Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Gut logoLink to Gut
. 1991 Mar;32(3):306–308. doi: 10.1136/gut.32.3.306

Plasma beta endorphin in cirrhosis and renal failure.

J R Thornton 1, M S Losowsky 1
PMCID: PMC1378840  PMID: 2013426

Abstract

Whether the plasma concentration of beta endorphin was increased in hepatic cirrhosis like that of smaller opioid peptides methionine enkephalin and leucine enkephalin was determined. Its concentration in chronic renal failure was also measured. Plasma beta endorphin was not significantly raised in cirrhotic patients with or without ascites (medians 5.2 pmol/l and 4.7 pmol/l respectively) compared with disease control subjects (4.9 pmol/l) and healthy control subjects (4.9 pmol/l). In contrast, the peptide was increased 2.5 fold (p less than 0.001) in chronic renal failure (12.4 pmol/l) and was found in many of these patients' urine. The data are compatible with the hypothesis that the liver may play an important role in the elimination of opioid peptides of octapeptide size or less but not the larger peptides such as beta endorphin.

Full text

PDF
306

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Austen B. M., Smyth D. G. The NH2-terminus of C-fragment is resistant to the action of aminopeptidases. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 1976 May 23;76(2):477–482. doi: 10.1016/0006-291x(77)90749-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Baron S. A., Gintzler A. R. Pregnancy-induced analgesia: effects of adrenalectomy and glucocorticoid replacement. Brain Res. 1984 Nov 12;321(2):341–346. doi: 10.1016/0006-8993(84)90190-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Barreca T., Siani C., Franceschini R., Francaviglia N., Messina V., Perria C., Rolandi E. Diurnal beta-endorphin changes in human cerebrospinal fluid. Life Sci. 1986 Jun 16;38(24):2263–2267. doi: 10.1016/0024-3205(86)90579-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Boarder M. R., Erdelyi E., Barchas J. D. Opioid peptides in human plasma: evidence for multiple forms. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1982 Apr;54(4):715–720. doi: 10.1210/jcem-54-4-715. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Boarder M. R., McArdle W. Breakdown of small enkephalin derivatives and adrenal peptide E by human plasma. Biochem Pharmacol. 1986 Mar 15;35(6):1043–1047. doi: 10.1016/0006-2952(86)90096-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Casale T. B., Bowman S., Kaliner M. Induction of human cutaneous mast cell degranulation by opiates and endogenous opioid peptides: evidence for opiate and nonopiate receptor participation. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 1984 Jun;73(6):775–781. doi: 10.1016/0091-6749(84)90447-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Chernow B., Lake C. R., Teich S., Mougey E. H., Meyerhoff J., Casey L. C., Fletcher J. R. Hemorrhagic hypotension increases plasma beta-endorphin concentrations in the nonhuman primate. Crit Care Med. 1986 May;14(5):505–507. doi: 10.1097/00003246-198605000-00016. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Corbett A. D., Paterson S. J., McKnight A. T., Magnan J., Kosterlitz H. W. Dynorphin and dynorphin are ligands for the kappa-subtype of opiate receptor. Nature. 1982 Sep 2;299(5878):79–81. doi: 10.1038/299079a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Dent R. R., Guilleminault C., Albert L. H., Posner B. I., Cox B. M., Goldstein A. Diurnal rhythm of plasma immunoreactive beta-endorphin and its relationship to sleep stages and plasma rhythms of cortisol and prolactin. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1981 May;52(5):942–947. doi: 10.1210/jcem-52-5-942. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Elias A. N., Vaziri N. D., Maksy M. Plasma beta-endorphin and beta-lipotropin in patients with end-stage renal disease--effects of hemodialysis. Nephron. 1986;43(3):173–176. doi: 10.1159/000183825. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Farsang C., Vajda L., Kapocsi J., Malisák Z., Alföldi S., Varga K., Juhász I., Kunos G. Diurnal rhythm of beta endorphin in normotensive and hypertensive patients: the effect of clonidine. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1983 Apr;56(4):865–867. doi: 10.1210/jcem-56-4-865. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Haddox M. K., Russell D. H. beta-Endorphin is a kidney trophic hormone. Life Sci. 1979 Aug 13;25(7):615–620. doi: 10.1016/0024-3205(79)90556-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Hersh L. B. Reaction of opioid peptides with neutral endopeptidase ("enkephalinase"). J Neurochem. 1984 Aug;43(2):487–493. doi: 10.1111/j.1471-4159.1984.tb00925.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Hindmarsh K. W., Todd D. A., John E., McBride W. G. Direct isolation of beta-endorphin from plasma by column chromatography. J Chromatogr. 1982 Aug 13;231(1):178–182. doi: 10.1016/s0378-4347(00)80523-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Lacoumenta S., Yeo T. H., Burrin J. M., Hall G. M. Beta-endorphin infusion fails to modulate the hormonal and metabolic response to surgery. Clin Endocrinol (Oxf) 1987 Jun;26(6):657–666. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2265.1987.tb00823.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Pugh R. N., Murray-Lyon I. M., Dawson J. L., Pietroni M. C., Williams R. Transection of the oesophagus for bleeding oesophageal varices. Br J Surg. 1973 Aug;60(8):646–649. doi: 10.1002/bjs.1800600817. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Roscetti G., Possenti R., Bassano E., Roda L. G. Mechanisms of leu-enkephalin hydrolysis in human plasma. Neurochem Res. 1985 Oct;10(10):1393–1404. doi: 10.1007/BF00964980. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Shanahan F., Lee T. D., Bienenstock J., Befus A. D. The influence of endorphins on peritoneal and mucosal mast cell secretion. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 1984 Oct;74(4 Pt 1):499–504. doi: 10.1016/0091-6749(84)90385-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Smith R., Grossman A., Gaillard R., Clement-Jones V., Ratter S., Mallinson J., Lowry P. J., Besser G. M., Rees L. H. Studies on circulating met-enkephalin and beta-endorphin: normal subjects and patients with renal and adrenal disease. Clin Endocrinol (Oxf) 1981 Sep;15(3):291–300. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2265.1981.tb00668.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Strober W., Waldmann T. A. The role of the kidney in the metabolism of plasma proteins. Nephron. 1974;13(1):35–66. doi: 10.1159/000180368. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Thornton J. R., Dean H., Losowsky M. S. Is ascites caused by impaired hepatic inactivation of blood borne endogenous opioid peptides? Gut. 1988 Sep;29(9):1167–1172. doi: 10.1136/gut.29.9.1167. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Thornton J. R., Losowsky M. S. Plasma leucine enkephalin is increased in liver disease. Gut. 1989 Oct;30(10):1392–1395. doi: 10.1136/gut.30.10.1392. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Yamasaki Y., Shimamura O., Kizu A., Nakagawa M., Ijichi H. IgE-mediated 14C-serotonin release from rat mast cells modulated by morphine and endorphins. Life Sci. 1982 Aug 2;31(5):471–478. doi: 10.1016/0024-3205(82)90333-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Gut are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES