Leshin L S, Kraeling R R, Kineman R D, Barb C R, Rampacek G B
USDA-ARS, R.B. Russell Agricultural Research Center, Athens, Georgia 30604, USA.
J Comp Neurol. 1996 Jan 1;364(1):151-68. doi: 10.1002/(SICI)1096-9861(19960101)364:1<151::AID-CNE12>3.0.CO;2-1.
This study describes the distribution of catecholaminergic neurons in the hypothalamus and the pituitary gland of the domestic pig, Sus scrofa, an animal that is widely used as an experimental model of human physiology in addition to its worldwide agricultural importance. Hypothalamic catecholamine neurons were identified by immunocytochemical staining for the presence of the catecholamine synthesizing enzymes, tyrosine hydroxylase and dopamine-beta-hydroxylase. Tyrosine hydroxylase-immunoreactive perikarya were observed in the periventricular region throughout the extent of the third ventricle, the anterior and retrochiasmatic divisions of the supraoptic nucleus, the suprachiasmatic nucleus, the ventral and dorsolateral regions of the paraventricular nucleus and adjacent dorsal hypothalamus, the ventrolateral arcuate nucleus, and the posterior hypothalamus. Perikarya ranged from parvicellular (10-15 microns) to magnocellular (25-50 microns) and were of multiple shapes (rounded, fusiform, triangular, or multipolar) and generally had two to five processes with branched arborization. No dopamine-beta-hydroxylase immunoreactive perikarya were observed within the hypothalamus or in the adjacent basal forebrain structures. Both tyrosine hydroxylase- and dopamine-beta-hydroxylase-immunoreactive fibers and punctate varicosities were observed throughout areas containing tyrosine hydroxylase perikarya, but dopamine-beta-hydroxylase immunoreactivity was very sparse within the median eminence. Within the pituitary gland, only tyrosine hydroxylase fibers, and not dopamine-beta-hydroxylase immunoreactive fibers, were located throughout the neurohypophyseal tract and within the posterior pituitary in both pars intermedia and pars nervosa regions. Generally, the location and patterns of both catecholamine-synthesizing enzymes were similar to those reported for other mammalian species except for the absence of the A15 dorsal group and the very sparse dopamine-beta-hydroxylase immunoreactive fibers and varicosities in the median eminence in the pig. These findings provide an initial framework for elucidating behavioral and neuroendocrine species differences with regard to catecholamine neurotransmitters.
本研究描述了家猪（Sus scrofa）下丘脑和垂体中儿茶酚胺能神经元的分布情况。家猪除了在全球农业中具有重要地位外，还被广泛用作人类生理学的实验模型。通过对儿茶酚胺合成酶酪氨酸羟化酶和多巴胺-β-羟化酶进行免疫细胞化学染色，鉴定下丘脑儿茶酚胺神经元。在第三脑室全程的室周区域、视上核的前部分和视交叉后部分、视交叉上核、室旁核的腹侧和背外侧区域及相邻的背侧下丘脑、腹外侧弓状核和下丘脑后部观察到酪氨酸羟化酶免疫反应阳性的胞体。胞体大小从小细胞（10 - 15微米）到大细胞（25 - 50微米）不等，形状多样（圆形、梭形、三角形或多极形），通常有两到五个带有分支的突起。在下丘脑或相邻的基底前脑结构中未观察到多巴胺-β-羟化酶免疫反应阳性的胞体。在含有酪氨酸羟化酶胞体的所有区域均观察到酪氨酸羟化酶和多巴胺-β-羟化酶免疫反应阳性的纤维及点状膨体，但在正中隆起内多巴胺-β-羟化酶免疫反应性非常稀疏。在垂体中，仅酪氨酸羟化酶纤维存在于整个神经垂体束以及垂体后叶的中间部和神经部区域，而未观察到多巴胺-β-羟化酶免疫反应阳性纤维。一般来说，两种儿茶酚胺合成酶的定位和模式与其他哺乳动物物种报道的相似，但猪缺乏A15背侧组，且正中隆起内多巴胺-β-羟化酶免疫反应阳性纤维和膨体非常稀疏。这些发现为阐明儿茶酚胺神经递质在行为和神经内分泌方面的物种差异提供了一个初步框架。
