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. 2006;68(4):229-40.
doi: 10.1159/000094360. Epub 2006 Jun 30.

Distribution of corticotropin-releasing factor and urocortin 1 in the vole brain

Miranda M Lim  1 , Natalia O Tsivkovskaia, Yaohui Bai, Larry J Young, Andrey E Ryabinin
Affiliations

Distribution of corticotropin-releasing factor and urocortin 1 in the vole brain

Miranda M Lim et al. Brain Behav Evol. 2006.

Abstract

Brain receptor patterns for the corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) receptors, CRF1 and CRF2, are dramatically different between monogamous and promiscuous vole species, and CRF physiologically regulates pair bonding behavior in the monogamous prairie vole. However, it is uncertain whether species differences also exist in the neuroanatomical distribution of the endogenous ligands for the CRF1 and CRF2 receptors, such as CRF and urocortin-1 (Ucn1). We compared the expression of CRF and Ucn1 in four vole species, monogamous prairie and pine voles, and promiscuous meadow and montane voles, using in situ hybridization of CRF and Ucn1 mRNA. Our results reveal that CRF mRNA expression patterns in all four vole species appear highly conserved throughout the brain, including the olfactory bulb, nucleus accumbens, bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, medial preoptic area, central amygdala, hippocampus, posterior thalamus, and cerebellum. Similarly, Ucn1 mRNA primarily localized to the Edinger-Westphal nucleus in all four vole species. Immunocytochemistry in prairie and meadow voles confirmed localization of CRF and Ucn1 protein to these previously identified brain regions. These data demonstrate a striking dichotomy between the extraordinary species diversity of brain receptor patterns when compared to the highly conserved brain distributions of their respective ligands. Our findings generate novel hypotheses regarding the evolutionary mechanisms underlying the neural circuitry of species-typical social behaviors.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
CRF in situ hybridization in the nucleus accumbens (A, B, C, D), bed nucleus of the stria terminalis/medial preoptic area (E, F, G, H), central nucleus of the amygdale (I, J, K, L), and posterior nuclei of the thalamus (M, N, O, P) in four vole species. Note the similarity in brain distribution of CRF mRNA in the various brain regions among the prairie voles (A, E, I, M), pine voles (B, F, J, N), meadow voles (C, G, K, O), and montane voles (D, H, L, P). Scale bar = 1 mm.
Figure 2
Figure 2
CRF in situ hybridization in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus (A, C, E, G) and median raphe nucleus (B, D, F, H) in four vole species. Note the similarity in brain distribution of CRF mRNA in both brain regions among the prairie voles (A, B), pine voles (C, D), meadow voles (E, F), and montane voles (G, H). Scale bar = 1 mm.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Urocortin-1 in situ hybridization in the Edinger-Westphal nucleus in the monogamous prairie vole (A), pine vole (B), and promiscuous meadow vole (C) and montane vole (D). Note the similarity in brain distribution of Ucn1 mRNA among the four vole species. Scale bar = 1 mm.
Figure 4
Figure 4
CRF-immunoreactive neurons in the paraventricular nucleus of hypothalamus (A, B), median raphe (C, D), bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (E, F), and central nucleus of the amygdala (G, H) in prairie (A, C, E, G) and meadow (B, D, F, H) voles. Scale bar = 200 μm.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Urocortin-1 expression in the Edinger-Westphal nucleus in prairie (A) and meadow (B) voles. Scale bar = 200 μm.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Paired sections stained for CRF in situ hybridization (A, C), and CRF2 receptor autoradiography (B, D) at the level of the nucleus accumbens in monogamous prairie (A, B), and pine (C, D) voles. Note the presence of CRF mRNA signal in the same vicinity of CRF2 receptor binding. Promiscuous meadow and montane voles lack CRF2 binding in the nucleus accumbens. Scale bar = 1 mm.
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