Journal of Neuroscience, Vol 12, 2881-2887, Copyright © 1992 by Society for Neuroscience
Decline of vasopressin immunoreactivity and mRNA levels in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis following castration
MA Miller, GJ DeVries, HA al-Shamma and DM Dorsa
Geriatric Research, Education, and Clinical Center, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Seattle, Washington 98108.
Vasopressinergic (VP) neurons in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis
(BNST) of the rat are regulated by gonadal steroids. Gonadectomy causes the
projections of the BNST to lose their VP immunoreactivity gradually over a
period lasting more than 2 months. Here we have compared the rate of
decline of VP mRNA and VP immunoreactivity in the BNST of adult male rats
following castration. In experiment 1, the peak number of VP-immunoreactive
cells and the level of VP gene expression were compared in sham-operated
controls and at 1, 3, or 8 weeks postcastration. The number of
VP-immunoreactive cells was not decreased at 1 week postcastration but was
significantly reduced (p less than 0.0001) at 3 and 8 weeks postcastration.
VP gene expression declined more rapidly, and both the total number of
labeled cells (p less than 0.0001) and the average number of grains per
cell (p less than 0.01) were significantly reduced by 1 week
postcastration. No VP-expressing cells were detectable at 3 or 8 weeks. The
difference in the rate of decline in the number of cells labeled by the two
techniques following castration did not appear to be due to colchicine
pretreatment. In experiment 2, VP mRNA in the BNST was compared in sham-
operated controls or at 1, 3, or 7 d postcastration. A significant decrease
(p less than 0.01) in the average number of grains per cell was detectable
by just 1 d following castration, and the number of labeled cells was
significantly reduced (p less than 0.001) by 3 d postcastration.(ABSTRACT
TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)