Xiao Li, Jordan Cynthia L
Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkley 94720, USA.
Horm Behav. 2002 Nov;42(3):327-36. doi: 10.1006/hbeh.2002.1822.
Sex differences, laterality, and hormonal regulation of androgen receptor (AR) immunoreactivity in rat hippocampal CA1 pyramidal cells were examined using the PG21 antibody. Adult male rats were either castrated or sham-operated at least 2 weeks prior to sacrifice. Gonadally intact females were sacrificed on the day of proestrus. Animals received an injection of either testosterone propionate (TP) or vehicle 2 h prior to sacrifice. Within CA1, both the intensity of staining and the number of AR+ cells were assessed. AR immunostaining was detected in all the groups with marked variation among them. The overall ranking of staining intensity was: gonadally intact males > females given TP > castrated males given TP > females > castrated males given vehicle. The number of AR+cells within subregions of CA1 showed the same basic pattern: among control-treated animals, gonadally intact males have more than females, but castrated males have the least, and acute TP treatment increases the number in both sexes. The increased level of AR immunoreactivity in CA1 of castrated males following acute TP treatment suggests that testicular androgens in adulthood normally increase AR immunoreactivity there, producing a sex difference favoring males in gonadally intact animals. We also found a higher number of AR+ CA1 cells on the left than on the right, but only in gonadally intact males and in females given TP. These results suggest that a laterality of AR distribution in the rat hippocampus may lead to lateralities in hippocampal structure and function.
使用PG21抗体检测大鼠海马CA1锥体细胞中雄激素受体（AR）免疫反应性的性别差异、侧化及激素调节。成年雄性大鼠在处死前至少2周进行去势或假手术。性腺完整的雌性大鼠在动情前期当天处死。动物在处死前2小时注射丙酸睾酮（TP）或赋形剂。在CA1区域内，评估染色强度和AR阳性细胞数量。在所有组中均检测到AR免疫染色，且各组间存在显著差异。染色强度的总体排序为：性腺完整的雄性＞给予TP的雌性＞给予TP的去势雄性＞雌性＞给予赋形剂的去势雄性。CA1亚区域内AR阳性细胞数量呈现相同的基本模式：在接受对照处理的动物中，性腺完整的雄性比雌性多，但去势雄性最少，急性TP处理增加了两性的细胞数量。急性TP处理后去势雄性CA1区域AR免疫反应性水平升高，表明成年期睾丸雄激素通常会增加该区域的AR免疫反应性，在性腺完整的动物中产生有利于雄性的性别差异。我们还发现，仅在性腺完整的雄性和给予TP的雌性中，左侧的AR阳性CA1细胞数量多于右侧。这些结果表明，大鼠海马中AR分布的侧化可能导致海马结构和功能的侧化。
