This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Request Copyright Permission Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Arima, H. Articles by Oiso, Y. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Arima, H. Articles by Oiso, Y.

Regulation of Vasopressin Synthesis and Release by Area Postrema in Rats¹

First Department of Internal Medicine, Nagoya University School of Medicine, Nagoya 466, Japan

Address all correspondence and requests for reprints to: Dr. Hiroshi Arima, First Department of Internal Medicine, Nagoya University School of Medicine, 65 Tsurumai-cho, Showa-ku, Nagoya 466, Japan. E-mail: harima-ngy{at}umin.u-tokyo.ac.jp

There is evidence indicating that the area postrema (AP), the most caudal circumventricular organ located on the dorsal surface of the medulla, is involved in several physiological regulations. In this study, we investigated the role of AP in the regulation of arginine vasopressin (AVP) synthesis and release, using rats of which the AP was lesioned 6 weeks previously. The level of plasma AVP in the AP lesioned (APX) group was significantly lower than in the sham operated (Sham) group in the basal state. AVP release induced by either hyperosmolality or hypovolemia was significantly attenuated by APX. To clarify the role of AP in AVP synthesis in the hypothalamus, we examined the AVP gene expression using in situ hybridization. AVP messenger RNA levels in paraventricular (PVN) and supraoptic nuclei (SON) in the APX group were significantly lower than in the Sham group in the basal state. Moreover, the AVP messenger RNA levels in PVN and SON in the APX group were also significantly lower than in the Sham group after water deprivation for 3 days. These results suggest that AVP synthesis and release are tonically stimulated by AP in the basal state and that AVP synthesis and release in stimulated states are also regulated, at least partially, by AP.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				J. ANTUNES-RODRIGUES, M. DE CASTRO, L. L. K. ELIAS, M. M. VALENCA, and S. M. McCANN Neuroendocrine Control of Body Fluid Metabolism Physiol Rev, January 1, 2004; 84(1): 169 - 208. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				E. M. Stricker, C. F. Craver, K. S. Curtis, K. A. Peacock-Kinzig, A. F. Sved, and J. C. Smith Osmoregulation in water-deprived rats drinking hypertonic saline: effect of area postrema lesions Am J Physiol Regulatory Integrative Comp Physiol, March 1, 2001; 280(3): R831 - R842. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. Kakiya, H. Arima, H. Yokoi, T. Murase, Y. Yambe, and Y. Oiso Effects of acute hypotensive stimuli on arginine vasopressin gene transcription in the rat hypothalamus Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab, October 1, 2000; 279(4): E886 - E892. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				W. Huang, A. F. Sved, and E. M. Stricker Vasopressin and oxytocin release evoked by NaCl loads are selectively blunted by area postrema lesions Am J Physiol Regulatory Integrative Comp Physiol, March 1, 2000; 278(3): R732 - R740. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				Y. Yambe, Y. Watanabe-Tomita, S. Kakiya, H. Yokoi, H. Nagasaki, H. Arima, T. Murase, H. Yuasa, K. Kondo, H. Yamashita, et al. Analysis of the vasopressin system and water regulation in genetically polydipsic mice Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab, February 1, 2000; 278(2): E189 - E194. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				K. S. Curtis, W. Huang, A. F. Sved, J. G. Verbalis, and E. M. Stricker Impaired osmoregulatory responses in rats with area postrema lesions Am J Physiol Regulatory Integrative Comp Physiol, July 1, 1999; 277(1): R209 - R219. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]