Seki Mayumi, Kageyama Haruaki, Takenoya Fumiko, Hirayama Masami, Kintaka Yuri, Inoue Shuji, Matsuno Ryosuke, Itabashi Kazuo, Date Yukari, Nakazato Masamitsu, Shioda Seiji
Department of Anatomy, Showa University School of Medicine, 1-5-8 Hatanodai Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo 142-8555, Japan.
Regul Pept. 2008 Jan 10;145(1-3):147-52. doi: 10.1016/j.regpep.2007.08.011. Epub 2007 Aug 24.
Neuropeptide W (NPW) is an endogenous ligand for GPR7, a member of the G-protein-coupled receptor family. NPW plays an important role in the regulation of both feeding and energy metabolism, and is also implicated in modulating responses to an acute inflammatory pain through activation of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis. GPR7 mRNA has been shown to be expressed in the hypothalamus, pituitary gland and adrenal cortex. Similarly, NPW expression has been demonstrated in the brain and pituitary gland. However, the precise distribution of NPW-producing cells in the adrenal gland remains unknown. The aim of this study was to explore the distribution and localization of NPW immunoreactivity in the rat adrenal gland. Total RNA was prepared from the hypothalamus, pituitary gland and adrenal gland. RT-PCR revealed the expression of NPW mRNA in these tissues, while in situ hybridization demonstrated the presence of NPW mRNA in the adrenal medulla. When immunohistochemistry was performed on sections of adrenal gland, NPW-like immunoreactivity (NPW-LI) was observed in the medulla but not in the cortex. Moreover, NPW-LI was found to be co-localized in cells which expressed dopamine beta hydroxylase but not phenylethanolamine-N-methyltransferase. The finding that NPW is expressed in noradrenalin-containing cells in the adrenal medulla suggests that it may play an important role in endocrine function in the adrenal gland.
神经肽W（NPW）是G蛋白偶联受体家族成员GPR7的内源性配体。NPW在进食和能量代谢的调节中发挥重要作用，并且还通过激活下丘脑-垂体-肾上腺轴参与调节对急性炎性疼痛的反应。已证明GPR7 mRNA在下丘脑、垂体和肾上腺皮质中表达。同样，NPW在脑和垂体中也有表达。然而，肾上腺中产生NPW的细胞的确切分布仍不清楚。本研究的目的是探讨大鼠肾上腺中NPW免疫反应性的分布和定位。从下丘脑、垂体和肾上腺中提取总RNA。逆转录聚合酶链反应（RT-PCR）显示这些组织中NPW mRNA的表达，而原位杂交表明肾上腺髓质中存在NPW mRNA。当对肾上腺切片进行免疫组织化学检测时，在髓质中观察到NPW样免疫反应性（NPW-LI），但在皮质中未观察到。此外，发现NPW-LI与表达多巴胺β羟化酶但不表达苯乙醇胺-N-甲基转移酶的细胞共定位。NPW在肾上腺髓质含去甲肾上腺素的细胞中表达这一发现表明，它可能在肾上腺的内分泌功能中发挥重要作用。
