Summary
Vasopressin was immunohistochemically localized at the electron microscopic (EM) level in the hypothalamic-neurohypophysial system (HNS) of three murids. Antiserum to vasopressin was produced in rabbits injected with lysine vasopressin (LVP) conjugated to egg albumin (EA), anti-EA being precipitated prior to staining. Sternberger's unlabeled antibody peroxidase technique was employed, immunoreactivity being designated by peroxidase anti-peroxidase (PAP) molecules and electron opacity. Immunoreactive neurosecretory granules (NSG) were found in the perikarya of the supraoptic nucleus (SON) in all three murids investigated, although far more profusely in the two wild strains. Immunoreactive axonal NSG were observed in the inner and outer zones of the median eminence (ME), and within most of the axons and terminals in the neurohypophysis. The concentration of primary serum effective for staining the SON (1∶10–1∶50) was far higher than that required for the ME and the neurohypophysis (1:500–1:1,200). AntiLVP also induced electron opacity of granules in cells of the pars intermedia (PI). Discussion centers on the significance of immunoreactive NSG in the neurosecretory (NS) perikarya, on the possibility of an extragranular pool of hormone, and on speculation about the electron opacity of the PI granules.
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This study is dedicated with esteem to Prof. Berta Scharrer on the occasion of her 70th birthday
We are grateful to Dr. Ludwig Sternberger, Edgewood Arsenal, USA, for encouragement and for critical reading of the manuscript. Warm thanks are due to Mrs. Ilana Sabnai and Mrs. Yael Shimoni for excellent technical assistance. The support of the Israel-United States Binational Science Foundation (BSF), grant 200, is gratefully acknowledged
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Castel, M., Hochman, J. Ultrastructural immunohistochemical localization of vasopressin in the hypothalamic-neurohypophysial system of three murids. Cell Tissue Res. 174, 69–81 (1976). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00222151
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00222151