Biomedical subjects

W E Turton

Publications and source records attributed to W E Turton.

2 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1986

Increased hexokinase activity in forebrain of water-deprived and diabetes insipidus rats.

Metabolic studies using the 2-[14C]deoxy-D-glucose and cytochrome oxidase techniques have demonstrated changes in the activity of central sites associated with the hypothalamoneurohypophysial system in water-deprived (WD) and diabetes insipidus (DI) rats. Another method that may be used as an index of metabolic activity in discrete regions of the central nervous system is the measurement of hexokinase (HK) activity. This study describes changes in metabolic activity, as measured by HK histochemistry, in regions of the forebrain of WD and DI rats. Significant increases in HK activity measured by densitometric analysis were observed in the magnocellular component of the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus, supraoptic nucleus, nucleus circularis, and neurohypophysis of WD and DI rats. In addition, increased HK activity was observed in the preoptic area and subfornical organ of DI rats. These data demonstrate that metabolic changes occur in the forebrain of WD and DI rats within structures involved in body fluid regulation. The present study also demonstrates that HK histochemistry may be used as a marker of metabolic activity in discrete regions of the central nervous system.

Animals↗

PubMed1986

Changes in forebrain hexokinase activity after aortic baroreceptor denervation.

Although forebrain structures have been implicated in both the development and maintenance of the elevated arterial pressure (AP) after aortic baroreceptor denervation, little is known about the location of central structures involved in the hypertensive process. In the present study, regions of the forebrain whose metabolic activity was altered after aortic baroreceptor denervation were functionally identified using hexokinase (HK) histochemistry in the rat. Three days after bilateral aortic depressor nerve (ADN) transection AP was significantly elevated compared with sham ADN-transected animals (143 +/- 1 and 122 +/- 2 mmHg, respectively). Significant increases in HK activity were observed in the magno- and parvocellular components of the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus, supraoptic nucleus, nucleus circularis, median preoptic nucleus, subfornical organ, and central nucleus of the amygdala in the ADN-transected animals. These data have demonstrated that removal of aortic baroreceptor afferent inputs alters the activity of forebrain structures previously implicated in regulation of body fluid balance and AP and suggest that these structures are involved in the hypertensive process after ADN transection.

Animals↗