EVIDENCE FOR THE EXISTENCE OF ANGIOTENSIN-II LIKE IMMUNOREACTIVITY IN SUBPOPULATIONS OF TYROSINE-HYDROXYLASE IMMUNOREACTIVE NEURONS IN THE A1 AND C1 AREA OF THE VENTRAL MEDULLA OF THE MALE-RAT

By using double immunolabelling techniques the possible coexistence of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH)- and angiotensin II (ANG II)-like immunoreactivities (IR) has been studied within the noradrenaline A1 and adrenaline C1 areas of the ventral medulla of the rat. In the A1 area 20-30% of the TH IR nerve cell bodies were ANG II IR and in the C1 area 5-40% of the TH IR nerve cell bodies displayed ANG II IR. These results suggest the existence of ANG II/NA and ANG II/A costoring neurons in the A1 and C1 group, respectively, opening new possibilities for ANG II-catecholamine interactions in cardiovascular and neuroendocrine regulation. © 1990.