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Role of Alpha-1-Adrenergic Receptors in the Regulation of Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone mRNA in the Paraventricular Nucleus of the Hypothalamus During Stress

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Abstract

SUMMARY

1. The role of α1-adrenergic receptors on CRH mRNA levels in the PVN was studied in control and stressed rats receiving i.c.v. injections of the α1-adrenergic agonist, methoxamine, or the α1- antagonist, prazosin.

2. Plasma ACTH increased significantly 60 min and 4 hr after a single injection of methoxamine (100 μg, i.c.v.). No desensitization of this response was observed after repeated injections every 6 hr for 24 hr. Concomitantly, POMC mRNA in the anterior pituitary increased by 25% at 4 hr after a single injection and by 96% after repeated injections.

3. CRH mRNA levels in the PVN increased by 131% after repeated injections for 24 hr, but were unchanged 4 hr after a single injection. Central α1-adrenergic blockade with prazosin did not prevent the increases in CRH mRNA following 4 hr of acute stress, but significantly reduced the increases observed 24 hr after an i.c.v. injection of 75 μg of colchicine or after repeated i.p. hypertonic saline injections every 8 hr.

4. These studies demonstrate that while α1-adrenergic receptors contribute to long-term increases of CRH mRNA levels in the PVN during prolonged stress, other factors are likely to be involved in the stimulation of CRH mRNA following acute stimulation.

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Author notes

  1. Alexander Kiss

    Present address: Institute of Experimental Endocrinology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovakia

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Section on Endocrine Physiology, Developmental Endocrinology Branch, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, NIH, Bethesda, Maryland, 20892

    Alexander Kiss

  2. Section on Endocrine Physiology, Developmental Endocrinology Branch, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, NIH, Bethesda, Maryland, 20892

    Greti Aguilera

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Kiss, A., Aguilera, G. Role of Alpha-1-Adrenergic Receptors in the Regulation of Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone mRNA in the Paraventricular Nucleus of the Hypothalamus During Stress. Cell Mol Neurobiol 20, 683–694 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1007098724683

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