Repression of gonadotropin-releasing hormone promoter activity by the POU homeodomain transcription factor SCIP/Oct-6/Tst-1: a regulatory mechanism of phenotype expression?

POU domain transcription factors are required for neuropeptide expression in selected subsets of hypothalamic neuroendocrine neurons. We now report that expression of the gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) gene, which controls sexual development, is regulated by the POU protein SCIP/Oct-6/Tst-1. Reverse transcriptase PCR cloning and RNase protection assays demonstrated the presence of SCIP/Oct-6/Tst-1 mRNA in the GnRH-producing neuronal cell line GT1-7. The physiological relevance of this regulatory activity was suggested by the detection of SCIP/Oct-6/Tst-1 mRNA in a subset of GnRH neurons in the hypothalamus of prepubertal female rats. Coexpression of SCIP/Oct-6/Tst-1 in neuronal cells inhibited rat GnRH (rGnRH) promoter activity via three regions of the proximal rGnRH promoter containing SCIP/Oct-6/Tst-1 binding sites. DNase I footprinting, gel shift assays, and DNA and protein mutagenesis studies indicated that both direct DNA binding and protein-protein interactions are required for SCIP/Oct-6/Tst-1 modulation of GnRH gene expression. Activation of SCIP/Oct-6/Tst-1 expression in terminally differentiated GnRH neurons may be a factor determining the ratio of phenotypically "inactive" versus "active" GnRH neurons during postnatal life.

Immunological studies with a monoclonal antibody suggest a different conformation of neurophysin in parvicellular neurons of rat hypothalamus.

A monoclonal antibody (mAb L6) to a carcinoma surface antigen has previously been shown to recognize neurophysins (NP), proteins associated with oxytocin and vasopressin. L6-reactivity in rat hypothalamus was confined to magnocellular neuronal systems. No staining was detected in parvicellular suprachiasmatic or paraventricular systems. mAb L6 immunoprecipitated vasopressin-neurophysin only under reducing conditions, and detected it in Western blots only after gel-renaturation and electroblotting in basic buffer. These findings suggest L6-reactivity to NP is conformation-sensitive, and imply NP expression in a unique configurational form in hypothalamic parvicellular systems.

Identification of neurophysin immunoreactivity in hypothalamus by a monoclonal antibody to a carcinoma cell surface antigen.

Mouse monoclonal antibody (mAb) L6 identifies an antigen expressed on the cell surface of many different human carcinomas. While studying the binding activity of mAb L6 to intracerebral tumor xenografts of human lung carcinoma LX-1 cells in nude rats using immunohistological techniques, we observed that L6 can also bind to a cytoplasmic antigen expressed in the magnocellular component of the hypothalamo-neurohypophysial system. Double-labeling experiments with antisera to vasopressin and oxytocin confirmed the localization of L6 immunoreactivity within both peptide-containing cell groups. L6 immunoreactivity in Brattleboro rats (with genetic deletion in the vasopressin gene) was exclusively localized within oxytocin neurons. Oxytocin and vasopressin failed to block L6 staining which suggested that its target epitope resides within the neurophysin sequence, and this explanation was supported by the finding that adsorption of L6 with porcine neurophysin completely eliminated hypothalamic immunoreactivity. Western blot analysis of bovine neurophysin and human pituitary extracts identified L6-immunoreactive bands which corresponded to the position of neurophysin and pro-pressophysin, confirming that L6 immunoreactivity in hypothalamus is related to neurophysin. Thus, monoclonal antibody L6, which is highly reactive with a membrane antigen of human lung cancer cell line LX-1, recognizes a cytoplasmic epitope in hypothalamic neurons identified as neurophysin by immunohistochemistry and Western analysis.

Serum anti-myelin antibodies in chronic relapsing experimental allergic encephalomyelitis.

