Extrahypophysial distribution of corticotropin as a function of brain size.

Determination by radioimmunoassay of corticotropin in the brains of rats, rabbits, dogs, monkeys, and human beings reveals that the dimensions within which the hormone is found is about the same for each of these species but that the anatomical regions in which the hormone is found depends on brain size. Corticotropin is widely distributed in the brain of rats but is found only in the hypothalamic region of the primate brain. The patterns of immunoreactivity observed after Sephadex gel filtration confirm that the molecular forms of corticotropin found in extrahypophysial regions are similar to those in the pituitary of each species. These findings suggest that the mammalian pituitary is the sole site of synthesis of the hormone. The observation of persistence of corticotropin in the brains of commerically hypophysectomized rats has been interpreted by others as suggesting diencephalic as well as pituitary origin for this peptide. However, our studies demonstrate that 8 weeks after hypophysectomy the rats we have received from commerical sources manifest stress-stimulated plasma corticotropin concentrations about 80% of that found in intact rats in spite of the fact that residual pituitary tissue was not found by visual inspection of the sella. Scrapings from the sella revealed a corticotropin content up to 5% that of the average rat pituitary.