Endocrine Abstracts

Tachykinins are a family of peptides comprising substance P, neurokinin B (NKB) and endokinin B (EKB) that are encoded on three separate genes, TAC1, 3 and 4, respectively. Traditionally classified as neurotransmitters the highest expression levels of EKB and NKB are found in the placenta, where, NKB has been implicated in pre-eclampsia (PE) and intrauterine growth restriction. We have conducted mRNA expression studies to look at the placental expression of each of the ...