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Abstract
In the rat hypothalamus, cell bodies containing neurotensin-like immunoreactivity
were mainly found in the medial preoptic area, the periventricular nucleus, the paraventricular
nucleus, the supraoptic nucleus and the arcuate nucleus. [3H]neurotensin binding sites
were observed throughout the hypothalamus with a dense accumulation of silver grains
over the paraventricular nucleus, the arcuate nucleus and the median eminence region.
By radioimmunoassay neurotensin-like immunoreactivity was also found in the neurointermediate
lobe of the pituitary gland of various mammalian species and in human postmortem posterior
pituitary glands. In the rat studies involving pituitary stalk transections and the
neurotoxin monosodium glutamate indicated the presence of a neurotensinergic pathway
from the arcuate nucleus to the neurointermediate lobe of the pituitary gland. [3H]neurotensin
binding sites were found to be concentrated over the intermediate lobe of the pituitary
gland and their presence was not affected by pituitary stalk transection, indicating
their localization on endocrine cells of the intermediate lobe of the pituitary gland.