Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UNIPROT:P01178 (oxytocin)
 15,767 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

An immunocytochemical analysis with 33 antisera was undertaken to investigate the localization of 25 different neurotransmitter-related antigens in the hypothalamic suprachiasmatic nucleus in the rat. To obtain estimates of relative densities of immunoreactive axons a stereological approach was used involving counting of intersections of immunoreactive axons with a superimposed semi-circle test grid. All neurotransmitter-related antigens found in perikarya within the suprachiasmatic nucleus, including those stained with antisera against bombesin, gastrin-releasing peptide, neurophysin, vasopressin, somatostatin, gamma-aminobutyrate, glutamate decarboxylase and vasoactive intestinal polypeptide were also found in axons within the nucleus. A greater number of these immunoreactive axons was found within the nucleus than in the adjacent anterior hypothalamus. The size of all immunoreactive axons in the suprachiasmatic nucleus was consistently small; immunoreactive axons were found ramifying widely in the nucleus, often ending with terminal boutons near perikarya immunoreactive for the same antigen. All neurotransmitter-related substances found in perikarya of the suprachiasmatic nucleus were also found in axons crossing over the midline to innervate the contralateral nucleus, providing an anatomical substrate for a high degree of communication between the paired nuclei. Axons immunoreactive for other putative transmitters including serotonin arising outside the nucleus were also found in high densities within the nucleus and crossing over the midline between the nuclei. Immunoreactivity for some transmitters was found in axons of similar densities within and outside the nucleus, including antisera against tyrosine hydroxylase; a small number of dopamine beta-hydroxylase and a few phenylethanolamine N-methyltransferase-immunoreactive axons were found in the SCN, suggesting that dopamine, norepinephrine and epinephrine may occur in a limited number of axons in the nucleus. Small numbers of axons immunoreactive with antisera raised against cholecystokinin, prolactin, substance P, thyrotropin-releasing hormone and choline acetyltransferase were found within the suprachiasmatic nucleus. Axons immunoreactive for luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone, adrenocorticotropic hormone, alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone and neurotensin were rarely found within the suprachiasmatic nucleus; axons immunoreactive for luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone, adrenocorticotropic hormone, cholecystokinin and tyrosine hydroxylase were found in both horizontal and coronal sections in the area between the left and right suprachiasmatic nuclei.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
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PMID:Neurotransmitters of the hypothalamic suprachiasmatic nucleus: immunocytochemical analysis of 25 neuronal antigens. 241 88

1. Isolated nerve endings from rat neurohypophyses were permeabilized with digitonin in order to gain access to the cytoplasm. Release of vasopressin (AVP), oxytocin and the neurophysins was studied under different experimental conditions. 2. Hormone release, which occurred by exocytosis, was Ca2+ dependent. Half-maximal release was observed at ca. 1.7 microM-Ca2+ in contrast to ca. 300 microM for K+-induced hormone secretion from non-permeabilized neurosecretosomes. 3. Release also occurred when the neurosecretosomes were challenged with Ca2+ 20 min after digitonin treatment. This suggests that the isolated nerve endings remain permeable after treatment with digitonin. 4. Although hormone release was potentiated in the presence of ATP, and to a lesser extent with guanosine triphosphate (GTP), secretion occurred in the absence of nucleotides. 5. Replacement of K+ as the major cation by Na+ did not modify the secretory response to a Ca2+ challenge. Release, although reduced, still occurred when KCl was replaced by sucrose. 6. Compared to glutamate, Cl-, Br- and I- did not modify the Ca2+-independent release. This release was increased in the presence of SCN-. The order of effectiveness of the anions studied in inhibiting the Ca2+-dependent release was glutamate less than Br- = Cl- = I- less than SCN-. 7. Increasing the osmolarity of the perfusate inhibited the Ca2+-dependent release of AVP and oxytocin. 8. Vincristine, which binds to microtubules, had no effect on the secretory process. 9. Ca2+ dependent AVP release was partially inhibited by the calmodulin antagonist trifluoroperazine. 10. Hormone release was potentiated by the protein kinase C activator, 4-beta-phorbol 12-myristate acetate (TPA). 11. Whereas 0.2 microM-Ca2+ induced a barely significant increase in AVP release, inositol 1,4,5-triphosphate, in the continued presence of 0.2 microM-Ca2+, produced a large secretory response. 12. 4-acetamido-4'-isothiocyanostilbene-2,2'-disulphonic acid (SITS), an inhibitor of Cl- permeability, reduced the Ca2+-dependent AVP release. 13. Carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenylhydrazone (CCCP), which reduces the transmembrane potential of isolated neurohypophysial granules, inhibited the Ca2+-dependent hormone secretion. 14. Maximal hormone release occurred at pH 6.6. 15. It is concluded that the permeabilized neurosecretosomes represent an excellent model for studying the minimal requirements for neurosecretion.
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PMID:Requirements for hormone release from permeabilized nerve endings isolated from the rat neurohypophysis. 245 Oct