To investigate the role of anti-myelin antibodies in chronic relapsing experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (CR-EAE), sera from SJL/J mice with CR-EAE actively induced by inoculation with spinal cord homogenate in complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA) were compared with sera from mice to whom CR-EAE was passively transferred by lymph node cells (LNC) stimulated with myelin basic protein (BP). Sera were obtained serially from mice during both remissions and relapses of disease and were evaluated for the presence of anti-myelin antibodies using an avidin-biotin-immunoperoxidase technique. Four of six mice with CR-EAE induced with cord-CFA were positive for anti-myelin antibodies 15-124 days after inoculation, with 16 of 18 sera positive in these four mice. Two mice inoculated with cord-CFA did not have detectable serum anti-myelin antibodies, despite a clinical and histopathological picture indistinguishable from the antibody-positive mice. None of seven mice with CR-EAE passively transferred by BP-stimulated LNC had detectable anti-myelin antibodies in 30 sera obtained 7-141 days after cell transfer. We conclude that serum anti-myelin antibodies probably do not play a significant role in the pathogenesis of CR-EAE in SJL/J mice.

Histochemical identification of a PVN-hindbrain feeding pathway.

Unilateral coronal knife cuts through the ventrolateral pontine reticular formation produce overeating and overweight when combined with contralateral parasagittal knife cuts in the medial hypothalamus (MH). The knife cuts were in a position to sever fiber projections from the paraventricular nucleus to the hindbrain. The present study used histochemical techniques to confirm that hyperphagia-producing knife cuts transect PVN-hindbrain fiber connections. In Experiment 1, adult female rats received a unilateral coronal knife cut in the ventrolateral pontine reticular formation. Horseradish peroxidase (HRP) was applied to the knife cut region and two to three days later brains were processed for the localization of neurons labeled with HRP. HRP-labeled neurons were found in the PVN, particularly in the caudal parvocellular region. Additional HRP-labeled neurons were observed in other medial hypothalamic areas but none were found in the ventromedial nucleus. HRP-filled cells were also found in the lateral hypothalamus, central nucleus of the amygdala, and in the nucleus of the solitary tract (NST). Many of the PVN projections to the hindbrain contain oxytocin and Experiment 2 determined if hyperphagia-inducing knife cuts sever PVN oxytocinergic fibers. Adult female rats received unilateral MH cuts, unilateral pontine cuts, or a contralateral combination of both cuts. One to eight days later the brains were processed for immunocytochemistry. The MH cuts and pontine cuts were found to interrupt descending oxytocinergic fibers. Taken together, these results support the hypothesis that interruption of a direct PVN-hindbrain oxytocinergic projection is responsible for the hypothalamic hyperphagia-obesity syndrome. However, the results do not rule out the involvement of a multisynaptic pathway or additional neurochemical systems.

Chemical anatomy of the hypothalamus.

The neuropeptide field has witnessed considerable research interest over the past decade, and a growing body of anatomic, biochemical, and electrophysiologic data have since emerged, supporting the existence and putative neuromodulatory function of a large variety of these peptide hormones in several extrahypothalamic brain regions. It is now evident that neuropeptides not only fulfill criteria required of putative neurotransmitters, but more generally act as modulators of neuronal activity. The author discusses vasopressin and oxytocin pathways, corticotropin releasing factor, atrial natriuretic factor, thyrotropin releasing hormone, somatostatin, motilin, growth hormone releasing factor, dopamine, gonadotropin releasing hormone, and substance P.

Hypothalamic oxytocin: a cerebrovascular modulator in man?

Immunocytochemical studies in normal rats show an association between oxytocin (OT) neurons and cerebral blood vessels. This is supported by the finding of neurophysin (NP) immunoreactivity in blood vessels and pia-arachnoid tissue of rats with hereditary vasopressin (VP) and VP-NP deficiency. OT and OT-NP fibers were visualized in pia-arachnoid and blood vessels at the base of the brain and, to a lesser extent, over the dorsal surface. OT constricts human basilar artery with a threshold response in the 10(-10) M range, and an ED50 of 4.8 X 10(-9) M. These observations suggest that extrahypothalamic projections of OT neurons may modulate cerebrovascular function.

Capsaicin treatment and stress-induced analgesia.

