leuenkephalin

English

Alternative forms

• leu-enkephalin

Etymology

Leu +‎ enkephalin

Noun

leuenkephalin (uncountable)

1. (biochemistry) An endogenous opioid peptide neurotransmitter found naturally in the brains of many animals, including humans; one of the two forms of enkephalin (the other being metenkephalin).
   • 2007 December 11, Craig Howard Kinsley, Massimo Bardi, Kate Karelina, Brandi Rima, Lillian Christon, Julia Friedenberg, Garrett Griffin, “Motherhood Induces and Maintains Behavioral and Neural Plasticity across the Lifespan in the Rat”, in Archives of Sexual Behavior, volume 37, number 1, →DOI:

     PRO, an endogenous opioid itself, is also the precursor of the opiate neuropeptides metenkephalin and leuenkephalin.