for orexin-A. mRNA expression for prepro-orexin was also detected in the kidney, adrenal gland, pancreas, placenta, stomach, ileum, colon and colorectal epithelial cells. These results suggest the production of orexin-A in various human peripheral tissues and orexin-A may also play important roles in some peripheral organs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Tohoku University School of Medicine, 2-1 Seiryo-machi, Aoba-ku, 980-8575 Sendai, Japan.
authors.forename: Masao
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nakabayashi
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.forename: Kazuhiro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Takahashi
authors.forename: Kazuhito
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Totsune
authors.forename: Yasunari
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Muramatsu
authors.forename: Chika
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kaneko
authors.forename: Fumiko
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Date
authors.forename: Junji
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Takeyama
authors.forename: Andrew D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Darnel
authors.forename: Takuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Moriya
authors.forename: Hironobu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sasano
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D015870:Gene Expression; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D047908:Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; D009479:Neuropeptides / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D000068797:Orexins; D011247:Pregnancy; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D014018:Tissue Distribution
chemical_list: D002352:Carrier Proteins; C000596229:HCRT protein, human; D047908:Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; D009479:Neuropeptides; D000068797:Orexins; D012333:RNA, Messenger