Schumacher M, Balthazart J
Laboratory of General and Comparative Biochemistry, University of Liege, Belgium.
Brain Res. 1987 Sep 29;422(1):137-48. doi: 10.1016/0006-8993(87)90548-8.
We describe a very sensitive and precise assay which allows one to study the metabolism of testosterone (T) in small brain nuclei dissected out according to the method of Palkovits and Brownstein. With this method, the neuroanatomical distributions of aromatase, and 5 alpha- and 5 beta-reductase activities were studied in adult male quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica). The different enzymes show different neuroanatomical distributions. Production of estradiol-17 beta (E2) was highest in the sexually dimorphic nucleus preopticus medialis (POM). We showed previously that the preoptic aromatase activity is higher in male than in female quail. As the POM is a central and very large structure within the preoptic area, the present results suggest a relationship between the neuroanatomical and the biochemical sex differences. By contrast, the production of 5 alpha-DHT was highest in the lateral hypothalamic area (LHY), the bed nucleus of the pallial commissure (BPC) and the lateral septum (SL). The 5 beta-reductase activity was highest in the lateral septum and in the ventral part of the archistriatum (AV). Moreover, there was a rostral to caudal decrease in 5 beta-reductase activity in the hypothalamus.
我们描述了一种非常灵敏且精确的检测方法，该方法可让人们研究按照帕尔科维茨和布朗斯坦的方法解剖出的小脑核团中睾酮（T）的代谢情况。利用这种方法，我们研究了成年雄性鹌鹑（日本鹌鹑）中芳香化酶、5α-还原酶和5β-还原酶活性的神经解剖分布。不同的酶呈现出不同的神经解剖分布。在视前内侧性二态核（POM）中，雌二醇-17β（E2）的生成量最高。我们之前表明，雄性鹌鹑视前区的芳香化酶活性高于雌性。由于POM是视前区内一个核心且非常大的结构，目前的结果提示了神经解剖差异与生化性别差异之间的关联。相比之下，5α-双氢睾酮（5α-DHT）的生成量在外侧下丘脑区域（LHY）、皮质连合床核（BPC）和外侧隔（SL）中最高。5β-还原酶活性在外侧隔和古纹状体腹侧部（AV）中最高。此外，下丘脑内5β-还原酶活性从吻侧到尾侧呈递减趋势。