The present study examines the relative levels of vasopressin (AVP) mRNA within the paraventricular (PVN), supraoptic (SON), and suprachiasmatic (SCN) nuclei of the rat hypothalamus, and details the rates at which these levels change over the course of a 6 d salt-loading regimen. The quantitation of vasopressin mRNA was achieved by using three different procedures: (1) cell-free translation in rabbit reticulocyte lysate or (2) Northern analysis of poly(A)RNAs isolated from micro-punch dissected SON, PVN, and SCN, and (3) in situ hybridization histochemistry. The former involved the quantitative immunoprecipitation of the neurophysin precursors containing arginine8-vasopressin (AVP) or oxytocin, and the latter two techniques employed a radiolabeled synthetic oligodeoxynucleotide complementary to the 3' region of the AVP mRNA. Both the cell-free studies and the Northern gel analyses detected a sevenfold increase of AVP mRNA in the SON, a fivefold increase in the PVN, and no significant change in the SCN following 6 d of salt-loading. After the initiation of salt-drinking, these increases were shown to occur between 24 and 48 hr in the SON and between 48 and 72 hr in the PVN. The in situ hybridization studies revealed the anatomically correct hybridization of either 32P- or 3H-labeled AVP oligonucleotide to magnocellular perikarya within both the SON and PVN. Autoradiographic grains could be shown to be confined to the cytoplasm of these cells, and could be co-localized with immunoreactivity directed against the carboxy terminus of the AVP percursor. Comparison of x-ray level autoradiograms of control and 6 day salt-loaded SON revealed up to a sevenfold increase in specific signal in the salt-loaded sections. It is concluded that the response of AVP mRNA to osmotic stimuli in the three hypothalamic nuclei is heterogeneous, and that this heterogeneity can be explained by separating AVP neurons into two systems: one responsible for eliciting the antidiuretic actions of AVP via plasma AVP levels, and the other involved in CNS activities not directly involved with antidiuresis.
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PMID:Vasopressin mRNA regulation in individual hypothalamic nuclei: a northern and in situ hybridization analysis. 371 4

Light microscopic studies in our laboratory have indicated that the lateral septum, amygdala, and ventral subiculum project in a perinuclear fashion to the paraventricular (PVN), supraoptic (SON), and suprachiasmatic (SCN) nuclei (Oldfield et al., '82; Silverman and Oldfield, '84). In the present paper a combined anterograde HRP and immunocytochemical procedure has been used to determine the connectivity between these limbic efferents and peptide-containing processes emanating from the above mentioned hypothalamic nuclei. Synaptic associations were found to exist between efferents from (1) the septum and both vasopressin (VP)- and oxytocin (OX)-positive dendrites derived from cells in the PVN and SON, (2) the septum and VP dendrites dorsal to the SCN, (3) the ventral subiculum and both VP and OX dendrites arising from the PVN and SON, and (iv) the amygdala and VP dendrites from the PVN. These observations help clarify an apparent discrepancy between electrophysiological data, in which limbic efferents have been shown to influence the activity of VP and OX neurons in the PVN and SON, and anatomical evidence which indicates only a perinuclear innervation from these sites not encroaching on the hypothalamic nuclei themselves. In each case the synaptic connections are made on dendrites external to the nucleus: those lateral and ventrolateral to the PVN, dorsal to the SON, and dorsal or dorsolateral to the SCN.
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PMID:A combined electron microscopic HRP and immunocytochemical study of the limbic projections to rat hypothalamic nuclei containing vasopressin and oxytocin neurons. 396 36

