Pituitary neuropeptides and B lymphocyte function

Pituitary gland: neuropeptides, neurotransmitters and growth factors.

The hypothalamus receives neuronal afferents from numerous sources including inputs from limbic structures, such as the amygdala and hippocampus, and from brainstem regions involved in the regulation of the cardiovascular system and other autonomic functions. These afferents using a vast array of neurotransmitters and neuropeptides influence the activity of the hypothalamic neurons which synthe...

Ontogeny of B-lymphocyte Function

The ontogeny of the ability of B lymphocytes to produce an antihapten response which is heterogeneous with respect to affinity for the antigenic determinant was studied in a cell transfer system. The heterogeneity of affinity of the immune response of lethally irradiated mice reconstituted with syngeneic, adult thymus cells and fetal or neonatal tissues as a source of B lymphocytes was studied....

Metabolism of neuropeptides at brain and pituitary sites.

membrane-bound peptidase requiring detergent treatment to be solubilized. However, using a sensitive two-step fluorimetric assay (Mumford et al., 1980), we have been able to detect a soluble ‘enkephalinase’ activity in several human body fluids including the blood plasma, amniotic fluid and cerebrospinal fluid. In the latter case the activity was extremely low but could still be characterized w...

Lymphocyte Subsets Regulation and Function of Cyclin D2 in B

Abnormal B Lymphocyte Activation and Function in Systemic Sclerosis

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is characterized by tissue fibrosis and autoimmunity. Although the pathogenic relationship between autoimmunity and clinical manifestations of SSc remains unknown, SSc patients display abnormal immune responses including the production of disease-specific autoantibodies. Previous studies have demonstrated that B cells play a critical role in systemic autoimmunity and di...