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Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America logoLink to Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
. 1984 Nov;81(22):7248–7252. doi: 10.1073/pnas.81.22.7248

Regional distribution of putative vasopressin receptors in rat brain and pituitary by quantitative autoradiography.

R E Brinton, K W Gee, J K Wamsley, T P Davis, H I Yamamura
PMCID: PMC392116  PMID: 6095279

Abstract

Quantitative light microscopic autoradiography was used to map and characterize the distribution of [3H]arginine vasopressin [( 3H]AVP) binding sites in the rat brain. HPLC analysis for possible degradation of AVP during binding indicated that addition of specific peptidase inhibitors prevented metabolism of AVP. Binding sites for [3H]AVP were observed in the hypothalamus and pituitary as well as in brain regions where AVP may act as a neuroregulator. Within the hypothalamus, dense AVP binding sites were seen in the suprachiasmatic, supraoptic, and paraventricular nuclei. High specific binding was also apparent in the median eminence tubero-infundibular region and in the posterior lobe of the pituitary. [3H]AVP labeling at possible neuroregulatory sites was observed in the hippocampus, lateral septum, superficial cortex, cerebellum, nucleus tractus solitarious, adenohypophysis, and spinal cord.

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Selected References

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