Reduced urocortin 1 immunoreactivity in the non-preganglionic Edinger-Westphal nucleus during late pregnancy in rats |
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Authors: | Fatima A Haroon M F Wolf G Engelmann M Spina M G |
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Affiliation: | Institute of Medical Neurobiology, Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg, Germany. Ambrin.Fatima@Medizin.Uni-Magdeburg.DE |
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Abstract: | Pregnancy is accompanied by an array of adaptive changes that play an important role in pre- and postnatal events. In rats, urocortin 1, a corticotropin-releasing factor-like peptide, is expressed mainly in the non-preganglionic Edinger-Westphal nucleus. We investigated the number of neurons immunoreactive for urocortin 1 at three different levels of the Edinger-Westphal nucleus in female rats by immunohistochemistry. The number of urocortin 1 immunoreactive cells was found to be decreased in pregnant rats compared to virgin rats. These results indicate that the hormonal status of the female rat affects urocortin 1 immunoreactive neurons in the non-preganglionic Edinger-Westphal nucleus and its signaling to target brain areas. |
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