Neonatal handling reduces angiotensin II receptor density in the medial preoptic area and paraventricular nucleus but not in arcuate nucleus and locus coeruleus of female rats.

Neonatal handling alters the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonads axis (HPG) in adult animals, and angiotensin II (Ang II) modulates the functions in these axes. We tested whether neonatal handling could change the density of Ang II receptors in some central areas in female rats. Results showed decreased density of the Ang II receptors in the medial preoptic area (MPOA) and hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN) of the neonatal handled group.