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Ontogeny of Expression and Glucocorticoid Regulation of the Arginine Vasopressin Gene in the Rat Hypothalamic Paraventricular Nucleus
Author(s) -
Grino Michel,
Burgunderf JeanMarc
Publication year - 1992
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 - 10.1111/j.1365-2826.1992.tb00348.x
Subject(s) - parvocellular cell , medicine , vasopressin , endocrinology , hypothalamus , biology , nucleus , magnocellular cell , in situ hybridization , glucocorticoid , arginine , neurophysins , corticotropin releasing hormone , gene expression , immediate early gene , supraoptic nucleus , neuroscience , gene , amino acid , biochemistry
Corticotropin‐releasing factor and arginine vasopressin (AVP) are the two major hypothalamic factors that regulate anterior pituitary adrenocorticotropin secretion during stress. We have previously reported that the expression of the corticotröpin‐releasing factor gene in the hypothalamus and its regulation by glucocorticoids were not mature during the first week of life in the rat, i.e. during the stress non‐responsive period. In this report, we studied the ontogeny of expression of the AVP gene in the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus in rats using in situ hybridization. AVP mRNA was detected as early as day 20 of gestation (E20) both in the parvocellular and the magnocellular portion of the paraventricular nucleus. The levels of expression of the AVP gene increased steadily from E20 to the third day after birth (P3) and remained stable from P3 to P14. Bilateral surgical adrenalectomy induced an increase in AVP mRNA levels in the parvocellular portion of the paraventricular nucleus, but not in the magnocellular portion, in both 7‐day‐old and 14‐day‐old rats, suggesting that the glucocorticoid regulation of the AVP synthesizing neurons of the paraventricular nucleus is mature in the developing postnatal rat.