[125I]Vasoactive intestinal peptide binding in rodent suprachiasmatic nucleus: developmental and circadian studies.

The suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) of rat and hamster have been studied extensively and shown to play critical roles in circadian rhythmicity. [125I]Vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) binding levels are high in the rat SCN, suggesting that VIP receptors may be an important component of SCN function. In contrast to previously demonstrated diurnal variations in VIP immunoreactivity and VIP mRNA, the present study found [125I]VIP binding to be stable across the light-dark cycle in both rat and hamster SCN. High [125I]VIP labeling appeared to be coextensive with the rat SCN but extended somewhat beyond the cytoarchitectonic boundaries of the hamster SCN. Binding density in hamster SCN was slightly higher than in rat. In the developing rat SCN, [125I]VIP binding levels distinguished the SCN on embryonic day 18, and appeared to increase to postnatal day 10 before declining to adult levels. The early presence of [125I]VIP binding suggests possible involvement of VIP receptors in fetal entrainment of circadian rhythms.