LHRH- IMMUNOREACTIVE (IR) NEURONS IN THE NERVOUS SYSTEM OF THE MOLE RAT (CRYPTOMYS). QUANTITATIVE ASPECTS.

Jastrow.H.1, S. Lohfink-Schumm2, H.A. Burda3 and H.A. Oelschläger2

1 Department of Anatomy, J. Gutenberg-University, Becherweg 13, D-55128 Mainz.
2 Dept Anat. J.W. Goethe-Univ., Theod. Stern-Kai 7, D-60590 Frankfurt a.M.,
3 Dept Zool. Univ. Essen, Universitätsstr. 2, D-45117 Essen, Germany.

Investigated six neonate, juvenile and non-reproductive adult specimens (4f, 2m) of the African mole rat (Cryptomys spec.) by cryotomy and immunocytochemistry.
In these animals, some variability is found with respect to the number of ,,genuine" LHRH-ir neurons (see below). The terminalis nerve (n.t.) comprised 104-239 neurons (average: 162) while in the central nervous system there were 351-964 LHRHir neurons (average: 540). In most cases, there was good correspondence between the left and right side 85 to the number of neurons in the n.t. and brain. The majority of the LHRHir neurons were bipolar (average of 74% in the n.t. and of 80% in the CNS) while the rest were irregular in shape.- In three specimens, an additional LHRH- immunoreactivity was found In so called ,,dark spot (DS) cells in the parafascicular nucleus (range: 661-1113; average: 836) in the form of 1-3 heavily labelled vacuoles of different size. These vacuoles seem to be restricted to adult non-reproductive animals. The identity of these ,,spot cells so far has not been determined.
During the postnatal period, the amount of LHRH-ir material does not show a developmental trend; with the exception of the DS cells, the number of genuine LHRH-ir cells and fibres seems to be more or less constant from the neonate to the adult stage. The DS cells are not found in adult reproductive animals (females); here, the vacuoles are no longer detectable.


This poster was presented at the 18th Annual Meeting of the European Neuroscience Association
and 27nd Annual Meeting of the European Brain and Behaviour Society at Amsterdam, Holland, 24-27 May 1995, published in Eur J Neurosci (Suppl 8), p. 18.

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