Increased sodium appetite stimulates c-fos expression in the organum vasculosum of the lamina terminalis

The relation between c-fos expression in the forebrain of Lister hooded rats and water and NaCl intakes was examined in response to systemic injection of angiotensin II, desoxycorticosterone, angiotensin II and desoxycorticosterone together, frusemide or low sodium diet, all treatments that induce a sodium appetite. Angiotensin II (1 mg/kg subcutaneously) caused significant increases in the 1-h intakes of water and 1.8% NaCl compared to controls, the effect on water intake being the greater. There was a similar increase in NaCl intake after four days' treatment with desoxycorticosterone (20 mg pellet subcutaneously) but water intake was not increased. The NaCl intake of rats given angiotensin II following desoxycorticosterone treatment was approximately the sum of the intakes after angiotensin II or desoxycorticosterone alone, but the water intake was slightly less than after angiotensin II alone. Frusemide pretreatment (4 mg/kg subcutaneously) caused an NaCl intake similar to that following angiotensin II and desoxycorticosterone but water intake was little affected. Low dietary sodium also increased salt appetite, as expected. These treatments were repealed in rats that were not allowed to drink NaCl, after which the brains were processed for c-fos immunocytochemistry. This showed intense staining of the subfornical organ, median preoptic nucleus, organum vasculosum of the laminal terminalis, paraventricular nucleus and supraoptic nucleus after subcutaneous angiotensin II. Animals given angiotensin II following desoxycorticosterone pretreatment showed patterns of c-fos expression that did not differ from those of angiotensin II alone. Treatment with desoxycorticosterone alone produced intense staining in the organum vasculosum of the laminal terminalis and some staining in the median preoptic nucleus. Frusemide gave a similar pattern of staining to desoxycorticosterone, stimulating c-Sos expression in the same regions but to a lesser extent. A low salt diet resulted in increased c-fos expression only in the organum vasculosum of the laminal terminalis. Therefore, five different treatments that induced increased sodium appetite evoked distinct patterns of c-Sos expression in the anteroventral region of the third ventricle of the rat forebrain. Since the common feature was induction of c-fos in the organum vasculosum of the laminal terminalis, these results suggest a key role for this structure in the development of increased sodium appetite. (C) 1997 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.