F. Vandenbulcke et al., CONCOMITANT VARIATION IN IMMUNOREACTIVITY FOR ENKEPHALINS AND NEUTRALENDOPEPTIDASE IN THE MEDIAN-EMINENCE OF THE LACTATING RAT, Neuroscience letters, 175(1-2), 1994, pp. 53-57
In the brain, neutral endopeptidase (NEP) is implicated in the biologi
cal inactivation of enkephalins and substance P. NEP, enkephalins and
neurokinins were detected by immunocytochemistry in the median eminenc
e (ME) of lactating female rats either freely nursing or separated fro
m their pups for 48 h. A significant decrease in enkephalin and NEP im
munoreactivity was observed in the external zone of the ME after pup r
emoval. In both animal groups, neurokinin immunoreactivity was absent
from this region. These results indicate that: (1) a concomitant varia
tion in immunoreactivity for enkephalins and NEP occur in the ME of th
e lactating rat; (2) in the ME during lactation, NEP may essentially b
e implicated in the biological degradation of enkephalins.