In the compartmentalized hypothalamo-neurohypophysial system ( CHNS ), a portion of medial basal hypothalamus (HT) containing the supraoptic nuclei (SON) and the neurohypophysis (PP) were organ-cultured in separate compartments. The intact axonal projections from SON to PP passed through a hole in a fluid-tight barrier which separated the two compartments. When properly sealed, the leak rate from one side to the other is less than 1%/24 h and the only connection between the 2 compartments is axonal. This system had relatively stable basal vasopressin (VP) release rates from both HT and PP for up to 72 h in culture. Basal neurohypophysial VP release rate was unchanged during two successive 1-hour periods on any given day. Physiological responsiveness was confirmed by osmotic challenge. When HT osmolality was changed by +/- 15 mosm, VP release from PP was appropriately and significantly increased or decreased. Equivalent changes in PP side osmolality had no effect on VP release. After 72 h in culture, the VP content of neural lobes from CHNS explants was more than double that of lobes which were severed from HT prior to culture. Finally, the presence of numerous VP neurophysin-containing cells in 72-hour cultured explants was demonstrated by immunocytochemistry. This system will be useful to localize sites of action for agents affecting VP release to either HT and/or PP.
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PMID:A compartmentalized, organ-cultured hypothalamo-neurohypophysial system for the study of vasopressin release. 672 21

The hypothalamo-extrahypophyseal neurophysin pathways (HEH) and the three hypothalamic nuclei secreting neurophysins, the supraoptic (SON), paraventricular (PVN) and suprachiasmatic (SCN) nuclei, of normal and hypophysectomized rats were studied by application of the immunoperoxidase procedure. Eight well-defined HEH pathways were recognized. Their main sites of projection were: lateral septum and subfornical organ (1 and 2); tractus diagonalis (3); medial nucleus of the amygdala and lateral ventricle (4); nucleus periventricularis thalami, nucleus habenulae lateralis and periaqueductal gray (5); periaqueductal gray, pineal organ, collicular recess and subependymal region of the fourth ventral (6); dorsomedial nucleus and premammillary area (7); perimammillary region, corpus trapezoideum, ventral surface of medulla oblongata, nucleus tractus solitarii, nucleus commissuralis, substantia gelatinosa and formatio reticularis lateralis of the medulla oblongata and spinal cord (8). Neurophysin fibers of unknown origin were found in the frontal cerebral cortex. It was noted that in pathway 5 the amount of immunostainable material undergoes changes with age. The three neurophysin-secreting nuclei reacted differently following hypophysectomy. Among the HEH pathways the only one that seemed to be affected by hypophysectomy was that innervating the lateral septum. It is suggested that the neurons that survive hypophysectomy either do not project to the neural lobe or, alternatively, display axon collaterals projecting outside the neural lobe. Such a neuronal population could be the origin of the HEH pathways.
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PMID:Neurophysin pathways in the normal and hypophysectomized rat. 717 16

Diurnal changes in the intranuclear release of vasopressin (VP) and oxytocin (OT) in the suprachiasmatic (SCN), paraventricular (PVN) and supraoptic nuclei (SON) of the rat were studied by means of brain microdialysis. A significant diurnal variation in VP release in the SCN was detected, with the highest levels occurring during midday and a trough around midnight. OT release from the SCN was below detection limit. The release of neither of these neurohypophysial peptides showed diurnal variations within the PVN or SON.
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PMID:In vivo measurement of a diurnal variation in vasopressin release in the rat suprachiasmatic nucleus. 755 30

