Scholtz A W, Kanonier G, Schrott-Fischer A
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, University of Innsbruck, Austria.
Hear Res. 1998 Apr;118(1-2):123-8. doi: 10.1016/s0378-5955(98)00023-9.
Enkephalins are generally considered as neuropeptides in the central and peripheral nervous system of mammals bound to three large precursor molecules. Several animal studies demonstrated the distribution of met- and leu-enkephalin-like immunoreactivities in neurons and terminals of the lateral olivocochlear system. The immunostainings in the medial system are more controversial. No data about the presence of different enkephalin sequences in the vestibular efferent terminals are known. In the present study, the ultrastructural localization and distribution of immunoreactivities for six different antibodies against met- and leu-enkephalins in the human cochlear and vestibular periphery were investigated. A modified method of pre-embedding immunoelectronmicroscopy was applied. Met- and leu-enkephalin-like immunoreactivities were observed in the efferent terminals of the human outer and inner hair cell region. Using different met- and leu-enkephalin antibodies, the distribution of immunoreactivities remained similar. In the five human vestibular endorgans, enkephalin-like immunostaining was absent.
脑啡肽通常被认为是哺乳动物中枢和外周神经系统中与三种大的前体分子结合的神经肽。多项动物研究证明了甲硫氨酸脑啡肽和亮氨酸脑啡肽样免疫反应性在外侧橄榄耳蜗系统的神经元和终末中的分布。内侧系统中的免疫染色更具争议性。目前尚不清楚前庭传出终末中是否存在不同的脑啡肽序列。在本研究中，我们研究了针对甲硫氨酸脑啡肽和亮氨酸脑啡肽的六种不同抗体的免疫反应性在人耳蜗和前庭外周的超微结构定位和分布。应用了一种改良的包埋前免疫电子显微镜方法。在人外毛细胞和内毛细胞区域的传出终末中观察到甲硫氨酸脑啡肽和亮氨酸脑啡肽样免疫反应性。使用不同的甲硫氨酸脑啡肽和亮氨酸脑啡肽抗体，免疫反应性的分布保持相似。在五个人的前庭终器中，未观察到脑啡肽样免疫染色。
