Postnatal development and environmental regulation of hippocampal glucocorticoid and mineralocorticoid receptors.

We report here on developmental changes in [3H]RU 28362 (glucocorticoid receptor) and [3H]aldosterone (mineralocorticoid receptor) binding capacity in soluble fractions prepared from hippocampal tissue. [3H]RU 28362 binding was low on Day 3 of life (less than 30% of that observed in adults) and increased towards adult values during the second and third weeks of life, a pattern virtually identical to that previously reported for dexamethasone binding. In contrast, [3H]aldosterone binding on Day 3 of life was only slightly lower than that observed in adults and reached adult values by Day 7. Postnatal handling of rat pups, which has been shown to increase dexamethasone binding in hippocampus, resulted in a significant increase in [3H]RU 28362 binding capacity in hippocampus, but had no effect on [3H]aldosterone binding.