Close Juxtapositions between LHRH Immunoreactive Neurons and Substance P Immunoreactive Axons in the Human Diencephalon
Bertalan Dudás and
István Merchenthaler
Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (B.D.), Loyola University Chicago, Stritch School of Medicine, Maywood, Illinois 60153; and Women’s Health Research Institute (I.M.), Wyeth Research, Collegeville, Pennsylvania 19426
Address all correspondence and requests for reprints to: Istvan Merchenthaler, M.D., D.Sc., Women’s Health Research Institute, Wyeth Research, RN 3164, 500 Arcola Road, Collegeville, Pennsylvania 19426. E-mail: . merchei{at}wyeth.com
Abstract
LHRH release is induced by substance P (SP) in the rat hypothalamus.Recent immunocytochemical studies indicate that SP-immunoreactiveaxons synapse on LHRH neurons in the diencephalon of the rat,but this phenomenon has not yet been demonstrated in human.Therefore, in the present study we visualized the SP- and LHRH-immunoreactive(IR) elements in the human diencephalon and evaluated the closejuxtapositions between them. The distribution of LHRH- and SP-IRsites were investigated in diencephalic sections of six, postmortemhuman brains by means of double-labeling immunocytochemistry.The LHRH-containing perikarya were located in the diagonal bandof Broca, lamina terminalis cinerea, preopticoseptal, medialpreoptic, and infundibular areas of the brain. The SP-IR fibersformed a network in the periventricular zone in the infundibularregion, median eminence, and corpus striatum. The SP-IR cellbodies were located mainly in the infundibular region, medianeminence, basal part of the periventricular area, dorsomedialsubdivision of the ventromedial nucleus, and basal perifornicalarea of the tuberal region. The juxtapositions between LHRH-IRcell bodies and SP-IR varicosities were detected in the infundibularand periventricular regions. In these sites black, silver-intensified,SP-IR fiber varicosities abutted on brown, DAB-labeled, LHRH-IRcell bodies. Similar structures were detected between the SP-IRfibers and SP-IR perikarya. These findings suggest that thejuxtapositions between the SP and LHRH systems may be the morphologicalbasis of SP-controlled LHRH release in the human diencephalon.Moreover, the intimate contacts between SP-IR fiber varicositiesand SP-IR cell bodies or axons indicate direct control of SPon the diencephalic SP release.
This article has been cited by other articles:
A.-M. Bao, A. Hestiantoro, E. J. W. Van Someren, D. F. Swaab, and J.-N. Zhou Colocalization of corticotropin-releasing hormone and oestrogen receptor-{alpha} in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus in mood disorders
Brain,
June 1, 2005;
128(6):
1301 - 1313.
[Abstract][Full Text][PDF]
A. Hestiantoro and D. F. Swaab Changes in Estrogen Receptor-{alpha} and -{beta} in the Infundibular Nucleus of the Human Hypothalamus Are Related to the Occurrence of Alzheimer's Disease Neuropathology
J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab.,
April 1, 2004;
89(4):
1912 - 1925.
[Abstract][Full Text][PDF]
B. Dudas and I. Merchenthaler Topography and Associations of Leu-Enkephalin and Luteinizing Hormone-Releasing Hormone Neuronal Systems in the Human Diencephalon
J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab.,
April 1, 2003;
88(4):
1842 - 1848.
[Abstract][Full Text][PDF]
B. Dudas and I. Merchenthaler Close Juxtapositions between Luteinizing Hormone-Releasing Hormone-Immunoreactive Neurons and Corticotropin-Releasing Factor-Immunoreactive Axons in the Human Diencephalon
J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab.,
December 1, 2002;
87(12):
5778 - 5784.
[Abstract][Full Text][PDF]
