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Endorphin Activity in Cerebrospinal Fluid Prior to Elective Cesarean Section and in Early Puerperium

1987; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 92; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.3109/03009738709178676

2000-1967

Sven Lyrenäs, Fred Nyberg, Gunilla Willdeck‐Lund, Leif Lindström, Bo Lindberg, Lars Terenius,

Neonatal and fetal brain pathology

Opioid activity in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) was estimated by radioreceptorassay (RRA) in samples obtained from ten women at term pregnancy and in the® early puerperal period. The samples were fractioned on Sephadex® G-10 columns and two opioid receptor active fractions, FI and FII, were recovered. Two pools of FII materials from pregnant and puerperal women, respectively, were further analyzed by electrophoresis and the concentrations of opioid activity were measured by radioreceptorassay. There was a significant rise in receptor-assayed FII opioid activity in late pregnancy as well as in the early puerperal period compared to that of healthy, nonpregnant, nonpuerperal females. Pooled FII material obtained before delivery could be separated into two major components tentatively assigned the hexapeptide [Met]enkephalin-Lys6 and the heptapeptide [Met]enkephalin-Arg6-Phe7. These two opioid peptides both have their origin in the [Met]enkephalin precursor, proenkephalin A. In the puerperal period there was predominance of only one of these components.