Perfusion of vasopressin within the rat brain suppresses prostaglandin E-hyperthermia

These experiments were undertaken to determine whether arginine vasopressin (AVP) could suppress a prostaglandin hyperthermia and to localize sites of these actions in the rat. Prostaglandin E 2 (PGE 2) sensitive sites were localized in the ventral-septal area by microinjecting 200 ng/0.5 μl of prostaglandin E 2. During perfusion with an artificial CSF, PGE 2 injected into the lateral cerebral ventricle evoked a hyperthermia of more than 1 °C. Perfusion of 6.5 μg/ml of AVP markedly attenuated the PGE 2-induced hyperthermia. These results suggest that AVP suppresses PGE 2-induced hyperthermia in sites in which PGE 2 evokes an increase in core temperature.