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Mitotic Figures in the Median Eminence of the Hypothalamus

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Abstract

The median eminence of the hypothalamus is part of the avenue by which neurosecreted hormones from the hypothalamic nuclei reach the pars nervosa (neural lobe) of the pituitary and eventually the bloodstream. Lithium treatment and osmotic stress increases the transport of neurosecretory hormones to the pituitary in the adult rat. Specialized astrocytes termed pituicytes in the pars nervosa of the pituitary participate in the secretory process and also develop considerable mitotic activity. The present work reveals similar mitotic figures in cells within the median eminence following 3 days of lithium treatment. The location and appearance of these mitoses add to the evidence that pituicytes are present in the median eminence. Moreover, mitoses occur within the ependymal (tanycyte) layer of the median eminence. Thus, the present results suggest that the tanycyte layer may contain pituicytes, indicating that the hypothalamus possesses specialized cells for modulating neurosecretion in response to osmotic challenges.

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Acknowledgments

Supported by NS43939 and an anonymous private donation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Dementia Research, Nathan Kline Institute, NYU Langone Medical Center, 140 Old Orangeburg Road, Orangeburg, NY, 10962, USA

    Seymour Levine, Arthur Saltzman & Stephen D. Ginsberg

  2. Department of Psychiatry, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, NY, USA

    Stephen D. Ginsberg

  3. Department of Physiology & Neuroscience, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, NY, USA

    Stephen D. Ginsberg

Authors
  1. Seymour Levine
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  2. Arthur Saltzman
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  3. Stephen D. Ginsberg
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Stephen D. Ginsberg.

Additional information

Dr. Seymour Levine passed away on April 2, 2010. Mr. Saltzman and Dr. Ginsberg would like to dedicate this paper to his memory and to recognize his contributions to this field.

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Levine, S., Saltzman, A. & Ginsberg, S.D. Mitotic Figures in the Median Eminence of the Hypothalamus. Neurochem Res 35, 1743–1746 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11064-010-0237-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11064-010-0237-9

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