Neuroscience letters
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Neuroscience letters · Apr 1994
Coexistence of oxytocin and NADPH-diaphorase in magnocellular neurons of the paraventricular and the supraoptic nuclei of the rat hypothalamus.
Nitric oxide (NO), which was firstly identified as an endothelium-derived relaxing factor, has recently been demonstrated to be a neurotransmitter in the central and peripheral nervous systems. In the hypothalamus, abundant nitric oxide synthase (NOS) immunoreactivity and its histochemical marker, NADPH-diaphorase activity, have been demonstrated in the hypothalamo-neurohypophyseal system. ⋯ Most oxytocin-immunoreactive neurons in the paraventricular and supraoptic nuclei expressed NADPH-diaphorase activity, but virtually no vasopressin-immunoreactive neurons contained NADPH-diaphorase activity. This suggests that oxytocin neurons are the main source of NO production in the hypothalamic-pituitary system.