A Direct Neurokinin B Projection from the Arcuate Nucleus Regulates Magnocellular Vasopressin Cells of the Supraoptic Nucleus

Central administration of neurokinin B (NKB) agonists stimulates immediate early gene expression in the hypothalamus and increases the secretion of vasopressin from the posterior pituitary through a mechanism that depends on the activation of neurokinin receptor 3 receptors (NK3R). The present study reports that, in the rat, immunoreactivity for NK3R is expressed in magnocellular vasopressin and oxytocin neurones in the supraoptic nucleus (SON) and paraventricular nucleus (PVN) of the hypothalamus, and that NKB immunoreactivity is expressed in fibres in close juxtaposition with vasopressin neurones at both of these sites. Retrograde tracing in the rat shows that some NKB-expressing neurones in the arcuate nucleus project to the SON and, in mice, using an anterograde tracing approach, it is found that kisspeptin-expressing neurones of the arcuate nucleus, which are known to co-express NKB, project to the SON and PVN. Finally, i.c.v. injection of the NK3R agonist senktide is shown to potently increase the electrical activity of vasopressin neurones in the SON invivo with no significant effect detected on oxytocin neurones. The results suggest that NKB-containing neurones in the arcuate nucleus regulate the secretion of vasopressin from magnocellular neurones in rodents, and the possible significance of this is discussed.