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Neurons in the brain of the male cynomolgus monkey accumulate /sup 3/H-medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA)

Conference · · Fed. Proc., Fed. Am. Soc. Exp. Biol.; (United States)
OSTI ID:5508818
MPA is a synthetic progestin with androgen-depleting activity. It is used clinically to reduce sexual motivation and aggression in male sex offenders. The mechanisms for its behavioral effects are not known. The authors used steroid autoradiography to help identify sites where MPA may act in the brain of male primates. Twenty-four hours after castration, two adult male cynomolgus macaques, weighing 4.9 and 6.6 kg, were administered 5 mCi /sup 3/H-MPA (NEN, 47.7 Ci/mmol) i.v., and were killed 1 h later. Left sides of the brains and samples of pituitary glands were frozen and 4-micron sections were cut and processed for thaw-mount autoradiography. Radioactivity was concentrated in the nuclei of many neutrons in the ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus (n.), arcuate n., medial preoptic n., and anterior hypothalamic area. Virtually no labeled cells were seen in the bed n. of stria terminalis, lateral septal n., amygdala, or pituitary gland. Right sides of the brains were analyzed by HPLC which demonstrated that 98% of the radioactivity in cell nuclei from the hypothalamus was in the form of unmetabolized /sup 3/H-MPA. The distribution of labelling in the brain following /sup 3/H-MPA administration resembled that previously seen following /sup 3/H-ORG 2058 in female cynomolgus monkeys. These data indicate that MPA has a circumscribed localization in the brain.
Research Organization:
Emory Univ. School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA
OSTI ID:
5508818
Report Number(s):
CONF-8604222-
Conference Information:
Journal Name: Fed. Proc., Fed. Am. Soc. Exp. Biol.; (United States) Journal Volume: 45:3
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English