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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2013 Apr 1.
Published in final edited form as: J Neuroendocrinol. 2012 Apr;24(4):528–538. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2826.2011.02236.x

Figure 1.

Figure 1

Magnocellular Neuronal Phenotypes in the rat SON.

A. Shows double-label immunofluorescent images for oxytocin (green) and vasopressin (red) containing magnocellular neurons (MCNs) in the rat SON. These two distinct MCN populations are the only neuronal phenotypes found in the SON. Most of the MCNs express only oxytocin or vasopressin, however, a small percentage of the MCNs (about 2–3%) are known to express both peptides (see arrows). Scale bar = 100µm. Abbreviations: OC, optic chiasm.

B. Oxytocin and vasopressin phenotypes of individual dissociated hypothalamic supraoptic magnocellular neurons were determined by RT-PCR. A photomicrograph is shown of an individual dissociated magnocellular neuron being picked up by a harvesting pipette touching the large cell body containing two large dendrites. Scale bar, 20µm. cDNAs from the individual cells were amplified by PCR with primers that are specific for oxytocin (OT), vasopressin (VP), or glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH). The PCR products were then run on 1.5% agarose gels containing ethidium bromide.