Co-localization of peptide-like immunoreactivities with glucocorticoid receptor- and Fos-like immunoreactivities in the rat parabrachial nucleus

Tommi Kainu, Jari Honkaniemi, Jan-Ake Gustafsson, Leena Rechardt, Markku Pelto-Huikko

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

23 Scopus citations

Abstract

The parabrachial nucleus (PB) is a brainstem nucleus, which mediates autonomic information from the viscera to various forebrain nuclei, e.g. to the central nucleus of the amygdala (ACe) and to the medial preoptic area (MPOA). The neurons of the PB contain several neuropeptides, of which calcitonin-gene related peptide-immunoreactive (CGRP-IR) and neurotensin (NT)-IR neurons provide input to the ACe, whereas corticotropin-releasing factor-IR (CRF) neurons project to the MPOA. The aim of the present paper was to study whether the neurons containing CGRP-, NT- and CRF-like immunoreactivities (LIs) in the PB also contain glucocorticoid receptor (GR)- and/or Fos-LIs after stress. No co-localization was observed with the GR-LI and peptide-LIs, suggesting that plasma glucocorticoids do not have direct effects on these neurons of the PB. After stress, the vast majority of the peptide-IR perikarya exhibited Fos-LI, suggesting that the peptidergic pathways from the PB to ACe and MPOA are activated in stress. The ACe and MPOA have been connected in various stress related responses, e.g. inhibiting the hypothalamo-pituitary-gonadal axis, raising the blood pressure and pulse, and increasing the secretion of glucocorticoids. Therefore, the activation of the peptidergic pathways between the PB and the ACe and MPOA suggests that some of these responses may be elicited by the peptidergic input from the PB. Furthermore, since Fos acts as a transcription factor, stress may affect the expression of the neuropeptides studied.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)245-251
Number of pages7
JournalBrain Research
Volume615
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 2 1993

Keywords

  • Colchicine
  • Immobilization stress
  • Transcription factor

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Neuroscience(all)
  • Clinical Neurology
  • Molecular Biology
  • Developmental Biology

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