Pi X J, Grattan D R
Department of Anatomy and Structural Biology, School of Medical Sciences and Neuroscience Research Centre, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.
J Neuroendocrinol. 1999 Sep;11(9):693-705. doi: 10.1046/j.1365-2826.1999.00386.x.
Prolactin (PRL) exerts numerous effects in the brain including induction of maternal behaviour, increased food intake, and inhibition of GnRH secretion. Knowledge about the distribution of PRL receptors (PRL-R) in the brain will be critical for investigating mechanisms of PRL-brain interactions during lactation. The present study aimed to investigate the distribution of PRL-R in specific hypothalamic nuclei of lactating rats by immunohistochemistry and to compare this distribution with that in dioestrous rats. Rats were perfused with 2% paraformaldehyde and brains were cut into coronal sections (18 microm) for immunostaining. Immunoreactivity was detected by the avidin biotin complex method using mouse monoclonal antibody U5. In dioestrous rats, PRL-R immunoreactivity was observed in the choroid plexus, three hypothalamic nuclei: medial preoptic, periventricular and arcuate, and in the median eminence. The number of labelled profiles per section in the medial preoptic and arcuate nuclei increased significantly (P<0.05) in lactating rats (days 7-10 to post partum) when compared with dioestrous rats. Furthermore, in lactating rats, PRL-R immunoreactive neurons were identified in the cerebral cortex, substantia nigra and numerous additional hypothalamic nuclei including the ventromedial preoptic, ventrolateral preoptic, lateroanterior hypothalamic, ventrolateral hypothalamic, paraventricular hypothalamic, supraoptic, suprachiasmatic, and ventromedial hypothalamic nuclei. These observations assist our understanding of the multiple sites of PRL effects on brain function during lactation.
催乳素（PRL）在大脑中发挥多种作用，包括诱导母性行为、增加食物摄入量以及抑制促性腺激素释放激素（GnRH）分泌。了解PRL受体（PRL-R）在大脑中的分布对于研究哺乳期PRL与大脑相互作用的机制至关重要。本研究旨在通过免疫组织化学方法研究哺乳期大鼠特定下丘脑核团中PRL-R的分布，并将其与动情间期大鼠的分布进行比较。用2%多聚甲醛灌注大鼠，将大脑切成冠状切片（18微米）进行免疫染色。使用小鼠单克隆抗体U5通过抗生物素蛋白-生物素复合物法检测免疫反应性。在动情间期大鼠中，在脉络丛、三个下丘脑核团：内侧视前核、室周核和弓状核以及正中隆起中观察到PRL-R免疫反应性。与动情间期大鼠相比，哺乳期大鼠（产后7 - 10天）内侧视前核和弓状核中每切片标记轮廓的数量显著增加（P<0.05）。此外，在哺乳期大鼠中，在大脑皮层、黑质以及许多其他下丘脑核团中鉴定出PRL-R免疫反应性神经元，包括腹内侧视前核、腹外侧视前核、下丘脑外侧前核、下丘脑腹外侧核、下丘脑室旁核、视上核、视交叉上核和下丘脑腹内侧核。这些观察结果有助于我们理解哺乳期PRL对脑功能影响的多个位点。
