Peripheral non-viral MIDGE vector-driven delivery of beta-endorphin in inflammatory pain.

Background: Leukocytes infiltrating inflamed tissue produce and release opioid peptides such as beta-endorphin, which activate opioid receptors on peripheral terminals of sensory nerves resulting in analgesia. Gene therapy is an attractive strategy to enhance continuous production of endogenous opioids. However, classical viral and plasmid vectors for gene delivery are hampered by immunogenicity, recombination, oncogene activation, anti-bacterial antibody production or changes in physiological gene expression.

Lymphocytes upregulate signal sequence-encoding proopiomelanocortin mRNA and beta-endorphin during painful inflammation in vivo.

Proopiomelanocortin (POMC)-derived beta-endorphin1-31 (END) released from immune cells inhibits inflammatory pain. We examined the expression of END and POMC mRNA encoding the signal sequence required for entry of the nascent polypeptide into the regulated secretory pathway in lymphocytes of rats with inflamed hindpaws. Within 12 h of inflammation, END increased in popliteal lymph nodes and at 96 h the intraplantar neutralization of END exacerbated pain.

Protein oxidation and degradation during postmitotic senescence.

Oxidized and cross-linked proteinacious materials (lipofuscin, age pigments, ceroid, etc.) have long been known to accumulate in aging and in age-related diseases, and some studies have suggested that age-dependent inhibition of the proteasome and/or lysosomal proteases may contribute to this phenomenon. Cell culture studies trying to model these aging effects have almost all been performed with proliferating (divisionally competent) cell lines.

Sympathetic activation triggers endogenous opioid release and analgesia within peripheral inflamed tissue.

Stress induces analgesia by mechanisms within and outside the brain. Here we show that the sympathetic nervous system is an essential trigger of intrinsic opioid analgesia within peripheral injured tissue. Noradrenaline, injected directly into inflamed hind paws of male Wistar rats, produced dose-dependent antinociception, reversible by alpha(1)-, alpha(2)- and beta(2)-antagonists.

Mobilization of opioid-containing polymorphonuclear cells by hematopoietic growth factors and influence on inflammatory pain.

Background: Leukocytes can control inflammatory pain by secretion of opioid peptides, stimulated by cold-water swimming or local injection of corticotropin-releasing factor, and subsequent activation of opioid receptors on peripheral sensory neurons. This study investigated whether mobilization of polymorphonuclear cells (PMN) by granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) and stem cell factor (SCF) enhances immigration of opioid-containing PMN and peripheral opioid analgesia in rats with Freund complete adjuvant-induced hind paw inflammation.

Methods: In circulating PMN of rats treated with G-CSF+SCF and sham-treated rats, opioid peptide content was measured by radioimmunoassay.

Subcellular pathways of beta-endorphin synthesis, processing, and release from immunocytes in inflammatory pain.

The opioid peptide beta-endorphin (END) as well as mRNA for its precursor proopiomelanocortin (POMC) are found not only in the pituitary gland, but also within various types of immune cells infiltrating inflamed sc tissue. During stressful stimuli END is released and interacts with peripheral opioid receptors to inhibit pain. However, the subcellular pathways of POMC processing and END release have not yet been delineated in inflammatory cells.

Stability of the nuclear protein turnover during cellular senescence of human fibroblasts.

The accumulation of oxidized proteins is one of the highlights of age-related changes of cellular metabolism and happens at least partially as a result of a decline in the activity of intracellular proteases (e.g., the proteasome).

Increased proteolysis after single-dose exposure with hepatotoxins in HepG2 cells.

Chronic ethanol consumption is associated with increased protein oxidation and decreased proteolysis in the liver. We tested the hypothesis that even single-dose treatment with ethanol or bromotrichloromethane causes increased protein oxidation and a distinct proteolytic response in cultured hepatocytes. HepG2 cells were treated for 30 min with ethanol, H(2)O(2) and bromotrichloromethane at various nontoxic concentrations.