Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UNIPROT:P01185 (vasopressin)
 23,126 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Previous studies have demonstrated that the number of vasopressin (VP) neurons present in primary diencephalic cultures can be markedly augmented by treatment with drugs that elevate intracellular cAMP. To evaluate the effect of this drug treatment on VP secretion by hypothalamic cultures and to determine if this represents a developmental phenomenon or a mechanism involved in the continuing dynamic regulation of the VP gene, we have exposed primary dispersed hypothalamic cultures derived from 14-day-old fetal Sprague-Dawley rats to forskolin (25 microM) and the phosphodiesterase inhibitor 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine (IBMX; 500 microM), either continually or intermittently, for up to 39 days. Culture medium was collected throughout the culture period for VP RIA, and at the end of the culture period, cultures were stained immunocytochemically for neurophysin (NP). As reported by previous investigators, exposure to the drugs for 11 days resulted in an increase in the number of NP-positive neurons. The increase was sustained with longer periods of exposure up to 39 days. IBMX and forskolin treatment also resulted in detectable release of VP into the culture medium, which increased from 1.4 +/- 0.15 pg/ml at 11 days to 8.4 +/- 0.6 pg/ml after 32 days of drug treatment. The VP concentration remained undetectable (< 1.25 pg/ml) in nontreated cultures throughout this period. The effect on VP expression did not require immediate exposure to the drugs in culture, but did require the continuous presence of the drugs. Removal of the drugs from days 11-18 of culture resulted in an almost complete loss of NP-positive cells; however, reexposure to the drugs reinstated NP expression in a time-dependent fashion. The effect of IBMX/forskolin treatment on the expression of other neuronal markers was also evaluated. The treatment did not alter the total number of neurons, and there was no evidence of stimulation of oxytocin expression. There was a marked increase in the number and size of neurons stained immunocytochemically for tyrosine hydroxylase and a small increase in the number of cells staining for somatostatin. These results demonstrate that treatment with cAMP-elevating drugs markedly and selectively elevates VP secretion from dispersed hypothalamic cultures, but continuous exposure to the drugs is necessary to sustain the effect. These findings suggest that although cAMP is required in hypothalamic cultures for VP gene expression, it may also participate in the dynamic regulation of VP gene transcription in response to physiological challenges.
 ...
PMID:The stimulation of vasopressin gene expression in cultured hypothalamic neurons by cyclic adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate is reversible. 768 52

In the developing and adult human paraventricular (PVN) and supraoptic (SON) nucleus, a large proportion of neurons contains the catecholamine-synthesizing enzyme tyrosine hydroxylase (TH). In the present study we investigated the possible colocalization of TH with oxytocin (OXT) or vasopressin (VP) in the adult and neonatal PVN and SON. Adjacent paraffin sections were incubated simultaneously with two antibodies: a polyclonal against TH and a monoclonal against OXT or VP and stained with a double peroxidase-antiperoxidase/alkaline phosphatase method. We observed that TH-immunoreactive(IR) perikarya in the human PVN and SON were also positive for OXT or VP. A clear difference between the neonates and adult cases of our sample was observed in the proportion of TH-IR neurons that colocalize OXT or VP. In the neonates the majority of the TH-IR perikarya was also stained for VP, while only few TH-IR neurons were also positive for OXT. The opposite was observed in the adults, where the majority of the double-stained TH-IR neurons colocalizes OXT while only few TH-IR perikarya appear to contain VP. Our study establishes the colocalization of TH with OXT or VP in the adult and neonatal PVN and SON and indicates that antemortem factors such as perinatal hypoxia might increase TH-immunoreactivity of the VP neurons in man.
 ...
PMID:Colocalization of tyrosine hydroxylase with oxytocin or vasopressin in neurons of the human paraventricular and supraoptic nucleus. 769 71

