Skip to main content
PMC home page
Journal of Anatomy logoLink to Journal of Anatomy
. 1990 Apr;169:115–123.

The supraoptic nucleus: a morphological and quantitative study in control and hypophysectomised rats.

D Crespo 1, J Ramos 1, C Gonzalez 1, C Fernandez-Viadero 1
PMCID: PMC1256961  PMID: 2384330

Abstract

Several quantitative and morphometric parameters were analysed in the pars principalis of the supraoptic nucleus (SON) of the hypothalamus in control and hypophysectomised rats at several postnatal ages. The cell number in the control group remained approximately constant from Day 1, when it was 5034 +/- 348 (mean +/- S.D.M.), until Day 90 when the number of cells was 5234 +/- 110. In the group that was hypophysectomised on Day 60, the number of neurons on Day 90 was 1366 +/- 131, which represents a loss of 74% of the neurons. Morphometric parameters on Day 90 indicated a significant difference in nuclear size, 52.1 +/- 6.7 microns 2 in controls and 57.3 +/- 6.8 microns 2 in the hypophysectomised group. Based on these results, it is concluded that there is no postnatal loss of neurons in the pars principalis of the SON in normal rats. As a consequence of the stress induced by hypophysectomy, the remaining cell population undergoes adaptive changes in the nuclear RNA synthesis machinery of neurohypophyseal hormone precursors in order to compensate for the reduction in the number of neurosecretory neurons.

