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GnRH Perikarya in Medial Basal Hypothalamus of Pubertal Female Rhesus Macaque are Ensheathed With Glia
Author(s) -
Witkin Joan W.,
O’Sullivan Honor,
Miller Reginald,
Ferin Michel
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
journal of neuroendocrinology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.062
H-Index - 116
eISSN - 1365-2826
pISSN - 0953-8194
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-2826.1997.00649.x
Subject(s) - hypothalamus , medicine , endocrinology , preoptic area , gonadotropin releasing hormone , biology , rhesus macaque , primate , basal (medicine) , macaque , median eminence , gonadotropin , cell bodies , central nervous system , hormone , neuroscience , luteinizing hormone , insulin , immunology
A previous study in our laboratory revealed that the cell bodies of gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) neurons in the preoptic area (POA) of early to midpubertal female rhesus monkeys were extensively invested with thick glial processes. Because the medial basal hypothalamus (MBH) plays a critical role in the control of pulsatile and cyclic gonadotropin release in the primate, we have now focused on the ultrastructural milieu of GnRH neurons of this region in the same sample of monkeys. The ensheathment of the perikarya of GnRH neurons in the MBH with such glial processes was more pronounced than in the POA. Whereas the mean proportion of the cell membrane covered by these glia was 57% in the POA, it was 72% in the MBH. In addition, the cell bodies of GnRH neurons in the MBH of the pubertal monkey (unlike those in the POA) were less well innervated than were those in the adult cycling monkey, further highlighting differences between these brain regions. Differences in the anatomical milieu of the MBH between immature monkeys, in which GnRH release is still relatively quiescent, and adult cycling monkeys are consistent with the hypothesis that GnRH neurons within the MBH are under particular constraint in the immature animals. The functional significance of these observations must, however, await further studies.