GIGA Neurosciences, Research Group in Behavioral Neuroendocrinology, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium.
Front Neuroendocrinol. 2012 Oct;33(4):425-46. doi: 10.1016/j.yfrne.2012.08.003. Epub 2012 Sep 13.
Beside their genomic mode of action, estrogens also activate a variety of cellular signaling pathways through non-genomic mechanisms. Until recently, little was known regarding the functional significance of such actions in males and the mechanisms that control local estrogen concentration with a spatial and time resolution compatible with these non-genomic actions had rarely been examined. Here, we review evidence that estrogens rapidly modulate a variety of behaviors in male vertebrates. Then, we present in vitro work supporting the existence of a control mechanism of local brain estrogen synthesis by aromatase along with in vivo evidence that rapid changes in aromatase activity also occur in a region-specific manner in response to changes in the social or environmental context. Finally, we suggest that the brain estrogen provision may also play a significant role in females. Together these data bolster the hypothesis that brain-derived estrogens should be considered as neuromodulators.
除了它们的基因组作用模式外,雌激素还通过非基因组机制激活各种细胞信号通路。直到最近,人们对男性中这种作用的功能意义知之甚少,也很少有研究检查过能够以与这些非基因组作用兼容的空间和时间分辨率控制局部雌激素浓度的机制。在这里,我们回顾了雌激素在雄性脊椎动物中快速调节多种行为的证据。然后,我们提出了支持芳香酶局部脑雌激素合成控制机制存在的体外工作,并提供了体内证据,表明快速变化的芳香酶活性也会以特定于区域的方式发生,以响应社会或环境背景的变化。最后,我们认为脑雌激素的提供也可能在女性中发挥重要作用。这些数据共同支持了这样一种假设,即脑源性雌激素应被视为神经调节剂。