Capsaicin modulates animal pain perception, increasing chemosensitive and pressure thresholds following systemic administration, increasing thermal thresholds following intrathecal administration, and decreasing electric shock thresholds following intracerebroventicular (ICV) administration. Since morphine analgesia is decreased in a dose-dependent manner following ICV capsaicin, the present study examined whether ICV injections of capsaicin (0, 25, 50, 100 micrograms) would alter other analgesic responses as well. Experiment 1 demonstrated that the analgesic response to a 450 mg/kg dose of 2-deoxy-D-glucose was significantly reduced by the 25 and 50, but not the 100 micrograms capsaicin dose. Further, while analgesia induced by cold-water swims (CWS) in a 2 degrees C bath was significantly attenuated by the 25 micrograms capsaicin dose, the entire dose range eliminated analgesia induced by CWS in a 15 degrees C bath. Experiment 2 indicated that the capsaicin-induced alterations in CWS analgesia were not attributable to parallel changes in CWS hypothermia. Experiment 3 demonstrated that capsaicin failed to alter both the non-opioid analgesic response induced by 20 inescapable foot shocks (FS) and the opioid analgesic response induced by 80 FS. These data are discussed in terms of the similarities to and/or dissimilarities from capsaicin-induced effects upon morphine analgesia.

A monoclonal antibody to vasopressin: preparation, characterization, and application in immunocytochemistry.

The hypothalamo-neurohypophysial system, containing the hormones oxytocin (OT) and vasopressin (VP) and their associated carrier proteins, the neurophysins (NPS), has been the subject of extensive investigation for more than 40 years. This system has been reinvestigated during the last decade by application of immunocytochemical methods employing the rabbit antisera to the hormones and NPS. In this study we describe the preparation and characterization of a monoclonal antibody to VP and its application in immunohistochemistry. The antibody did not cross-react with OT or arginine vasotocin (AVT). Its antigenic determinants as characterized by absorption with various VP analogs included two aromatic amino acids: Phe in position 3, and to a lesser extent Tyr in 2. Tissue fixation with formaldehyde resulted in inadequate immunostaining as compared to glutaraldehyde, most likely due to interference with the aromatic amino acid determinants by the former fixative.

The luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone pathways in rhesus (Macaca mulatta) and pigtailed (Macaca nemestrina) monkeys: new observations on thick, unembedded sections.

Immunocytochemical procedures on thick, unembedded tissue sections were used to study the localization of LHRH neurons and fibers in the diencephalon and mesencephalon of rhesus and pigtailed macaques. Cell bodies were visualized in large numbers. Much of their dendritic arborization was also filled with reaction product. Cell bodies were present in the preoptic area, the periventricular hypothalamic zone from the level of the anterior hypothalamus to the premammillary nuclei, the infundibular nucleus, supraoptic nucleus, several septal nuclei, the nervus terminalis, and the amygdala. The localization of LHRH cells in several of these areas represents new observations. LHRH axons were observed to innervate the portal vessels in the median eminence, the organum vasculosum of the lamina terminalis, the median eminence, the organum vasculosum of the lamina terminalis, the medial mammillary nuclei, the epithalamus, and the amygdala. These observations are discussed in relationship to the regulation of gonadotropin secretion in the primate.

Dynorphin and vasopressin: common localization in magnocellular neurons.

The opioid peptide dynorphin is widely distributed in neuronal tissue of rats. By immunocytochemical methods, it was shown previously that dynorphin-like immunoreactivity is present in the posterior pituitary and the cells of the hypothalamic neurosecretory magnocellular nuclei which also are responsible for the synthesis of oxytocin, vasopressin, and their neurophysins. By using an affinity-purified antiserum to the non-enkephalin part of the dynorphin molecule it has now been demonstrated that dynorphin and vasopressin occur in the same hypothalamic cells of rats, whereas dynorphin and oxytocin occur in separate cells. Homozygous Brattleboro rats (deficient in vasopressin) have magnocellular neurons that contain dynorphin separate from oxytocin. Thus dynorphin and vasopressin, although they occur in the same cells, appear to be under separate genetic control and presumably arise from different precursors.

Identification, characterization and distribution of motilin immunoreactivity in the rat central nervous system.

