The distribution of the neurokinin B receptor in the human and rat hypothalamus

The neurokinin B receptor (NK3) is an element of the hypothalamic neuronal circuitry regulating blood pressure in rats. The present study used immunoh istochemistry to reveal the distribution of NK3 in the human hypothalamus. The strongest NK3-like immunoreactivity in the human hypothalamus was found in neurons of the paraventricular nucleus, specifically in the parvicellul ar and posterior paraventricular subnuclei. Another prominent population of NK3-positive cells in the human nucleus. The present study also showed two previously unreported populations of NK3-positive neurons in the rat periv entricular nucleus and medial magnocellular paraventricular subnucleus. It is concluded that there is a large degree of similarity in the distribution of NK3 in the human and rat hypothalamus. NeuroReport 11:3127-3131 (C) 200 0 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.