To identify brain neurons that participate in the acute phase response, rat brains were examined immunocytochemically for Fos protein following the intravenous administration of bacterial endotoxin (lipopolysaccharide, LPS). Two to three hours after the injection of LPS, 150 micrograms/kg body weight, to adult male Long-Evans rats, a consistent anatomic pattern of Fos immunostained cell nuclei is seen. In the brain stem, prominant Fos immunostaining is induced in tyrosine hydroxylase immunoreactive neurons of the caudal ventral-lateral medulla (the A1 cell group), in both tyrosine hydroxylase positive and negative neurons of nu. tractus solitarius, in the parabrachial nu., and in a few neurons of the locus ceruleus. In the hypothalamus, endotoxin induces Fos expression in magnocellular neurons of the paraventricular and supraoptic nuclei and internuclear cell groups. A higher percentage of oxytocin-immunoreactive cells is double labeled for Fos nuclear immunostaining than vasopressin-immunoreactive cells. A minority of somatostatin immunoreactive periventricular hypothalamic neurons are Fos positive. Other hypothalamic nuclei that contain endotoxin-induced Fos nuclear immunostaining include the parvocellular neurons of the paraventricular nu., the dorsomedial and arcuate nuclei, the lateral hypothalamus, the dorsal hypothalamic area (zona incerta), and the median nucleus of the preoptic area. LPS induces numerous Fos-positive neurons in regions known to respond to a variety of stressful stimuli; these regions include the preoptic area, bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, lateral septum, and the central and medial nuclei of the amygdala. Moreover, Fos nuclear immunostaining is seen in neurons of circumventricular organs: the organum vasculosum of the lamina terminalis, the subfornical organ, and the area postrema. The maximum intensity of Fos nuclear immunostaining occurs 2-3 h after endotoxin administration and declines thereafter. It is attenuated by pretreatment with indomethacin, 25 mg/kg body weight Sc, or dexamethasone, 1 mg/kg IP. These observations are consistent with the participation of a variety of brain neuronal systems in the acute phase response and elucidate the functional neuroanatomy of that response at the cellular level.
 ...
PMID:Anatomic patterns of Fos immunostaining in rat brain following systemic endotoxin administration. 771 98

The various hypothalamic nuclei show very different patterns of change in ageing. These patterns are a basis for changes in biological rhythms, hormones, autonomous functions or behavior. The suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) coordinates circadian and circannual rhythms. A marked seasonal and circadian variation in the vasopressin (AVP) cell number of the SCN was observed in relation to the variation in photoperiod. During normal ageing, the circadian variation and number of AVP-expressing neurons in the SCN decreases. The sexually dimorphic nucleus (SDN), intermediate nucleus or INAH-1 is localized between the supraoptic and paraventricular nucleus (PVN). In adult men the SDN is twice as large as in adult women. In girls, the SDN shows a first period of decreasing cell numbers during prepubertal development, leading to sexual dimorphism. During ageing a decrease in cell number is found in both sexes. The cells of the supraoptic nucleus and PVN produce AVP or oxytocin and coexpress tyrosine hydroxylase. These nuclei are examples of neuron populations that seem to stay perfectly intact in ageing. Parvicellular corticotropin-releasing-hormone (CRH)-containing neurons are found throughout the PVN. CRH neurons in the PVN are activated in the course of ageing, as indicated by their increase in number and AVP coexpression. Part of the infundibular (or arcuate) nucleus, the subventricular nucleus, contains hypertrophic neurons in postmenopausal women. The hypertrophied neurons contain neurokinin-B (NKB), substance P and estrogen receptors and probably act on LHRH neurons as interneurons. The NKB neurons may also be involved in the initiation of menopausal flushes. The nucleus tuberalis lateralis might be involved in feeding behavior and metabolism.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
 ...
PMID:Ageing of the human hypothalamus. 772 Dec 67

Catecholaminergic fibers in the suprachiasmatic nucleus of adult rats were investigated by use of light- and electron-microscopic immunocytochemistry. The suprachiasmatic nucleus receives a modest density of tyrosine hydroxylase-containing axons, homogeneously distributed in the nucleus and forming varicosities throughout its entire rostro-caudal extension. Immunolabeling with antibodies against dopamine showed that this catecholamine input comprises a dopaminergic component. Many tyrosine hydroxylase-positive cells were localized at the immediate periphery of the suprachiasmatic nucleus. With electron-microscopic examination, dendrites of these neurons were found within the limits of the nucleus as well as at a border zone between the suprachiasmatic nucleus proper and the optic tract where they received unlabeled synapses, providing a morphological support for a possible role of dopaminergic neurons in the integration and/or transfer of light-related signals. More than 91% of catecholaminergic axonal varicosities were found to establish morphologically defined synapses with dendrites. To investigate whether these synapses might be shared with neurons of one or both of the two main peptidergic populations of the nucleus, namely vasoactive intestinal peptide- and vasopressin-containing neurons, we carried out double-labelling experiments combining immunoperoxidase and immunogold-silver labeling. Results showed only a few cases of direct association of the catecholaminergic terminals with these peptidergic categories. In both types of dually stained sections, catecholaminergic synapses were preferentially made with unlabeled dendrites. The homogeneous distribution of tyrosine hydroxylase-immunoreactive fibers in the suprachiasmatic nucleus could therefore reflect a lack of significant catecholaminergic innervation of both vasoactive intestinal peptide- and vasopressin-synthesizing neurons.
 ...
PMID:Catecholaminergic innervation of the suprachiasmatic nucleus in the adult rat: ultrastructural relationships with neurons containing vasoactive intestinal peptide or vasopressin. 775 Jan 39

