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Evidence for the Synthesis of Oxytocin and Vasopressin in Separate Neurons

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Abstract

ALTHOUGH it is now generally accepted that in mammals the hormones of the posterior pituitary, vasopressin and oxytocin, are synthesized in the hypothalamus in the supraoptic (SON) and paraventricular (PVN) nuclei1, two important and related questions about the hypothalamo-neurohypophysial system (HNS) remain unanswered. These are: (a) whether vasopressin is synthesized exclusively in the SON while oxytocin is synthesized only in the PVN2–4; and (b) whether there is one population of neurons in the hypothalamic nuclei which produces only vasopressin and another population which produces only oxytocin, or whether single neurons in the HNS can synthesize both these hormones5–7. The results reported here suggest an answer to the second question.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physiology, Dartmouth Medical School, Hanover, New Hampshire

    HILDA WEYL SOKOL & HEINZ VALTIN

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  1. HILDA WEYL SOKOL
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  2. HEINZ VALTIN
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SOKOL, H., VALTIN, H. Evidence for the Synthesis of Oxytocin and Vasopressin in Separate Neurons. Nature 214, 314–316 (1967). https://doi.org/10.1038/214314a0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/214314a0

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