Localization of Arginine Vasopressin-Neurophysin II Messenger Ribonucleic Acid in the Hypothalamus of Control and Brattleboro Rats by Hybridization Histochemistry with a Synthetic Pentadecamer Oligonucleotide Probe*

Abstract

By using 32P-labeled oligonucleotide probes for in situ DNA-RNA hybridization, the distribution of mRNA for arginine vasopressin-neurophysin II (AVP-NPII) in the rat hypothalamus was defined. With a specific pentadecamer nucleotide probe, strong specific hybridization is seen in supraoptic, suprachiasmatic and paraventricular nuclei in both Sprague-Dawley and Brattleboro rats. This finding of equivalent distribution of AVP-NPII mRNA in Brattleboro and control hypothalami confirms and extends the recent report of equivalent levels of AVP-NPII mRNA by Northern blot analysis.