Journal of neuroendocrinology
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J. Neuroendocrinol. · Feb 2021
ReviewACE2 in the second act of COVID-19 syndrome: Peptide dysregulation and possible correction with oestrogen.
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has become the most critical pandemic of the 21st Century and the most severe since the 1918 influenza pandemic. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infects the host by binding to angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). ⋯ Here, we review the mechanisms by which the peptidergic substrates and products of ACE and ACE2 contribute to physiological and pathophysiological processes and hypothesise how down-regulation of ACE2 by SARS-CoV-2 cellular entry disrupts homeostasis. A better understanding of the endocrinology of the disease, in particular the neuroendocrinology of ACE2 during COVID-19, may contribute to the timely design of new therapeutic strategies, including the regulation of ACE2 itself by steroid hormones, to ameliorate the severity of COVID-19.
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J. Neuroendocrinol. · Aug 2016
Mechanisms of Stress-Induced Visceral Pain: Implications in Irritable Bowel Syndrome.
Visceral pain is a term describing pain originating from the internal organs of the body and is a common feature of many disorders, including irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Stress is implicated in the development and exacerbation of many visceral pain disorders. ⋯ Building upon human imaging data showing abnormalities in the central processing of visceral stimuli in patients with IBS and knowledge that the amygdala plays a pivotal role in facilitating the stress axis, the latest experimental evidence supporting amygdala-mediated mechanisms in stress-induced visceral pain was reviewed. The final part of the session at ISPNE reviewed experimental evidence suggesting that visceral pain in IBS may be a result, at least in part, of afferent nerve sensitisation following increases in epithelial permeability and mucosal immune activation.
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J. Neuroendocrinol. · May 2016
Effect of Early Overfeeding on Palatable Food Preference and Brain Dopaminergic Reward System at Adulthood: Role of Calcium Supplementation.
Rats raised in small litters (SL) are obese and hyperphagic. In the present study, we evaluated whether obesity is associated with changes in the mesocorticolimbic dopaminergic reward system in these animals at adulthood. We also assessed the anti-obesity effects of dietary calcium supplementation. ⋯ Calcium treatment normalised only D2R and NPY contents. Precocious obesity induces long-term effects in the brain dopaminergic system, which can be associated with an increased preference for fat at adulthood. Calcium treatment prevents this last alteration, partially through its actions on ARC D2R and NPY proteins.
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J. Neuroendocrinol. · Apr 2016
Controlled Clinical TrialThe Analgesic Effect of Oxytocin in Humans: A Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Cross-Over Study Using Laser-Evoked Potentials.
Oxytocin is a neuropeptide regulating social-affiliative and reproductive behaviour in mammals. Despite robust preclinical evidence for the antinociceptive effects and mechanisms of action of exogenous oxytocin, human studies have produced mixed results regarding the analgesic role of oxytocin and are yet to show a specific modulation of neural processes involved in pain perception. In the present study, we investigated the analgesic effects of 40 IU of intranasal oxytocin in 13 healthy male volunteers using a double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over design and brief radiant heat pulses generated by an infrared laser that selectively activate Aδ- and C-fibre nerve endings in the epidermis, at the same time as recording the ensuing laser-evoked potentials (LEPs). ⋯ Importantly, for the first time, the present study reports an association between the analgesic effect of oxytocin (reduction in subjective pain ratings) and the oxytocin-induced modulation of cortical activity after noxious stimulation (attenuation of the N2 LEP). These effects indicate that oxytocin modulates neural processes contributing to pain perception. The present study reports preliminary evidence that is consistent with electrophysiological studies in rodents showing that oxytocin specifically modulates Aδ/C-fibre nociceptive afferent signalling at the spinal level and provides further specificity to evidence obtained in humans indicating that oxytocin may be modulating pain experience by modulating activity in the cortical areas involved in pain processing.
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J. Neuroendocrinol. · Feb 2016
A Quantification of the Injury-Induced Changes in Central Aromatase, Oestrogenic Milieu and Steroid Receptor Expression in the Zebra Finch.
In songbirds and mammals, brain injury results in the up-regulation of aromatase (oestrogen synthase) expression in astroglia. The resulting presumed synthesis of neural oestradiol (E2 ) has neuroprotective effects including a decrease in neurodegeneration, neuroinflammation and apoptosis. The development of therapeutic tools that exploit oestrogenic neuroprotection in the treatment of neurotrauma requires a precise quantification of the endogenous changes in neural aromatase and E2 following brain injury. ⋯ We did not detect an effect of injury on mRNA expression of the oestrogen receptors (ER)-α, ER-β or GPER-1, but observed a significant decrease in androgen receptor transcription in the injured lobe relative to the contralateral uninjured hemisphere. We conclude that mechanical damage causes a dramatic increase in local aromatisation, and the resultant high levels of central E2 are available to modulate steroid sensitive targets. Studies using alternate methods of receptor detection and/or time points may be necessary to understand the complete suite of mechanisms underlying the neuroprotective effects of induced oestrogen synthesis in this animal model.