Distribution of the androgen receptor in the diencephalon and the pituitary gland in goats: Co-localisation with corticotrophin releasing hormone, arginine vasopressin and corticotrophs.
Previously it has been shown that androgen suppresses transportation-induced increases in plasma adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), possibly by suppressing the secretion of corticotrophin releasing hormone (CRH) or arginine vasopressin (AVP) from the hypothalamus, or secretion of ACTH from the pituitary gland. The aim of the present study was to examine androgen target sites in the caprine diencephalon and pituitary gland using immunohistochemical methods. The androgen receptor (AR) was expressed strongly in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, the medial preoptic area, the arcuate nucleus, the ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus and the suprachiasmatic nucleus in the diencephalon. Between 8% and 11% of CRH and AVP neurons in the paraventricular hypothalamic nucleus (PVN) expressed AR. In the pituitary gland, 7.1% of corticotrophs expressed AR. The results are consistent with the proposal that androgen acts directly and indirectly on CRH and/or AVP neurons in the PVN. The possibility of a direct action of androgen on the corticotrophs in the pituitary gland was also considered.
Maejima
Yuko
Y
Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Utsunomiya University, 350 Minemachi, Utsunomiya-Shi 321-8505, Japan. maejimayuko@hotmail.com
Aoyama
Masato
M
Ookawara
Shigeo
S
Hirao
Atsushi
A
Sugita
Shoei
S
D000818:Animals; D001127:Arginine Vasopressin / Q000032:analysis*; D001921:Brain / Q000166:cytology*; D001923:Brain Chemistry; D003346:Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone / Q000032:analysis*; D004027:Diencephalon / Q000166:cytology*; D006041:Goats; D008297:Male; D010902:Pituitary Gland / Q000737:chemistry*; D011944:Receptors, Androgen / Q000032:analysis*
D011944:Receptors, Androgen; D001127:Arginine Vasopressin; D003346:Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone