title: Urocortin expression in the human central nervous system.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Urocortin is a recently identified neuropeptide of the corticotrophin-releasing factor (CRF) family in the mammalian brain and has been demonstrated to stimulate ACTH secretion from pituitary cells, but its expression in human brain tissue including the hypothalamus has not been examined. In this study, we first examined urocortin expression in the hypothalamus (20 cases) and pituitary stalks (17 cases) of human brain obtained from autopsy using immunohistochemistry and mRNA in situ hybridization.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Neither urocortin immunoreactivity nor mRNA hybridization signals were detected in the hypothalami and pituitary stalks while CRF immunoreactivity was detected in the paraventricular nuclei of the hypothalami in 10/20 cases and in nerve fibres of the stalks in 17/17 cases. These results indicate that urocortin does not act on the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis, at least not in the same manner as CRF in humans. We then examined urocortin expression in various portions of the brain in 7 cases. Both urocortin immunoreactivity and mRNA hybridization were detected in Purkinje cells of the cerebellum and anterior horn cells of the spinal cord in specimens examined. Urocortin expression was, however, variably seen in superior olivary nuclei (two out of six cases examined) and in the Edingar-Westphal nuclei (one out of three cases examined).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The distribution of urocortin in the human central nervous system suggests that urocortin may work as a neurotransmitter like other neuropeptides in the human.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Tohoku University School of Medicine, Sendai, Japan.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Iino
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sasano
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Oki
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Andoh
authors.forename: R W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Shin
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kitamoto
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Takahashi
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Tezuka
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yoshimi
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nagura
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000818:Animals; D000870:Anterior Horn Cells / Q000737:chemistry; D001923:Brain Chemistry; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003346:Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone / Q000032:analysis* / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007031:Hypothalamus / Q000737:chemistry; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D017403:In Situ Hybridization; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009847:Olivary Nucleus / Q000737:chemistry; D010902:Pituitary Gland / Q000737:chemistry; D011689:Purkinje Cells / Q000737:chemistry; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000032:analysis; D051381:Rats; D054832:Urocortins
chemical_list: D012333:RNA, Messenger; D054832:Urocortins; D003346:Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone