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Methionine-Enkephalin and Thyrotropin-Stimulating Hormone Are Intimately Related in the Human Anterior Pituitary^*

Department of Pathology (K.A.R., R.G.L., D.W.M.), Howard Hughes Research Institute (J.L.), and the Departments of Biochemistry and Medicine (A.N. T.), Washington University School of Medicine St. Louis, Missouri 63110
Nancy Pritzker Laboratory of Behavioral Neurochemistry and the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine (J.D.B.) Stanford, California 94305

Address all correspondence and requests for reprints to: Dr. Kevin A. Roth, Department of Pathology, Box 8118, Washington University Medical Center, St. Louis, Missouri 63110.

The tissue distribution and function of opioid peptides in humans is incompletely defined. We report here that, unlike that in other species, the human anterior pituitary gland contains high concentrations of methionine-enkephalin (metenkephalin). The met-enkephalin immunoreactive material was isolated and identified as authentic met-enkephalin by fast atom bombardment-mass spectrometry and Edman degradation sequencing. The met-enkephalin was localized in a large subpopulation of TSH immunoreactive cells (thyrotrophs). No other proenkephalin-derived opioid peptides were found in the pituitary, and there was no overlap between proopiomelanocortin and met-enkephalin immunoreactive cells. These results suggest that the human anterior pituitary gland contains a novel metenkephalin precursor and a possible role for met-enkephalin in regulating human thyroid function

^* This work was sponsored by a grant from Monsanto Corp. Dr. Barchasr's laboratory is supported by NIDA Grant DA-02107. Mass spectrometry experiments were performed at the Washington University Mass Spectrometry Facility, funded by the NIH (RR-00954).

Received September 30, 1987.

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