?-Endorphin-like immunoreactivity in plasma cells of the canine colonic mucosa

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Abstract
During immunocytochemical investigations on the presence of opioid peptides in gastrointestinal endocrine cells it was found that a subpopulation of plasma cells located in the lamina propria of the canine colonic mucosa showed immunoreactivities for α-endorphin. All immunohistochemical specificity controls proved the specificity of the reaction. Circumstantial evidence suggest, however, that no authentic α-endorphin is present within this cell type. Possibly sequence homologies between α-endorphin and the amino acid composition of a certain immunoglobulin are responsible for the immunocytochemically specific α-endorphin-like immunoreactivity of plasma cells.