Figure 4.

Perinatal expression levels of pituitary PACAP mRNA are maintained in vitro. RNA from pituitaries (A) and 48-h pituitary cell cultures (B) from E19, PN5, and PN15 male rats were analyzed for PACAP mRNA content by qRT-PCR. For comparison of in vivo and in vitro data, the values are expressed as copies per microgram total RNA and levels relative to E19 values. Each value represents the mean ± sem of six subjects per group for whole pituitaries and three separate cell culture preparations performed in triplicate. Statistical analyses were performed with Student’s t test. *, P < 0.05 vs. E19.