Ovadia H, Magenheim Y, Behar O, Rosen H
Department of Molecular Neurology, Faculty of Medicine, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel.
J Neuroimmunol. 1996 Aug;68(1-2):77-83. doi: 10.1016/0165-5728(96)00071-9.
Proenkephalin (PENK), a classically defined opioid gene, was originally thought to be expressed almost exclusively in the mature nervous and neuroendocrine systems. In the last few years, it was demonstrated, however, that significant levels of PENK mRNA and PENK-derived peptides are transiently expressed in cells of the immune system. Very little is known about the molecular mechanisms regulating this transient expression. In order to investigate those mechanisms, we examined the in vivo expression of PENK mRNA in mesenteric lymph nodes after exposing rats to lipopolysaccharide. In the present study we demonstrate that: (i) promoter usage and splicing of PENK mRNA function similarly in mesenteric lymph nodes as in neural cells; (2) PENK expression in mesenteric lymph nodes is modulated by adrenaline via adrenergic receptors; and (3) the adrenergic system participates in the modulation of the LPS induced PENK mRNA expression. These results provide more evidence for the involvement of opioids in neuro-immune interactions.
前脑啡肽原（PENK）是一种经典定义的阿片样物质基因，最初被认为几乎只在成熟的神经和神经内分泌系统中表达。然而，在过去几年中，有研究表明，免疫系统细胞中会短暂表达大量的PENK mRNA和PENK衍生肽。关于调节这种短暂表达的分子机制，我们所知甚少。为了研究这些机制，我们检测了大鼠暴露于脂多糖后肠系膜淋巴结中PENK mRNA的体内表达情况。在本研究中，我们证明：（i）PENK mRNA的启动子使用和剪接在肠系膜淋巴结中的作用与在神经细胞中相似；（2）肠系膜淋巴结中的PENK表达通过肾上腺素能受体受肾上腺素调节；（3）肾上腺素能系统参与调节脂多糖诱导的PENK mRNA表达。这些结果为阿片样物质参与神经-免疫相互作用提供了更多证据。
