Adrenergic control of DNA synthesis in developing rat brain regions: effects of intracisternal administration of isoproterenol.

Catecholamines are hypothesized to control cellular development in the central nervous system. In the current study, isoproterenol administered intracisternally to neonatal rats was found to inhibit DNA synthesis [( 3H]thymidine incorporation) in brain regions. The regional selectivity of effect corresponded to the sequence of cellular maturation, namely midbrain + brainstem greater than cerebral cortex greater than cerebellum, suggesting that the specific linkage of beta-adrenergic receptors to cessation of cell replication occurs during a specific maturational stage.