Immunohistochemistry and morphometry were used to study the age-related changes in the vasopressin (AVP) and oxytocin (OXT) nerve cells in the paraventricular (PVN), supraoptic (SON) and suprachiasmatic (SCN) nuclei of 3-, 11- and 28-month-old rats. The results showed a statistically significant reduction in the mean number of AVP cells in the PVN, SON and SCN, and of OXT cells in the PVN with advancing age. Different age-related changes in the mean size of the immunoreactive cells were found in the three nuclei: a significant and transitory increase in the AVP and OXT cell sizes in the PVN, a tendency towards increasing the AVP and OXT cell sizes in the SON, and a significant and gradual decrease in the AVP cell size in the SCN. The combination of the morphometric data and staining patterns of the AVP and OXT perikarya and fibers in the PVN and SON pointed to an increased transport of AVP and OXT in 11-month-old rats as well as to a decreased production of these peptides in the PVN of 28-month-old rats. Taken together the staining pattern and the morphometric results showed a progressive loss of AVP cells in the SCN in aging.
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PMID:Vasopressin- and oxytocin-immunoreactive nerve cells in the aging rat hypothalamus. 887 Aug 38

The neurohypophyseal hormones arginine-vasopressin (AVP) and oxytocin (OT) are produced in the neurons of the hypothalamic supraoptic (SON) and paraventricular (PVN) nucleus and in the much smaller cells of the suprachiasmatic (SCN) nucleus. The SON is the main source of plasma AVP. Part of the AVP and OT neurons of the PVN join the hypothalamo-neurohypophyseal tract, whereas others send projections to the median eminence or various brain areas, where AVP and OT are involved in a number of central functions as neurotransmitters/neuromodulators. AVP and OT from the PVN can also regulate via the autonomous innervation endocrine glands and fat tissue. OT is produced for a major part in the PVN but some OT neurons are present in the SON. Moreover, both AVP and OT containing neurons are observed in the "accessory nuclei", i.e. islands situated between the SON and PVN. The SCN is the biological clock, and the number of AVP expressing neurons in the SCN shows both diurnal and seasonal rhythms. In addition to these hypothalamic areas, AVP and OT may be found to a lesser extent in some other brain areas, such as the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, diagonal band of Broca, nucleus basalis of Meynert, lateral septal nucleus, globus pallidus and the anterior amygdaloid nucleus, as well as in the peripheral tissues. The AVP and OT containing neurons should not be considered as one system. Prominent functional differences exist between the different nuclei. The heterogeneity also becomes clear from the marked differences in the neurohypophyseal peptides containing neurons of the SON, PVN and SCN during aging, and in the most prevalent age-related neurodegenerative diseases, i.e. Alzheimer's disease (AD). For those reasons, we will discuss the SON, PVN and SCN separately.
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PMID:Neurohypophyseal peptides in aging and Alzheimer's disease. 1206

Delta-Like 1 Homolog, Dlk1, is a paternally imprinted gene encoding a transmembrane protein involved in the differentiation of several cell types. After birth, Dlk1 expression decreases substantially in all tissues except endocrine glands. Dlk1 deletion in mice results in pre-natal and post-natal growth deficiency, mild obesity, facial abnormalities, and abnormal skeletal development, suggesting involvement of Dlk1 in perinatal survival, normal growth and homeostasis of fat deposition. A neuroendocrine function has also been suggested for DLK1 but never characterised. To evaluate the neuroendocrine function of DLK1, we first characterised Dlk1 expression in mouse hypothalamus and then studied post-natal variations of the hypothalamic expression. Western Blot analysis of adult mouse hypothalamus protein extracts showed that Dlk1 was expressed almost exclusively as a soluble protein produced by cleavage of the extracellular domain. Immunohistochemistry showed neuronal DLK1 expression in the suprachiasmatic (SCN), supraoptic (SON), paraventricular (PVN), arcuate (ARC), dorsomedial (DMN) and lateral hypothalamic (LH) nuclei. DLK1 was expressed in the dendrites and perikarya of arginine-vasopressin neurons in PVN, SCN and SON and in oxytocin neurons in PVN and SON. These findings suggest a role for DLK1 in the post-natal development of hypothalamic functions, most notably those regulated by the arginine-vasopressin and oxytocin systems.
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PMID:DLK1 is a somato-dendritic protein expressed in hypothalamic arginine-vasopressin and oxytocin neurons. 2256 44


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