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A dynorphinergic pathway of Leu-enkephalin production in rat substantia nigra

Nature volume 307, pages 643–645 (1984)Cite this article

Abstract

The amino acid sequence of the opioid peptide Leu-enkephalin1–3 is found within several larger peptides4–8, which are generated from the precursors proenkephalin and prodynorphin. Proenkephalin contains four copies of the sequence of Met-enkephalin, a single copy of the sequence of Leu-enkephalin and one copy each of two extended Met-enkephalin sequences9–11. Proenkephalin contains three peptides—α-neo-endorphin, dynorphin A and dynorphin B12—the N-terminal sequences of which are identical to that of Leu-enkephalin. There is good evidence that the large amounts of Leu-enkephalin found in the adrenal medulla are generated from the precursor proenkephalin2,4,13,14, but as yet prodynorphin has not been shown to be processed to yield Leu-enkephalin. We show here that the relatively high levels of Leu-enkephalin found in the rat substantia nigra are supplied by striatonigral axons and generated from the precursor prodynorphin.

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Author notes

  1. Eckward Weber: Nancy Pritzker Laboratory of Behavioral Neurochemistry, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California 943305, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Cell Biology, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, Maryland, 20205, USA

    Nadav Zamir, Miklós Palkovits, Eckward Weber, Éva Mezey & Michael J. Brownstein

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  1. Nadav Zamir
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  2. Miklós Palkovits
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  3. Eckward Weber
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  4. Éva Mezey
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  5. Michael J. Brownstein
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Zamir, N., Palkovits, M., Weber, E. et al. A dynorphinergic pathway of Leu-enkephalin production in rat substantia nigra. Nature 307, 643–645 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1038/307643a0

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