title: Adrenocorticotropin in rat brain: immunocytochemical localization in cells and axons.
abstract: By means of antiserum (purified by affinity chromatography) directed against adrenocorticotropin (ACTH) 11-24, cell bodies and beaded axons were visualized in rat brain. The ACTH-like immunoreactivity (ACTH-LI) was primarily located in the hypothalamus (cells and axons). Fibers were scattered throughout thalamus, amygdala, periaqueductal gray area, and reticular formation. There was no change in the distribution of ACTH-LI in rats that had been subjected to hypophysectomy. This distribution of ACTH-LI parallels that of beta-lipotropin and is altered by specific lesions in a similar fashion. The presence of ACTH-LI in cells and beaded axons in brain raises the possibility that it is a neuroregulator functioning as a neurotransmitter, neuromodulator, or neurohormone.
mesh_terms: D000324:Adrenocorticotropic Hormone / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D001369:Axons / Q000378:metabolism; D001921:Brain / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D007031:Hypothalamus / Q000378:metabolism; D007124:Immunoenzyme Techniques; D008297:Male; D010902:Pituitary Gland / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats; D008083:beta-Lipotropin / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000324:Adrenocorticotropic Hormone; D008083:beta-Lipotropin