Motilin-immunoreactivity was evaluated in rat brain using 15 different antisera and by combining gel filtration, high pressure gel filtration and reverse phase high pressure liquid chromatography with radioimmunoassay. Gel filtration chromatography demonstrated a high molecular weight and low molecular weight form of immunoreactive motilin. The high molecular weight form predominated in brain while the low molecular weight peptide was the predominant form of duodenum. The low molecular weight immunoreactive motilin was indistinguishable from synthetic porcine motilin by gel filtration and high molecular weight gel filtration. Low molecular weight rat motilin could, however, be distinguished from synthetic porcine motilin by high pressure liquid chromatography and certain antisera. Immunological results suggest that the slight structural difference may be in the N-terminal portion of the molecule. Immunoreactivity was measured in grossly and microdissected regions of the rat brain. The peptide had quite a unique distribution as highest concentrations are observed in the cerebellum. High concentrations were also observed in hypothalamic nuclei. Particularly high concentrations were noted in the organum vasculosum lamina terminalis. Lowest motilin concentrations in the rat brain were in the pons and the medulla. The distribution of motilin in rat brain suggests that it may have roles in regulating both neuroendocrine and neurological processes.

Magnocellular hypothalamic projections to the lower brain stem and spinal cord of the rat. Immunocytochemical evidence for predominance of the oxytocin-neurophysin system compared to the vasopressin-neurophysin system.

The paraventricular nucleus of the rat hypothalamus has been shown to project to the medulla and spinal cord. The proportion of oxytocin-neurophysin (OTNP) axons to vasopressin-neurophysin (VPNP) axons in these structures is unknown. A major difficulty in resolving this problem in previous immunocytochemical studies was the lack of a specific antiserum to each rat neurophysin. In this study two approaches have been used: (1) comparison of immunostaining for neurophysin in normal versus homozygous Brattleboro rats with diabetes insipidus (HODI) which lack VPNP, and (2) application of an antiserum to both rat neurophysins absorbed with HODI rat hypothalamic-pituitary extracts which contain only OTNP. The latter would result in an antiserum specific for VPNP. Our results indicate that the axons which constitute the caudal projections from the paraventricular nucleus are predominately oxytocinergic, the vasopressinergic innervation being limited to the nucleus tractus solitarius, the dorsal motor nucleus of vagus, and the substantia gelatinosa. A similar number of reactive fibers were seen in the medulla and spinal cord of normal and HODI rats. No positive perikarya were observed caudal to the hypothalamus. Fibers in the medulla appeared to terminate in the nucleus of the solitary tract and in the dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus nerve. Positive fibers throughout the cord were present in the substantia gelatinosa and in the intermediolateral grey. The possible role(s) of these projections in integrating autonomic functions and afferent information with neuroendocrine regulation is discussed.

Adrenocorticotropin and beta-lipotropin in the hypothalamus. Localization in the same arcuate neurons by sequential immunocytochemical procedures.

Adrenocorticotropin and beta-lipotropin (beta-LPH) have been localized by immunoperoxidase methods in nerve cells and fibers of the hypothalamus and brain stem of the ewe. 6-mum sections were immunostained first for either ACTH or beta-LPH. The reaction products and the antibody complexes were then eluted completely from the tissue, and the same section was immunostained for the second peptide. Absorption of the primary antisera with a variety of peptide fragments of ACTH and beta-LPH demonstrated, immunocytochemically as well as by radioimmunoassay, that the ACTH and beta-LPH antisera were directed to the COOH- and NH(2)-termini of the peptides, respectively. Neither antiserum recognized any portion of the heterologous peptide. In the sequential staining procedure on the same tissue section, preincubation of the antisera with the homologous peptide abolished the staining, whereas preincubation with the heterologous peptide did not affect it, regardless of the order followed. Every nerve cell in the arcuate nucleus that contained ACTH also contained beta-LPH, but beta-LPH cells appeared, probably falsely, to be twice as numerous as ACTH cells. beta-LPH-positive fibers in and beyond the hypothalamus were also more numerous and stained more intensively than ACTH fibers. The salient exception was fibers in the infundibular zona externa, where the opposite was true. Our observations establish that ACTH and beta-LPH are contained in the same nerve cells They stongly favor biosynthesis in brain, probably from a common precursor molecule, as has been demonstrated in the pituitary gland. The complexity of the cytologic distribution pattern described suggests that the two peptides are not processed in the same manner by the nerve cell.