Glucocorticoid negative feedback and glucocorticoid receptors after hippocampectomy in rats.

In rats with dorsal hippocampectomy, glucocorticoid receptors in the hypothalamus and anterior pituitary, as well as the pituitary transcortin-like compound, are preserved, in spite of a 60% depletion of glucocorticoid receptors in the hippocampus. In the hippocampectomized group, basal levels of serum corticosterone (CORT) were increased, although there was a normal response to ether stress. Inhibition of the response to ether with dexamethasone (DEX) was dose-dependent: whereas 100 micrograms/kg completely suppressed serum CORT, 10 micrograms/kg were ineffective. However, we observed a reduced sensitivity to DEX inhibition with 25 micrograms/kg in hippocampectomized animals. These results indicate that the hippocampus is involved in negative feedback mechanisms, although different doses of DEX are needed for this demonstration. The inhibition of serum CORT due to 100 micrograms/kg DEX suggests that negative feedback at sites other than the hippocampus was still operative, in agreement with normal levels of glucocorticoid receptors in the anterior pituitary and hypothalamus of hippocampectomized rats.