Litter size determines the number of melanin-concentrating hormone neurons in the medial preoptic area of Sprague Dawley lactating dams
| Autor: | Jozélia G. Ferreira, Jackson C. Bittencourt, Jessica C. G. Duarte, Giovanne B. Diniz |
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| Rok vydání: | 2017 |
| Předmět: |
0301 basic medicine
Litter (animal) medicine.medical_specialty Litter Size Melanin-concentrating hormone Neuropeptide Cell Count Experimental and Cognitive Psychology Biology 03 medical and health sciences Behavioral Neuroscience chemistry.chemical_compound 0302 clinical medicine Hypothalamic Hormones Internal medicine medicine Animals Lactation reproductive and urinary physiology Melanins Neurons Postpartum Period respiratory system ANATOMIA Preoptic Area Rats Preoptic area Pituitary Hormones 030104 developmental biology medicine.anatomical_structure Endocrinology chemistry Hypothalamus Zona incerta Female hormones hormone substitutes and hormone antagonists 030217 neurology & neurosurgery Postpartum period |
| Zdroj: | Repositório Institucional da USP (Biblioteca Digital da Produção Intelectual) Universidade de São Paulo (USP) instacron:USP |
| Popis: | Melanin-concentrating hormone [MCH] is an important neuromodulator related to motivated behaviors. The MCH-containing neurons are mainly located in the lateral hypothalamic area, zona incerta, and incerto-hypothalamic area. In the medial preoptic area [MPOA], a key region for the regulation of maternal behavior, Pmch mRNA expression and MCH synthesis can be detected exclusively during the lactation period. As litter size affects different parameters of maternal physiology, the aim of this study was to verify whether litter size can modulate the number of MCH-containing neurons in the MPOA of lactating rats. The dams were divided into the following groups: postpartum day 12, 15, or 19, with a large, small or reduced litter. Our results show that the number of MCH-immunoreactive neurons in the MPOA is positively correlated with the number of pups in the litter and that artificially reducing the number of pups can also decrease the number of MCH-immunoreactive neurons in the MPOA. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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