Chung S K, McCabe J T, Pfaff D W
Laboratory of Neurobiology and Behavior, Rockefeller University, New York, New York 10021-6399.
J Comp Neurol. 1991 May 8;307(2):281-95. doi: 10.1002/cne.903070209.
Possible estrogen influences on oxytocin mRNA expression were studied in preoptic and anterior hypothalamic regions as might be important for behavioral as well as neuroendocrine controls. In situ hybridization for oxytocin mRNA determination was supported by immunocytochemical identification and was compared with vasopressin mRNA in situ hybridization. With these techniques, oxytocin-expressing neurons were identified in medial preoptic, anterior commissural, periventricular, paraventricular, supraoptic, and perifornical nuclei as well as the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis and intersupraopticoparaventricular (internuclear) islands. Distribution and number of oxytocin mRNA-containing neurons and oxytocin mRNA levels were compared between ovariectomized control rats given cholesterol implants and ovariectomized rats given short-term (2 days) or long-term (2 months) estradiol treatment (10% estradiol, subcutaneous silastic implants). Effectiveness of long-term estrogen treatment was confirmed behaviorally. While there was a trend in several cell groups for a larger number of oxytocin-mRNA-containing neurons to be observed following 2 days of estrogen treatment, this was not statistically significant. Moreover, additional oxytocin-mRNA containing cell groups were not seen after short or long estradiol treatment. With computer-aided analysis, mean pixels per oxytocin-mRNA expressing neuron (reflecting oxytocin mRNA content) were compared between groups: In the supraoptic nucleus and the anterior commissural nucleus, these were increased both by 2 days and 2 months of estradiol treatment. These differences may be important in modulating female reproductive behavior. Present findings also suggest that estradiol can affect the oxytocinergic system via an indirect route since the cell groups influenced here by estradiol do not contain estrogen receptors. Oxytocinergic neurons may serve as a good system to compare direct transcriptional with indirect effects of hormones.
研究了雌激素对视前区和下丘脑前部区域催产素mRNA表达的可能影响，这些区域对于行为以及神经内分泌控制可能很重要。催产素mRNA测定的原位杂交得到免疫细胞化学鉴定的支持，并与血管加压素mRNA原位杂交进行了比较。通过这些技术，在内侧视前核、前连合核、室周核、室旁核、视上核、穹窿周核以及终纹床核和视上室旁（核间）岛中鉴定出了表达催产素的神经元。比较了接受胆固醇植入的去卵巢对照大鼠与接受短期（2天）或长期（2个月）雌二醇治疗（10%雌二醇，皮下硅橡胶植入）的去卵巢大鼠中含催产素mRNA的神经元的分布和数量以及催产素mRNA水平。长期雌激素治疗的有效性通过行为学得到了证实。虽然在雌激素治疗2天后，几个细胞群中有观察到更多含催产素mRNA神经元的趋势，但这在统计学上并不显著。此外，短期或长期雌二醇治疗后未发现额外的含催产素mRNA的细胞群。通过计算机辅助分析，比较了各组中每个表达催产素mRNA的神经元的平均像素数（反映催产素mRNA含量）：在视上核和前连合核中，雌二醇治疗2天和2个月后这些像素数均增加。这些差异可能在调节雌性生殖行为中很重要。目前的研究结果还表明，雌二醇可能通过间接途径影响催产素能系统，因为此处受雌二醇影响的细胞群不含雌激素受体。催产素能神经元可能是一个很好的系统，用于比较激素的直接转录作用和间接作用。
