Ishunina T A, Swaab D F
Netherlands Institute for Brain Research, Amsterdam.
J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1999 Dec;84(12):4637-44. doi: 10.1210/jcem.84.12.6187.
The hypothalamic supraoptic (SON) and paraventricular (PVN) nuclei consist of arginine vasopressin (AVP)- and oxytocin (OT)-synthesizing neurons that send projections to the neurohypophysis, whereas the PVN also projects to other brain areas. A growing body of evidence in animals suggests the presence of sex differences in the vasopressinergic and oxytocinergic systems. The present study was aimed at determining whether the sizes of AVP and OT neurons in the human SON and PVN show sex differences, as earlier studies demonstrated that a change in neuronal size is a sensitive parameter for activity. The minimal and maximal diameters were determined to estimate the volumes of cell somata and cell nuclei in AVP and OT neurons stained with an antibody against human glycoprotein-(22-39), a part of the AVP precursor, and a monoclonal anti-OT antibody in 15 men and 17 women ranging in age from 29-94 yr. The AVP neurons appeared to be larger in young men than in young women (< or =50 yr old). In elderly women (>50 yr old) AVP cell size considerably exceeded that in young women. In elderly men AVP neurons were larger than in young men and elderly women, although these differences were not significant. In addition, AVP cell size correlated positively with age in women but not in men. No significant differences were found in the AVP cell nucleus volumes among all four groups studied. Sex differences in the size of the PVN vasopressin neurons were pronounced at the left side (P = 0.048) and absent at the right side (P = 0.368), indicating the presence of functional lateralization in this nucleus. No difference was found in any morphometric parameter of OT neurons in the PVN among the 4 groups studied. Thus, our data demonstrate sex differences in the size of the AVP neurons, and thus in their function, that are age and probably also side dependent and the absence of such changes in OT neurons in the PVN. These data provide a basis for the reported higher AVP plasma levels in men compared to women.
下丘脑视上核（SON）和室旁核（PVN）由合成精氨酸加压素（AVP）和催产素（OT）的神经元组成，这些神经元向神经垂体发出投射，而室旁核也向其他脑区投射。越来越多的动物研究证据表明，加压素能和催产素能系统存在性别差异。本研究旨在确定人类视上核和室旁核中AVP和OT神经元的大小是否存在性别差异，因为早期研究表明神经元大小的变化是活动的一个敏感参数。在15名年龄在29至94岁之间的男性和17名女性中，用抗人糖蛋白（22 - 39）（AVP前体的一部分）抗体和单克隆抗OT抗体对AVP和OT神经元进行染色，测定最小和最大直径以估计细胞体和细胞核的体积。AVP神经元在年轻男性中似乎比年轻女性（≤50岁）更大。在老年女性（>50岁）中，AVP细胞大小明显超过年轻女性。在老年男性中，AVP神经元比年轻男性和老年女性更大，尽管这些差异不显著。此外，AVP细胞大小在女性中与年龄呈正相关，而在男性中则不然。在所研究的所有四组中，AVP细胞核体积没有显著差异。室旁核加压素神经元大小的性别差异在左侧明显（P = 0.048），在右侧不存在（P = 0.368），表明该核存在功能偏侧化。在所研究的4组中，室旁核OT神经元的任何形态学参数均未发现差异。因此，我们的数据表明AVP神经元大小存在性别差异，进而其功能也存在性别差异，这种差异与年龄有关，可能也与侧别有关，而室旁核OT神经元没有此类变化。这些数据为报道的男性血浆AVP水平高于女性提供了依据。
