Cultured hypothalamic explants from spontaneously hypertensive rats have decreased vasopressin and oxytocin content and release.

To investigate the central nervous system (CNS) changes in the spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR), a tissue culture model was used to examine the content and release (24 hour) of the peptide hormones, vasopressin (VP) and oxytocin (OT), from brain explants. Nuclear regions consisting of the paraventricular (PVN) or supraoptic (SON) nuclei were microdissected from prehypertensive SHR and Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats. Media levels of VP and OT were measured at 1, 3, 4, and 7 days of culture. After three days of culture, the PVN explants from SHR secreted significantly less VP and OT (both reduced 80%) than did those from WKY. Release of both VP and OT in the SON explants was significantly lower (approximately 50% lower) in the SHR only at seven days of culture. Additionally, tissue content of the peptides was measured after 0, 1, 4, and 7 days of culture. Tissue content of VP and OT was decreased (40% or more) in the SHR in both nuclear regions after four and seven days of culture. In addition, nicotine was found to stimulate the release of VP from SON, but not PVN, cultures in both SHR and WKY explants. Immunohistochemical data showed that there was not a preferential loss of VP or OT neurons in explants from the SHR. Therefore, this in vitro model would indicate that there is a difference in the ability of cultured explants of PVN and SON from SHR and WKY (four-week-old) to synthesize and/or release the peptide hormones VP and OT.