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    The Subfornical Organ: A Novel Site for Prolactin Action

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    Kamesh, Anusha
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    Abstract
    Prolactin (PRL) is a peptide hormone which performs over 300 biological functions, including

    those that require binding to prolactin receptor (PRL-R) in neurons within the central nervous system

    (CNS) (Bole-Feysot, Goffin, Edery, Binart, & Kelly, 1998). In order to enter the CNS, circulating PRL

    must overcome the blood-brain barrier. As such, areas of the brain that do not possess a blood-brain

    barrier, such as the subfornical organ (SFO), are optimally positioned to interact with systemic PRL. The

    SFO has been classically implicated in energy and fluid homeostasis but has the potential to influence

    estrous cyclicity and gonadotropin release, which are also functions of PRL. We sought to confirm and

    characterize the expression of PRL-R in the SFO as well as identify the effects of PRL application on

    membrane excitability of dissociated SFO neurons. Using real-time quantitative PCR, we identified PRLR

    mRNA in the SFO in male and female Sprague Dawley rats. PRL-R expression did not significantly

    differ between males (n=10) and females (n=24), between juveniles (n=10) and sexually mature (n=24)

    rats, or across the estrous cycle (n=19). Patch-clamp recordings were then obtained using juvenile male

    rats to further investigate the actions of PRL at the SFO. Dissociated SFO neurons perfused with 10 pM

    to 1 μM PRL resulted in three subpopulations of neurons which either depolarized, hyperpolarized, or did

    not respond to PRL application (n=111). The proportion and magnitude of responses were independent of

    PRL concentration. Furthermore, a majority of SFO neurons showed a reduction in the transient K+

    current following PRL exposure. The stability in response to PRL and expression of PRL-R in the SFO

    suggests PRL function is conserved across physiological states and circulating PRL concentrations,

    although further studies are required to elucidate the nature of PRL function in the SFO.
    URI for this record
    http://hdl.handle.net/1974/22658
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