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In vitro autoradiographic localization of calcitonin binding sites in human medulla oblongata
Author(s) -
Sexton Patrick M.,
Paxinos George,
Huang XuFeng,
Mendelsohn Frederick A. O.
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
journal of comparative neurology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.855
H-Index - 209
eISSN - 1096-9861
pISSN - 0021-9967
DOI - 10.1002/cne.903410403
Subject(s) - medulla oblongata , biology , in vitro , calcitonin , neuroscience , anatomy , microbiology and biotechnology , central nervous system , endocrinology , biochemistry
Abstract In this study we examined the distribution of calcitonin (CT) binding sites in the human medulla oblongata by in vitro autoradiography. In competition studies, the rank order of potency for calcitonins competing for 125 I‐salmon CT binding was salmon CT > porcine CT > human CT, which is consistent with physiologically relevant CT receptors in other systems. For the determination of CT binding in the human medulla, 20‐μm cryostat sections were incubated with 125 I‐salmon CT in the presence or absence of 10 −6 M unlabelled salmon CT to map specific CT binding sites. Punctate binding was observed over discrete nuclei of the medulla. High binding densities were seen over subnuclei of the dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus, the nucleus of the solitary tract, the intermediate reticular zone, the gigantocellular and dorsal paragigantocellular nuclei, and the raphe obscurus nucleus. Moderate levels of binding were observed over the lateral paragigantocellular nucleus and the rostral extent of the epiolivary nucleus. The cuneate and gracile nuclei and the fiber tracts did not contain detectable binding, while the inferior olivary nucleus had moderate levels of nonspecific binding. The localization of calcitonin binding sites in the human presents similarities but also important differences to the distribution in rat and cat. The most notable difference is the extreme binding densities in the intermediate reticular zone of the human. The location of binding sites suggests involvement of calcitonin in regulation of autonomic function.