Comparison of synenkephalin and methionine enkephalin immunocytochemistry in rat brain

Localization of preproenkephalin mRNA in rat heart: selective gene expression in left ventricular myocardium

The enkephalins are derived from a common precursor protein known as preproenkephalin (ppENK). Enkephalins appear to be one of the endogenous ligands for the opiate receptors. In the rat the ventricular myocardium contains more ppENK mRNA than any other tissue. To gain further insight into the role of cardiac enkephalins, the regional and developmental distribution of ppENK mRNA was studied by Northern blotting and in situ hybridization. In the early postnatal period, ppENK mRNA is low in atrial and ventricular myocardium. With maturation, ppENK expression increases threefold in left and right ventricular tissue, but not in the atria or cardiac conductive system. Interestingly, ppENK mRNA levels are four times higher in the left than in the right chamber. Thus, to our knowledge, ppENK is the only gene exhibiting marked differences in expression between the adult right and left ventricle. Given the left-side preference of ppENK expression, the possibility is raised that the left ventricle is an endocrine organ that supplies the body with enkephalins.

Diurnal variations of opioid peptides and synenkephalin in vitro release in the amygdala of kindled rats

Pentylenetetrazol (PTZ) kindling was induced in male Wistar rats (250-300 g) by daily intraperitoneal injections of 35 mg/kg of the convulsant agent. Immunoreactive (IR)-Met-enkephalin (IR-ME), IR-Leu-enkephalin (IR-LE), IR-heptapeptide (IR-HE), IR-octapeptide (IR-OC) and IR-synenkephalin (IR-Syn) in vitro release was measured from amygdala slices 24 h after the last stimulus, in groups of eight rats, every 4 h beginning at 08:00 h. Opioid peptides in vitro release displayed diurnal variations. IR-ME and IR-Syn showed maximal levels before the onset of darkness (16:00 h). IR-LE and IR-OC release was enhanced 4 h later (20:00 h), no changes were detected for IR-HE. These results show that endogenous opioid system (EOS) release displays diurnal variations. The peak for the analysed peptides was reached before and during the dark phase. It is suggested that EOS release enhancement in PTZ-kindled rats, seems to be due to a compensatory mechanism against the excitation induced by the blockade of the GABAergic transmission.

Ultrastructural heterogeneity of enkephalin-containing terminals in the rat hippocampal formation

Opioid peptides, including leu-enkephalin (LE), are important neuromodulators in the hippocampal formation where they may play a role in learning and memory as well as epileptogenesis. We examined the cellular substrates that underlie the function of LE in each lamina of the rat hippocampal formation by immunocytochemistry at the electron microscopic level in single section analysis. LE-like immunoreactivity (LE-LI) was primarily associated with large dense-core vesicles (80-100 nm), usually found in axons and axon terminals, but was also observed in perikarya and occasionally in dendrites. The morphology and synaptic associations of LE-LI-containing terminals were strikingly distinct in each region of the hippocampal formation. In the molecular layer of the dentate gyrus, terminals with LE-LI were typically small (0.6 microns) and formed primarily asymmetric (excitatory type) synapses on single dendritic spines, which is consistent with the presence of LE in the lateral perforant path. In the hilus of the dentate gyrus, two types of LE-containing terminals were present: (1) small round terminals that were heterogeneous in size (0.4-1 microns) and in type of contact formed and (2) larger (3-5 microns) terminals exhibiting the characteristic morphology of mossy fiber boutons that formed asymmetric synapses on spines. This variation in morphology and the type of contact suggests LE may have a heterogeneous influence on diverse hilar interneurons. In the CA3 region of the hippocampus, LE-LI was localized to large mossy fiber boutons (3-7 microns) that formed multiple asymmetric synapses on complex spiny dendritic processes and often formed puncta adherentia with the shafts of large CA3 pyramidal cell dendrites, indicating that this peptide may be directly released onto pyramidal cells. At the border of stratum radiatum and lacunosum moleculare in the CA1 region of the hippocampus, LE-labeled terminals averaged 0.8 microns in diameter and often formed symmetric (inhibitory type) synapses on dendritic shafts, which is consistent with a role in disinhibition. In conclusion, these heterogeneous cellular interactions indicate that LE has diverse functional roles and mechanisms of action within each lamina of the hippocampal formation and may directly and indirectly modulate hippocampal cell activity.

