Strain and sex differences in the morphology of the medial preoptic nucleus of mice

The medial preoptic nucleus (MPO), which is involved in sexual and maternal behaviors, contains neuronal clusters that have been described as being sexually dimorphic in size and neuropeptide content in a variety of species. A subnucleus in DBA/2J (D2) inbred mice, called the pars compacta of the MPO (MPOpc), is absent in C57BL/6J (B6) inbred mice (Robinson et al. [1985] J. Neurogenet. 2:381–388). We report here on experiments that further characterize strain and sex differences in medial preoptic morphology in D2 and B6 inbred mice. A prominent MPOpc, located within the caudal part of the MPO and dorsal to the suprachiasmatic nucleus, was present in both male and female D2 animals but was absent from B6 animals. MPOpc neurons were darkly stained for Nissl substance and larger than neurons in the surrounding MPO. In D2 brains, galanin‐immunoreactive (‐ir), oxytocin‐ir, vasopressin‐ir, and NADPH diaphorase‐positive neurons were concentrated within the MPOpc. Fewer similar neurons in the comparable region of the MPO of B6 mice suggests that the absence of the MPOpc is due to absence of these neurons rather than a less compact organization. In D2 animals, the density of galanin‐ir neurons in the MPOpc was sexually dimorphic, with higher numbers of galanin‐ir neurons in females. Strain differences in galanin‐ir, oxytocin‐ir, vasopressin‐ir, and NADPH diaphorase staining appeared to be limited to the MPOpc. Cholecystokinin‐immunoreactive neurons, which have been reported to be numerous in the sexually dimorphic central subdivision of the MPO of rats, were sparse in the MPO of D2 and B6 mice. Confirmation of the MPOpc as an accessory magnocellular neurosecretory nucleus was obtained by finding labeling of MPOpc neurons after injection of DiI into the posterior pituitary. J. Comp. Neurol. 428:254–265, 2000. © 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.