A comprehensive description of the transcriptome of the hypothalamoneurohypophyseal system in euhydrated and dehydrated rats

Abstract

The hypothalamoneurohypophyseal system (HNS) consists of the large peptidergic magnocellular neurons of the supraoptic hypothalamic nucleus (SON) and the paraventricular hypothalamic nucleus (PVN), the axons of which course through the internal zone of the median eminence and terminate at blood capillaries of the posterior lobe of the pituitary gland. The HNS is a specialized brain neurosecretory apparatus responsible for the production of the antidiuretic peptide hormone vasopressin (VP). VP maintains water balance by promoting water conservation at the level of the kidney. Dehydration evokes a massive increase in the regulated release of VP from magnocellular neuron axon terminals in the p..