Effects of acute salt loading on vasopressin mRNA level in the rat brain

To assess the mutual relationship between acute osmotic stimulation and arginine vasopressin (AVP) gene expression, 2 ml/100 g body weight of 0.9 M NaCl was intraperitoneally administered into conscious rats. They were decapitated to collect blood and brain samples before and 15 min and 1, 3, 6, and 9 h after the injection. The total RNA from the hypothalamus or whole brain tissue was used to determine AVP mRNA by Northern blot analyses with a complementary DNA probe. Plasma AVP and osmolality increased rapidly and transiently 15 min and 1 and 3 h after the injection. AVP mRNA was detected in the hypothalamus but not in the brain tissue without hypothalamus under basal and stimulated conditions. Brain AVP mRNA increased 2.2-fold at 3 h and 1.7-fold at 6 h (P < 0.05-0.01). These increases appeared to be due to the appearance of AVP mRNA with the shorter migration in the gel. These results suggest that an acute osmotic challenge increases AVP mRNA with size heterogeneity within the hypothalamo-hypophyseal tract.