Mapping of angiotensin AT(1) receptors in the rat limbic system

The AT(1) receptor is one of the two receptor subtypes able to bind angiote nsin II. In the present study, immunohistochemical examination of the distr ibution of the AT(1) receptor in several limbic structures of female rats h as been done, revealing new aspects of the distribution of AT(1)-positive c ells. The presence of AT(1) receptor expressing cells in the hippocampus an d the amygdala is described, but their distribution in these regions has no t been examined in a detailed way. We found some notable differences in the distribution of these cells: in female rats, we detected high amounts of l abeled cells in the hippocampus, the entorhinal cortex and piriform cortex. In somewhat lower amounts, stained cells could be found in several nuclei of the amygdala (in the basomedial, basolateral, lateral, central and media l nucleus of the amygdala, in the amygdalopiriform transition area and in t he amygdalohippocampal transition area as well as in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis). (C) 1998 Elsevier Science BN. All rights reserved.