title: Reduced dipsogenic response induced by angiotensin II activation of subfornical organ projections to the median preoptic nucleus in estrogen-treated rats.
abstract: The present study was carried out to investigate whether estrogen modulates the drinking response induced by activation of angiotensinergic neural pathways from the subfornical organ (SFO) to the median preoptic nucleus (MnPO). Microinjection of angiotensin II (ANG II, 10(-10) M, 0.2 microl) into the SFO elicited drinking in ovariectomized (OVX) female rats that were treated with either propylene glycol (PG) vehicle or estrogen benzoate (EB). The amount of water intake induced by the ANG II injection was significantly greater in the PG-treated than in the EB-treated animals. In both groups of female rats, previous injections of saralasin (Sar, 10(-10) M, 0.2 microl), a specific ANG II antagonist, into the MnPO resulted in the significant attenuation of the drinking response to ANG II, showing that the ANG II-induced drinking response may be mediated in part by the angiotensinergic SFO projections to the MnPO. Injections of ANG II (10(-10) M, 0.2 microl) into the MnPO caused drinking in both groups, while no significant difference was found between the groups in the amount of water intake. These results suggest that increases in the circulating level of estrogen may attenuate the drinking response induced by ANG II activation of the SFO projections to the MnPO.
authors.affiliation: Department of Curriculum, Teaching and Memory, Neuroscience Program, Naruto University of Education, Naruto, Tokushima 772-8502, Japan.
authors.forename: Junichi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.forename: Hiroko
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Miyakubo
authors.forename: Shigeko
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fujisawa
authors.forename: Masahiko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nomura
mesh_terms: D000804:Angiotensin II / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000806:Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology; D000818:Animals; D004326:Drinking / Q000187:drug effects; D004327:Drinking Behavior / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D004967:Estrogens / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005260:Female; D008845:Microinjections; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D010052:Ovariectomy; D011301:Preoptic Area / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D019946:Propylene Glycol / Q000494:pharmacology; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D012504:Saralasin / Q000494:pharmacology; D013356:Subfornical Organ / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D000806:Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors; D004967:Estrogens; D000804:Angiotensin II; D019946:Propylene Glycol; D012504:Saralasin