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Effect of infection with the 139H scrapie strain on the number, area and/or location of hypothalamic CRF- and VP-immunostained neurons

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Abstract

Scrapie is a transmissible neurodegenerative disease which shares some characteristics with Alzheimer disease (AD). Recent studies show abnormal enlargement of the adrenal glands and kidneys in 139H-affected hamsters. Using immunocytochemical techniques with antibodies to corticotropin-relasing factor (CRF) and vasopressin (VP), we observed the following: (1) a significantly higher number of CRF-immunostained neurons in the preoptic nucleus of hypothalamus of 139H-affected hamsters than controls; (2) the area of VP-immunostained (ir-VP) neurons in the lateral hypothalamus, which includes the internuclear group of magnocellular neurons and the nucleus circularis, was significantly lower for 139H-affected hamsters than for controls; and (3) no significant difference between 139H-affected and control hamsters with regard to the number of ir-VP neurons in the dorsalmedial hypothalamus (DMH), including the paraventricular hypothalamus, or the supraoptic nuclei. However, the population of ir-VP neurons in the DMH shifted to the anterior part of the hypothalamus in 139H-affected hamsters. Three-dimensional models of the immunostaining were prepared and these provide clear depictions of the changes noted. The changes in the CRF and VP systems in 139H-affected hamsters suggest that the neuroendocrine system can be affected by unconventional slow infections.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. New York State Institute for Basic Research in Developmental Disabilities, 1050 Forest Hill Road, 10314, Staten Island, NY, USA

    X. Ye, R. I. Carp, Y. Yu, R. Kozielski & P. Kozlowski

  2. CSI/IBR Center for Developmental Neuroscience, 1050 Forest Hill Road, 10314, Staten Island, NY, USA

    X. Ye & R. I. Carp

  3. Graduate School of the City University of New York, 33 West 42 Street, 10036-8099, New York, NY, USA

    X. Ye & R. I. Carp

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  1. X. Ye
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  2. R. I. Carp
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  3. Y. Yu
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  4. R. Kozielski
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  5. P. Kozlowski
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Additional information

Supported by the New York State Department of Mental Hygiene, an NIH grant AG9017, and a fellowship from the College of Staten Island/Institute for Basic Research Center for Developmental Neuroscience to X. Ye

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Ye, X., Carp, R.I., Yu, Y. et al. Effect of infection with the 139H scrapie strain on the number, area and/or location of hypothalamic CRF- and VP-immunostained neurons. Acta Neuropathol 88, 44–54 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00294358

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00294358

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