Exposure of golden hamsters to a short photoperiod (< 12.5 h light/day) leads to suppression of gonadal function secondary to reduced gonadotropin and PRL secretion. PRL secretion is decreased despite a reduction of tuberoinfundibular dopaminergic activity. In the present study, the ability of photoperiod to affect tuberohypophyseal dopamine (DA) turnover was evaluated in long day (LD; 16 h of light, 8 h of darkness) and short day (SD; 8 h of light, 16 h of darkness) male hamsters. Exposure to SD led to decreases in testicular weight within 10 weeks and decreases in plasma PRL levels within 1 week. DA turnover in the neurointermediate lobe of the pituitary, as estimated by measuring the depletion of DA 60 min after tyrosine hydroxylase inhibition with alpha-methyl-p-tyrosine (250 mg/kg), was significantly elevated 1 and 4 weeks after transfer to SD, but returned by 10 weeks to the levels seen in LD animals. After 14 days of SD exposure an enhanced lactotroph sensitivity to DA was demonstrated and may also have contributed to suppression of PRL levels. Similarly to the findings of previous studies, DA turnover in the median eminence was depressed in animals housed in SD. The DA content of the anterior pituitary was not significantly affected by photoperiod. The data from this study suggest that decreases in PRL secretion associated with the transfer of hamsters from LD to SD conditions are at least in part caused by an increase in DA turnover by neurohypophyseal neurons. However, the involvement of other PRL-inhibiting or -stimulating factors in mediating the effects of photoperiod on PRL secretion cannot be ruled out.
 ...
PMID:Photoperiod effects on neurohypophyseal and tuberoinfundibular dopamine metabolism in the male hamster. 778 25

In neurons, which are post-mitotic cells, a structural and biochemical plasticity occurs, namely for the mediators. The magnocellular hypothalamic neurons innervating the neural lobe are a favourable model for the study of the dynamic aspects of neuropeptides expression. In fact, they synthetize these peptides in large amounts, as a function of the physiological or experimental conditions. In addition to the major neuropeptides, oxytocin (OT) and vasopressin (VP) which are contained in control rats within different neuronal populations, immunocytochemistry and in situ hybridization used alone or in combination in the same preparations have revealed other neuropeptides and corresponding mRNAs respectively. These multiple labellings demonstrate that after osmotic stimulation or during lactation some neurons are able to synthetize OT and VP simultaneously, together with galanin and even tyrosine hydroxylase (but not catecholamines). Similarly, hypophysectomy or transection of the pituitary stalk differentially modify the contents in mRNA coding for VP, OT and galanin. These results have also been described in other neuronal types such as spinal ganglia sensory neurons, suggesting possible mechanisms at different levels of genetic expression: transcription, translation, post-translational events and possibly interneuronal exchanges of mRNA. The in vivo regulation of this neurochemical plasticity probably involves the innervation of these neurons and perhaps the colocalized peptides themselves. In fact, galanin selectively inhibits the expression of VP but not that of OT. Functional implications of the neuronal phenotypic plasticity in the adaptation of the nervous system to the changing physiological conditions are discussed, together with its possible implications in pathology and therapeutics.
 ...
PMID:[A model of phenotypic plasticity: the hypothalamo-posthypophyseal neurons]. 783 3