Full text

PDF
115

Images in this article

118Fig. 1
on p.118
118Fig. 2
on p.118
119Fig. 3
on p.119

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Adams D. H., Fox M. E. Some studies on rat brain microsomes in relation to growth and development. Brain Res. 1969 Jan;12(1):157–164. doi: 10.1016/0006-8993(69)90062-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Altman J., Bayer S. A. Development of the diencephalon in the rat. I. Autoradiographic study of the time of origin and settling patterns of neurons of the hypothalamus. J Comp Neurol. 1978 Dec 15;182(4 Pt 2):945–971. doi: 10.1002/cne.901820511. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Anderson C. H. Time of neuron origin in the anterior hypothalamus of the rat. Brain Res. 1978 Oct 6;154(1):119–122. doi: 10.1016/0006-8993(78)91056-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Armstrong W. E., Hatton G. I. Morphological changes in the rat supraoptic and paraventricular nuclei during the diurnal cycle. Brain Res. 1978 Nov 24;157(2):407–413. doi: 10.1016/0006-8993(78)90051-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Bandaranayake R. C. Morphology of the accessory neurosecretory nuclei and of the retrochiasmatic part of the supraoptic nucleus of the rat. Acta Anat (Basel) 1971;80(1):14–22. doi: 10.1159/000143670. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Brownstein M. J., Russell J. T., Gainer H. Synthesis, transport, and release of posterior pituitary hormones. Science. 1980 Jan 25;207(4429):373–378. doi: 10.1126/science.6153132. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Castel M., Gainer H., Dellmann H. D. Neuronal secretory systems. Int Rev Cytol. 1984;88:303–459. doi: 10.1016/s0074-7696(08)62760-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Coggeshall R. E., Chung K. The determination of an empirical correction factor to deal with the problem of nucleolar splitting in neuronal counts. J Neurosci Methods. 1984 Feb;10(2):149–155. doi: 10.1016/0165-0270(84)90069-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Cooper J. D., Payne J. N., Horobin R. W. Accurate counting of neurons in frozen sections: some necessary precautions. J Anat. 1988 Apr;157:13–21. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Cowan W. M., Fawcett J. W., O'Leary D. D., Stanfield B. B. Regressive events in neurogenesis. Science. 1984 Sep 21;225(4668):1258–1265. doi: 10.1126/science.6474175. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Crespo D., Viadero C. F., Villegas J., Lafarga M. Nucleoli numbers and neuronal growth in supraoptic nucleus neurons during postnatal development in the rat. Brain Res Dev Brain Res. 1988 Nov 1;44(1):151–155. doi: 10.1016/0165-3806(88)90126-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Davies I., Fotheringham A. P. The influence of age on the hypothalamo-neurohypophyseal system of the mouse: a quantitative ultrastructural analysis of the supraoptic nucleus. Mech Ageing Dev. 1980 Jan;12(1):93–105. doi: 10.1016/0047-6374(80)90032-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Ferres-Torres R., Pérez-Delgado M. M., Castañeyra-Perdomo A., González-Hernández T. Effects of hypothyroidism on the karyometric development of the paraventricular and ventromedial nuclei of the hypothalamus in the mouse. Brain Res. 1986 May 21;374(1):93–100. doi: 10.1016/0006-8993(86)90397-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Hatton G. I., Johnson J. I., Malatesta C. Z. Supraoptic nuclei of rodents adapted for mesic and xeric environments: numbers of cells, multiple nucleoli, and their distributions. J Comp Neurol. 1972 May;145(1):43–59. doi: 10.1002/cne.901450104. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Ifft J. D. An autoradiographic study of the time of final division of neurons in rat hypothalamic nuclei. J Comp Neurol. 1972 Feb;144(2):193–204. doi: 10.1002/cne.901440204. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Itoh Y., Iijima K., Kowada M. Ultrastructural and morphometric studies of nonsecretory neurons of the rat supraoptic nucleus. Acta Anat (Basel) 1986;126(3):153–159. doi: 10.1159/000146206. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Jones K. J., LaVelle A. Ultrastructural changes in the nucleoplasm of hamster facial neurons during a postnatal maturation period. Brain Res. 1986 Jul 2;377(1):119–126. doi: 10.1016/0006-8993(86)91197-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Kawamoto K., Kawashima S. Changes of vasopressin- and oxytocin-immunoreactive neurons after hypophysectomy in young and old mice. Exp Gerontol. 1985;20(5):295–304. doi: 10.1016/0531-5565(85)90056-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Kawamoto K., Kawashima S. Plasticity of vasopressin- and oxytocin-containing fibers in the median eminence in hypophysectomized young and old mice. Brain Res. 1985 Mar 18;330(1):189–193. doi: 10.1016/0006-8993(85)90026-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Kawamoto K., Kawashima S. Regeneration of neurohypophyseal hormone-producing neurons in hypophysectomized immature rats. Brain Res. 1987 Sep 29;422(1):106–117. doi: 10.1016/0006-8993(87)90545-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Lafarga M., Gonzalez C., Berciano M. T. An improved cytological silver staining method for the demonstration of neuronal nuclear bodies. J Neurosci Methods. 1986 Dec;18(4):317–324. doi: 10.1016/0165-0270(86)90019-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Lafarga M., Villegas J., Crespo D. Changes in nucleolar morphology and volume of the supraoptic nucleus neurons during postnatal development of the rat. Brain Res. 1985 Oct;354(2):310–313. doi: 10.1016/0165-3806(85)90185-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Lin K. H., Peng Y. M., Peng M. T., Tseng T. M. Changes in the nuclear volume of rat hypothalamic neurons in old age. Neuroendocrinology. 1976;21(3):247–254. doi: 10.1159/000122529. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Léránth C., Záborszky L., Marton J., Palkovits M. Quantitative studies on the supraoptic nucleus in the rat. I. Synaptic organization. Exp Brain Res. 1975 May 22;22(5):509–523. doi: 10.1007/BF00237351. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. McEwen B. S. Neural gonadal steroid actions. Science. 1981 Mar 20;211(4488):1303–1311. doi: 10.1126/science.6259728. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  26. Oppenheim R. W. The absence of significant postnatal motoneuron death in the brachial and lumbar spinal cord of the rat. J Comp Neurol. 1986 Apr 8;246(2):281–286. doi: 10.1002/cne.902460211. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  27. Paterson J. A., Leblond C. P. Increased proliferation of neuroglia and endothelial cells in the supraoptic nucleus and hypophysial neural lobe of young rats drinking hypertonic sodium chloride solution. J Comp Neurol. 1977 Oct 15;175(4):373–390. doi: 10.1002/cne.901750402. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  28. Raisman G. Electron microscopic studies of the development of new neurohaemal contacts in the median eminence of the rat after hypophysectomy. Brain Res. 1973 Jun 15;55(2):245–261. doi: 10.1016/0006-8993(73)90294-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  29. Russell J. A. Changes in nucleolar dry mass of neurones of the paraventricular and supraoptic nuclei in the rat during pregnancy and lactation. Cell Tissue Res. 1980;208(2):313–325. doi: 10.1007/BF00234879. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  30. Silverman A. J., Zimmerman E. A. Magnocellular neurosecretory system. Annu Rev Neurosci. 1983;6:357–380. doi: 10.1146/annurev.ne.06.030183.002041. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Journal of Anatomy are provided here courtesy of Anatomical Society of Great Britain and Ireland

RESOURCES