Methods and detection of endogenous peptides in the CNS and GI tract

Sammanfattning: Endogenous peptides, such as enkephalins, endorphins and orexins modulate a variety of biological processes; these peptides are found in the central nervous system and periphery, including the gastrointestinal tract. One of the methods commonly used to determine localization, concentration, expression and function of endogenous peptides is the radio imm unoassay (RIA). A critical part of the RIA is the choice of antibodies, which are the specific tools to enable measurement of peptides. The outcome of a neuropeptide RIA depends on several aspects of the experimental setting such as age, gender, species, diurnal rhythm or environmental stress. The aims for the studies (paper I and II) were production of antisera using peptide conjugates for the specific neuropeptides, niethmethionine-enkephalin-Arg6-Phe7 (MEAP) and rat P-endorphin and the antibodies were further characterized. Specific aims were to clarify some of the differences between art-specific antibodies and the outcome of