Department of Biology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695, USA.
J Comp Neurol. 2011 Oct 15;519(15):2954-77. doi: 10.1002/cne.22648.
Release of gonadotropins in adult rodents is sex specific and dependent upon kisspeptin (Kiss1) neurons. This crucial pathway within the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis is profoundly influenced by neonatal estrogens, which induce a male-like phenotype. Classically, estrogen activity is mediated via the estrogen receptors α and β (ERα and ERβ), but the relative roles each plays in organizing the sex-specific ontogeny of kisspeptin signaling pathways remain unresolved. Thus, the present study used in situ hybridization histochemistry (ISHH) to map the temporal and sexually dimorphic neonatal mRNA expression profiles of ERα, ERβ, and Kiss1 in the anterioventral periventricular nucleus (AVPV), medial preoptic area (MPOA), ventromedial nucleus (VMN), and arcuate nucleus (ARC), all regions critical for kisspeptin regulation of gonadotropin secretion. In general, females had higher levels of ERα, in all regions examined, a sex difference that persisted until postnatal day (PND) 19 except in the ARC. Males had significantly more ERβ expression in the AVPV at birth, but this sex difference was lost and then re-emerged on PND 19, with females having more than males. VMN ERβ levels were higher in females until PND 19. Kiss1 was not detectable until PND 11 in the anterior hypothalamus, but expression levels were equivalent at birth in the ARC. By PND 2, ARC ERα and Kiss1 levels were abundant, sexually dimorphic (higher in females), and, respectively, showed a U- and a bell-shaped pattern with age. Sex differences in ARC Kiss1 expression provide evidence that Kiss1 may play a role in the sexual dimorphic organization of the neonatal brain. These detailed profiles of neonatal Kiss1 and ERs mRNA levels will help elucidate the relative roles each plays in the sex-specific, estrogen-dependent organization of gonadotropin signaling pathways.
成年啮齿动物的促性腺激素释放是有性别特异性的,并依赖于 kisspeptin(Kiss1)神经元。下丘脑-垂体-性腺(HPG)轴内的这条关键途径受到新生雌激素的深刻影响,雌激素会诱导出类似雄性的表型。经典地,雌激素活性是通过雌激素受体 α 和 β(ERα 和 ERβ)介导的,但每个受体在组织 kisspeptin 信号通路的性别特异性发育中的相对作用仍未解决。因此,本研究使用原位杂交组织化学(ISHH)来绘制 ERα、ERβ 和 Kiss1 在腹前室旁核(AVPV)、中前脑区(MPOA)、腹内侧核(VMN)和弓状核(ARC)中的时间和性别二态性新生 mRNA 表达谱,这些区域对 kisspeptin 调节促性腺激素分泌至关重要。一般来说,在所有检查的区域中,雌性的 ERα 水平都更高,这种性别差异一直持续到出生后第 19 天(PND),除了在 ARC 中。雄性在出生时 AVPV 中的 ERβ 表达显著更高,但这种性别差异消失,然后在 PND 19 时重新出现,雌性的表达高于雄性。直到 PND 19,雌性的 VMN ERβ 水平更高。在 ARC 中,Kiss1 直到 PND 11 才被检测到,但在 ARC 中,出生时的表达水平相等。到 PND 2,ARC 的 ERα 和 Kiss1 水平丰富,具有性别二态性(雌性更高),并且分别呈 U 型和钟型随年龄变化。ARC Kiss1 表达的性别差异为 Kiss1 可能在新生大脑的性别二态性组织中发挥作用提供了证据。这些关于新生 Kiss1 和 ERs mRNA 水平的详细图谱将有助于阐明每个受体在雌激素依赖性促性腺激素信号通路的性别特异性组织中的相对作用。