Presence of neurophysins I and II in the human pineal gland: comparison with the content of neurohypophyseal hormones.

We have previously measured the individual content of immunoreactive vasopressin (AVP), oxytocin (OT) and vasotocin (AVT) in 155 human pineal glands, and report here identification and measurement of the neurophysin (Np) content of the same glands, using specific homologous human neurophysin I (HNp I) and neurophysin II (HNp II) radioimmunoassays. Median values for HNp I were for men 47 ng/gland (range, 5 to 1360) and for women 24 ng/gland (range, 5 to 1000); median values for HNp II were respectively 7 ng/gland (range, 2 to 191) and 15 ng/gland (range, 2 to 356) with no significant difference between men and women for HNp I and HNp II but a significant difference (p less than 0.001) between HNp I and HNp II for both sexes. Gel filtration showed that pineal neurophysins were eluted at the same volume as both standard Np and Np from human posthypophyses used as controls. HNp I correlated both with AVP (rs = 0.54 for men and 0.55 for women) and OT (rs = 0.86 for men and 0.57 for women) but not with AVT, while HNp II correlated with AVP (rs = 0.52 for men and 0.53 for women) and OT (rs = 0.92 for men and 0.50 for women) but not with AVT. This study thus confirms the presence of two neurophysins in the human pineal gland and further indicates that they are related to AVP and OT concentrations in the same gland. The results also imply, however, that the presence of immunoreactive AVT (more probably a closely related peptide) is independent of the neurophysins.

Urinary excretion of immunoreactive vasopressin in prepubertal children. Lack of correlation with urinary excretion of immunoreactive neurophysins.

The excretion of immunoreactive vasopressin (AVP) and neurophysins was determined in 24 h urine samples from 62 normal healthy children of various ages. Five groups of children were selected: group I (n = 7, aged 2 to 3 years), group II (n = 13, aged 3 to 5 years), group III (n = 16, aged 5 to 7 years), group IV (n = 16, aged 7 to 9 years), group V (n = 10, aged 9 to 11 years). The method used for urine AVP determination consisted of an extraction using a procedure slightly modified from that of Miller and Moses [14], coupled to a radioimmunoassay. The following urinary AVP excretions were obtained: group I mean: 70.8 ng/m2/24 h range: 51-150 ng, group II mean: 54.1 ng/m2/24 h range: 17-113.6 ng, group III mean: 55.2 ng/m2/24 h range: 18-106 ng, group IV mean: 39.9 ng/m2/24 h range: 11.7-77.9 ng, group V mean: 39.4 ng/m2/24 h range: 25.8-64 ng. The excretion of AVP was significantly correlated to the daily urinary osmolality (P less than 0.001) whether expressed in ng/24 h (r = 0.41) o rin ng/m2/24 h (r = 0.4.7). Neurophysins excretion ranging between 7 and 1,278 ng/24H is too variable to allow interpretation.

Radioimmunoassay of arginine vasopressin, oxytocin and arginine vasotocin-like material in the human pineal gland.

Specific radioimmunoassays (RIAs) have been developed for arginine-vasopressin (AVP), oxytocin (OT), and arginine-vasotocin (AVT): they can detect 2.5 pg, 5 pg and 1 pg of hormone respectively. The three antisera employed in the RIAs in the present study all had a specificity that discriminated between the three neuropeptides and thus allowed their accurate measurement in each of 157 human pineal glands. Immunoreactive AVP was found to have a mean concentration of 306.4/+-27.6 (SE) pg/gland in the 1389 pineals where it was at level higher than the detection limit. Immunoreactive OT was determined as 386.3/+-42.1 pg/gland in the 110 pineals where it was measurable, and the mean apparent immunoreactive AVT content was 44.6/+-3.6 pg/gland in the 110 pineals where it was found at detectable levels. Cross-reactivity with AVP or OT cannot account for the immunoreactive peptide content of human adult pineal glands was demonstrated as a function of: (1) sex, (2) time of death, (3) cause of death, (4) age (18 to 85 yr old) or (5) delay between death and gland removal over the range of 4 to 48 hr. While the presence of AVP and OT is not surprising, indications of an immunoreactive AVT may in fact reflect a peptide which is closely related to AVT and cross-reacts in the AVT RIA.