Regeneration of neurohypophyseal hormone-producing neurons in hypophysectomized immature rats.

Age-related changes in the regeneration of vasopressin (AVP) and oxytocin (OXT) axons after hypophysectomy in rats was immunohistochemically examined. Rats were hypophysectomized at 9, 16, 23, 30 and 90 days of age, and sacrificed 10 days after the operation. AVP or OXT immunoreactivity in the external layer of the median eminence (ME) was generally stronger in hypophysectomized immature rats than in hypophysectomized adult rats, and the age-related difference in immunoreactivity was more conspicuous for AVP axons than OXT ones. The cell body size of AVP or OXT neurons in hypophysectomized adult rats was not significantly different from the value of unoperated or initial control rats. However, the neurons in immature rats became significantly larger after hypophysectomy, compared with those of initial controls. These results indicate that AVP- and OXT-producing neurons in immature rats, as early as at 9 days of age, are endowed with the capacity of axonal rearrangement to the external layer of the ME after hypophysectomy, and that the stronger immunoreactivity in the external layer of the ME in immature rats than in the adult may be due to the differences in the rate of synthesis of neurohypophyseal hormones and the regenerative potency of neurons.