Interleukin-6 and nitric oxide synthase expression in the vasopressin and corticotrophin-releasing factor systems of the rat hypothalamus.

Nitric oxide synthase (NOS) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) are constitutively expressed in hypothalamic cells. However, phenotypic and functional aspects of these cells remain unknown. We have studied the expression pattern of these two molecules in hypothalamic cells expressing corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) and arginin-vasopressin (AVP), two major regulatory peptides in the hypothalamus-pituitary system, using immunofluorescence, intracerebroventricular injection of colchicine, and the study in parallel of the labeling pattern of axons in the median eminence.

Expression of dopamine and vesicular monoamine transporters and differential vulnerability of mesostriatal dopaminergic neurons.

Numerous studies suggest that the dopamine transporter (DAT), responsible for dopamine reuptake, may act as a vulnerability factor in the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease (PD) and the vesicular monoamine transporter (VMAT2), responsible for its vesicular storage, as a neuroprotective factor. However, the relevance of each on the differential vulnerability of midbrain DA cells remains unknown. Here we studied the relationship between the expression pattern (mRNA and protein) of both transporters and the differential vulnerability of midbrain DA cells in a model of PD (intracerebroventricular injection of 6-OHDA in rats) and in monkey and human midbrain.