Previous neuropharmacological studies indicate that brain peptides are involved in mediating gastric stasis induced by abdominal surgery. Central pathways activated by abdominal surgery were investigated in the rat by using Fos protein as a marker of neuronal activation. Abdominal surgery (laparotomy alone or combined with cecal manipulation) was performed under brief enflurane anesthesia (7-8 minutes), and 1 hour later rats were killed and brains processed for Fos immunoreactivity. Double labeling with Fos and arginine vasopressin, oxytocin, or tyrosine hydroxylase antibodies was also performed. Abdominal surgery induced Fos staining in the nucleus tractus solitarii, paraventricular and supraoptic nuclei of the hypothalamus, locus coeruleus, and ventrolateral medulla. After abdominal surgery, 18-25% of vasopressin and 18-33% of oxytocin-labeled cells were found to be Fos positive in the paraventricular nucleus and 15% of activated cells in the nucleus tractus solitarii were positive for tyrosine hydroxylase immunoreactivity. Enflurane alone induced c-fos expression in the same brain area; however, the number of Fos-positive cells and double-labeled cells were decreased two- to fivefold and three- to eightfold, respectively, compared with the abdominal surgery groups. These data show that abdominal surgery induced activation of specific hypothalamic, pontine, and medullary neurons. These findings may have implications for the understanding of central mechanisms involved in mediating gastric ileus following abdominal surgery.
 ...
PMID:Abdominal surgery induces Fos immunoreactivity in the rat brain. 786 Jul 79

Polysialic acid (PSA) is abundant on growing axons during brain development and down regulated on maturation. However, high amounts of this carbohydrate polymer have been found to persist in some regions of the adult rat brain including the mediobasal hypothalamus. In this study, confocal laser scanning microscopy combined with double fluorescence immunostaining was used to characterize the cellular localization of PSA throughout the median eminence and neurointermediate hypophysial lobe of adult rats. In these regions, polysialic acid-immunoreactivity (PSA-IR) generally appeared associated with fiber-like structures. Double immunostaining experiments demonstrated that, in addition to large axons of the neural lobe immunoreactive to vasopressin or oxytocin, PSA was constantly associated with fibers projecting into the intermediate hypophysial lobe immunoreactive to either gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) or tyrosine hydroxylase. Similarly, PSA-IR was detected on most, but not all the fibers immunoreactive to GABA or tyrosine hydroxylase dispersed throughout the neural lobe and the different layers of the median eminence. On the other hand, no PSA-IR was detected on axons immunoreactive to somatostatin or to corticotropin releasing hormone projecting throughout the median eminence, or on glial cell bodies and processes immunoreactive for glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) or for vimentin dispersed throughout the median eminence and the neural lobe.
 ...
PMID:Immunolocalization of polysialic acid in the median eminence and neurointermediate hypophysial lobe of adult rats. 789 19

Preembedding immunoperoxidase staining methods were used to characterize tyrosine hydroxylase-immunoreactive (TH-ir) elements in the caudal ventrolateral medulla, and to determine the extent to which neurons of the A1 cell group are directly innervated by projections of the nucleus of the solitary tract (NTS). TH-ir neurons in the A1 region were medium-sized and multipolar. They possessed rounded nuclei with infrequent invaginations, well-developed Golgi apparati, high cytoplasmic densities of mitochondria, and a low to moderate tendency for rough endoplasmic reticulum (RER) to align in parallel stacks. A1 cell bodies were commonly juxtaposed to TH-positive and TH-negative neurons, myelinated profiles, glia and/or vascular elements, but close membrane appositions were only seen with glial elements. Synaptic input to A1 neurons was predominantly asymmetric, provided virtually exclusively by non-TH-ir terminals, and directed principally to dendritic shafts; A1 somata are relatively sparsely innervated. In a second experiment, silver-intensified immunogold localization of TH-ir was combined with immunoperoxidase labeling for anterogradely transported Phaseolus vulgaris-leucoagglutinin (PHA-L), following tracer injections in the caudal aspect of the medial division of the NTS. These experiments revealed a small proportion of PHA-L-labeled axon terminals that made asymmetric contacts with dendritic shafts of TH-ir neurons. These results suggest that the fine structure and synaptic input of A1 neurons are somewhat distinct from that of rostrally situated C1 catecholamine cells. In addition, while they document a direct NTS-A1 projection that may participate in the interoceptive control of vasopressin secretion, the bulk of ventrolaterally directed projections from the caudomedial NTS contact noncatecholaminergic elements in the A1 region, some of which may correspond to so-called depressor neurons implicated in the baroreflex control of sympathetic outflow and vasopressin secretion.
 ...
PMID:A1 catecholamine cell group: fine structure and synaptic input from the nucleus of the solitary tract. 789 40


<< Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Next >>