期刊名称：Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
印刷版ISSN：0027-8424
电子版ISSN：1091-6490
出版年度：1982
卷号：79
期号：13
页码：4226-4230
DOI：10.1073/pnas.79.13.4226
语种：English
出版社：The National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
摘要：The opioid peptides alpha- and beta-endorphin and [D-Ala2, Met5]enkephalin were investigated for their effect on the proliferation of resting and activated rat splenic lymphocytes in vitro. beta-Endorphin enhanced the proliferative response of spleen cells to the T cell mitogens concanavalin A and phytohemagglutinin. The effect of beta-endorphin was dose dependent and occurred at peptide concentrations similar to those found in rat plasma. alpha-Endorphin and [D-Ala2, Met5]enkephalin did not affect the proliferative responses to any mitogen tested. Furthermore, the potentiating effect of beta-endorphin was not reversed by treatment with 10 microM naloxone. None of the peptides had any effect on resting, unstimulated spleen cells or on the response to a mixture of lipopolysaccharide and dextran sulfate, which is specifically mitogenic for B lymphocytes. The pharmacological properties of the beta-endorphin potentiation indicate that the effect may be mediated by a nonopiate but beta-endorphin-specific mechanism. These results suggest a possible role for peripheral beta-endorphin and may provide a link between stress and disease susceptibility.
