Abstract
Recent biochemical and immnnohistochemical studies have shown that the opioid peptides, enkephalins, occur in nerve terminals and cell bodies in mammalian sympathetic ganglia1–3. Opiates and enkephalins are thought to inhibit synaptic transmission in the peripheral nervous tissues as well as in the central nervous system4–12. The mechanisms of the opiate actions, however, are not entirely clear; both pre- and postsynaptic sites of action have been proposed7–9,11,12. As acetylcholine is known to be the major neurotransmitter in the autonomic ganglia and as the mechanism of synaptic transmission is well clarified13, analysis of the peptide action could be more easily but equally usefully carried out in the peripheral synapses than in central synapses. We now report that enkephalins presynaptically inhibit cholinergic transmission in sympathetic ganglia.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Di Giulio, A. M. et al. Neuropharmacology 17, 989–992 (1978).
Hughes, J., Kosterlitz, H. W. & Smith, T. W. Br. J. Pharmac. 61, 639–647 (1977).
Schultzberg, M. et al. Neuroscience 4, 249–270 (1979).
Duggan, A. W., Hall, J. G. & Headley, P. M. Br. J. Pharmac. 61, 399–408 (1977).
Forbes, J. E. & Dewey, W. L. Life Sci. 19, 401–408 (1976).
Hughes, J., Kosterlitz, H. W. & Leslie, F. M. Br. J. Pharmac. 53, 371–381 (1975).
Jessell, T. M. & Iversen, L. L. Nature 268, 549–551 (1977).
Mudge, A. W., Leeman, S. E. & Fischbach, G. D. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 76, 526–530 (1979).
North, R. A., Katayama, Y. & Williams, J. T. Brain Res. 165, 67–77 (1979).
Paton, W. D. M. Br. J. Pharmac. 11, 119–127 (1957).
Wouters, W. & Bercken, J. V. D. Nature 277, 53–54 (1979).
Zieglgänsberger, W. & Tulloch, I. F. Brain Res. 167, 53–64 (1979).
Dennis, M. J., Harris, A. J. & Kuffler, S. W. Proc. R. Soc. B177, 509–539 (1971).
Skok, U. I. Physiology of Autonomic Ganglia, 32–45 (Igaku Shoin, Tokyo, 1973).
Pert, C. B., Pert, A., Chang, J.-K. & Fong, B. T. W. Science 194, 330–332 (1976).
Hökfelt, T., Elfvin, L.-G., Schultzberg, M., Goldstein, M. & Nilsson, G. Brain Res. 132, 29–41 (1977).
Christ, D. D. & Nishi, S. J. Physiol., Lond. 213, 107–117 (1971).
Elfvin, L.-G. J. ultrastruct. Res. 37, 426–431 (1971).
Otsuka, M. & Konishi, S. Cold Spring Harb. Symp. quant. Biol. 40, 135–143 (1976).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Konishi, S., Tsunoo, A. & Otsuka, M. Enkephalins presynaptically inhibit cholinergic transmission in sympathetic ganglia. Nature 282, 515–516 (1979). https://doi.org/10.1038/282515a0
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/282515a0
This article is cited by
-
ACh Transfers: Homeostatic Plasticity of Cholinergic Synapses
Cellular and Molecular Neurobiology (2023)
-
Insulin resistance and the sympathetic nervous system
Current Hypertension Reports (2003)
-
Central neural control of esophageal motility: A review
Dysphagia (1990)
-
Interactions between prostaglandin E2 andd-ala2-met-enkephalinamide on adenylate cyclase activity in the guinea-pig superior cervical ganglion
Neurochemical Research (1988)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.