The development of enkephalin and substance P neurons in the basal ganglia: insights into neostriatal compartments and the extended amygdala

To study the comparative development of the two major neuropeptide genes of the striatum, we used immunocytochemistry to detect immunoreactivity (ir) for substance P and synenkephalin (the N terminus of proenkephalin), and in situ hybridization to detect proenkephalin mRNA. Earliest detection of substance P-ir was in the anlage of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BST, at E15) and in the rostral-lateral caudate-putamen (CPu), at E16. Substance P in the BST was immediately subjacent to the medial ganglionic eminence, while immunoreactivity in the CPu was associated with the lateral ganglionic eminence. Earliest detection of synenkephalin-ir or proenkephalin mRNA was in the caudal-lateral CPu and the adjacent central nucleus of the amygdala (Ce), at E16. Over the next several days, expression of each neuropeptide spread toward the region of first expression of the other neuropeptide. The first overlap of expression of the two neuropeptides was at E18, at the level of the septum. Despite correspondence of substance P-ir and proenkephalin mRNA in patches at P0, very little co-expression of the two neuropeptides was evident in individual neurons. We propose a model in which the CPu develops primarily from the lateral ganglionic eminence, and the extended amygdala develops primarily from the medial ganglionic eminence. Within each structure, two poles of neuropeptide gene expression are established initially: substance P-ir in the rostral CPu and in the rostral-medial pole of the extended amygdala (represented by the BST), and synenkephalin/proenkephalin in the caudal CPu and in the caudal-lateral pole of the extended amygdala (represented by the Ce). A stream of substance P-ir cells connects the two poles of the extended amygdala, in the sublenticular substantia innominata.

Protein kinase C-delta in rat brain: association with sensory neuronal hierarchies

Originally characterized as the calcium- and phospholipid-dependent protein kinases, the protein kinases C include at least eight separate isoforms, some of which are calcium-independent and all of which are highly enriched in brain. Of the calcium-independent isoforms, the delta subspecies of protein kinase C has the most restricted complement of lipid activators and substrate specificity, suggesting that it may have a unique role in cell signalling pathways. Using immunocytochemistry, we report that the distribution of protein kinase C-delta immunoreactivity in rat brain is also restricted, being present in all sensory systems. Moreover, it is found in alternating hierarchies of sensory pathways: in all sensory systems except auditory, it is found in first- and third-order neurons, while in the auditory system, it is found in second- and fourth-order neurons. Thalamocortical systems are intensely immunoreactive, including barrel fields of the rat parietal cortex. Outside of sensory systems, protein kinase C-delta is present in cerebellum within longitudinal stripes in Purkinje neurons, and in the caudate-putamen, it appears to be associated with the striosome (patch) compartment. In contrast to all other protein kinase C isoforms, protein kinase C-delta is absent from hippocampus. These findings suggest that protein kinase C-delta may have a unique role in signal transduction in the central nervous system (CNS), especially in sensory systems.

Ontogeny of the proenkephalin system in the rat corpus striatum: its relationship to dopaminergic innervation and transient compartmental expression

The earliest detection of the proenkephalin gene was on embryonic day 16 in neuronal cell bodies in the ventrolateral portion of the caudal neostriatum. This expression was identified by both immunocytochemistry for synenkephalin, the nonopioid N-terminus of proenkephalin (1-70), and preproenkephalin in situ hybridization with a complementary DNA probe. Two developmental gradients of preproenkephalin expression and synenkephalin immunoreactivity were observed: (i) a ventrolateral to dorsomedial and caudal to rostral gradient in the rostral caudate-putamen; and (ii) a ventromedial to dorsolateral and rostral to caudal gradient in the caudal caudate-putamen. Ventrolateral to dorsomedial and caudal to rostral developmental gradients of synenkephalin fiber immunoreactivity were also identified in the globus pallidus. Methionine enkephalin immunoreactivity was not consistently detectable until postnatal day 10 and 15 in the rostral and caudal globus pallidus, respectively. A transient patchy distribution of increased preproenkephalin expression from embryonic day 20 through postnatal day 5 occurred. These patches and a subcallosal streak were found to overlap partially with areas of increased tyrosine hydroxylase immunoreactivity by adjacent section analyses. The earliest detection of tyrosine hydroxylase immunoreactivity was found to coincide with that of proenkephalin on embryonic day 16, but in differing regions of the corpus striatum. Tyrosine hydroxylase immunoreactivity in the rostral caudate-putamen preceded, while in the caudal caudate-putamen it followed first expression of the proenkephalin gene. Early proenkephalin expression, by both synenkephalin immunocytochemistry and preproenkephalin in situ hybridization, was also detected in the central nucleus of the amygdala on embryonic day 16 immediately ventral to the area of expression in the caudate-putamen. Preproenkephalin expression in the olfactory tubercle and nucleus accumbens first appeared on embryonic day 20 and expression proceeded in a lateral to dorsomedial gradient continuous with the ventral part of the rostral caudal-putamen. Relatively late detection of methionine enkephalin immunoreactivity in comparison to synenkephalin possibly indicates a developmental delay in the complete enzymatic processing of the proenkephalin precursor. Differing gradients in the ontogeny of preproenkephalin expression in the rostral vs the caudal caudate-putamen suggest possible anatomical and developmental differences of these two regions. Also, transient compartmentalization of preproenkephalin expression and differences in dopaminergic innervation as detected by tyrosine hydroxylase immunoreactivity were further support for the existence of two subsets of proenkephalinergic neurons in the caudate-putamen. Contemporaneous development of preproenkephalin expression and synenkephalin immunoreactivity in the central nucleus of the amygdala with the ventral part of the caudal caudate-putamen also suggested developmental homology.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)