Rapid changes in poly (A) tail length of vasopressin and oxytocin mRNAs form a common early component of neurohypophyseal peptide gene activation following physiological stimulation.

The time course of acute changes in vasopressin (VP) and oxytocin (OT) mRNA size and level during dehydration has been studied in rats. Total RNA was extracted from samples of the supraoptic nucleus at various intervals after water deprivation, subjected to northern blotting, and probed with oligonucleotides specific for VP and OT mRNA. The VP and OT mRNA size, shown previously to reflect 3'-poly (A) tail length, was consistently increased 2 h after dehydration, prior to significant changes in plasma osmolality or haematocrit. Intraperitoneal administration of hypertonic saline resulted in a similarly rapid VP and OT mRNA size response, in some cases within 1 h of treatment. The effect of a discrete hypovolaemic stimulus was investigated with intraperitoneal injections of polyethylene glycol; again, the VP and OT mRNA size was rapidly increased. No significant changes in mRNA level were observed in any of the experimental groups. The results show that an increase in VP and OT mRNA poly(A) tail length forms an acute and general response to activation of the hypothalamo-neurohypophyseal system. The rapidity of the poly (A) tail response, which appears to be independent of physiological signalling mechanisms associated with increases in mRNA accumulation (observed after 2 days of dehydration), provides a paradigm for the investigation of novel modes of neuronal gene regulation.