Changes in vasoactive intestinal peptide and arginine vasopressin expression in the suprachiasmatic nucleus of the rat brain following footshock stress

The neuropeptides, arginine vasopressin (AVP) and vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) are synthesized by neurons of the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) of the hypothalamus and are important regulators of SCN function. Previous studies have demonstrated that acute exposure to stressors can disrupt circadian activity rhythms, suggesting the possibility of stress-related alterations in the expression of these neuropeptides within SCN neurons. In this study, we examined the effect of intermittent footshock stress on AVP mRNA and heterogeneous nuclear RNA (hnRNA) and VIP mRNA expression in neurons of the SCN. Young adult male Sprague/Dawley rats were subjected to 15 s of scrambled intermittent footshock (0.50 mA pulses, 1 pulse/s, 300 ms duration) every 5 min for 30 min. Animals were sacrificed 75 or 135 min after the onset of stress and brains examined for AVP mRNA and hnRNA, and VIP mRNA using in situ hybridization. Footshock stress increased AVP hnRNA levels at the 75 min time point whereas AVP mRNA was elevated at both the 75 and 135 min time points. In contrast, footshock stress decreased the number of cells expressing VIP mRNA in the SCN without changing hybridization level per cell. These data indicate that the disruptive effect of stress on activity rhythms correlate with alterations in the expression of regulatory peptides within the SCN.