Distribution of biogenic amines in the pituitary gland

Modulation of beta-adrenergic receptors in the pituitary gland following adrenalectomy in rats

The effects of adrenalectomy on beta-adrenergic receptors in the rat pituitary were examined using quantitative in vitro autoradiography with 125I-iodocyanopindolol (125ICYP). 125ICYP binding in the anterior, intermediate and posterior lobes of the pituitary gland was significantly increased in chronically adrenalectomized rats. The increase in 125ICYP binding sites in the rat pituitary following adrenalectomy was not reversed by glucocorticoid replacement with dexamethasone. These data indicate that catecholamines of adrenomedullary origin are capable of modulating beta-adrenergic receptors in the pituitary gland and suggest that peripheral epinephrine may be important in regulating pituitary hormone secretion.

MIF-I and postsynaptic receptor sites for dopamine

In an attempt to determine the mechanism by which the tripeptide l-prolyl-l-leucyl-glycine amide (PLG, MIF-I) exerts its antiparkinsonian effect, the action of this substance on various postsynaptic components of striatal dopaminergic nerves was studied. It was shown that injection of rats with MIF-I (1 mg/kg, IPX5, 24 hr intervals) did not alter tyrosine hydroxylase, dopa decarboxylase, choline acetyltransferase and glutamic acid decarboxylase activities in the striatum under the conditions tested. The activities of adenylate cyclase, dopamine-stimulated adenylate cyclase, and guanylate cyclase were not altered in vitro by various concentrations of MIF-I (0.1 to 1000 micrometer), although VIP and neurotensin had some effect. Also the rate of uptake of 3H-dopamine by rat striatal synaptosomes was unchanged, as was the binding of 3H-dopamine and 3H-spiperone to beef caudate membranes. This series of studies indicates that MIF-I does not act directly on the striatal dopamine postsynaptic receptor under the conditions tested, although it is possible that MIF-I could act indirectly at this or another site in vivo by releasing or activating some other factor.

Catecholamine distribution in feline hypothalamus

Catecholamine distribution was examined in cat hypothalamus using the histochemical fluorescence technique of Falck and Hillarp. The heaviest accumulations of catecholamine-containing varicosities were seen within the: anterior periventricular nucleus; dorsal hypothalamic area; bed nucleus of the inferior thalamic peduncle; doral component of the paraventricular nucleus; dorsomedial nucleus; infundibular nucleus; bed nucleus of the stria terminalis-medial division; and supraoptic nucelus. Catecholaminergic perikarya were observed within periventricular, dorsal, and caudal hypothalamic areas as well as within the supramamillary nucleus and caudal diencephalon. Catecholamine distribution in cat hypothalamus possesses both similarities and dissimilarities in relation to distributions reported in other mammals.