A developmental study of the quantitative distribution of LHRH neurons within the central nervous system of postnatal male and female rats

1986 ◽  
Vol 252 (4) ◽  
pp. 522-531 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan Wray ◽  
Gloria Hoffman
2018 ◽  
Vol 66 (3) ◽  
pp. 462-473
Author(s):  
Lucía López ◽  
María José Zuluaga ◽  
Patricia Lagos ◽  
Daniella Agrati ◽  
Gabriela Bedó

Reproduction ◽  
2001 ◽  
pp. 915-924 ◽  
Author(s):  
L Pinilla ◽  
LC Gonzalez ◽  
F Gaytan ◽  
M Tena-Sempere ◽  
E Aguilar

Selective oestrogen receptor modulators constitute a family of drugs that are used increasingly in the management of oestrogen-associated pathology. Raloxifene is a selective oestrogen receptor modulator that is used to treat and prevent osteoporosis in post-menopausal women. The actions of raloxifene on bone, breast, uterus and serum cholesterol concentrations have been widely analysed, but very few studies have investigated the possible actions of this drug on the central nervous system. The central nervous system of the newborn rat is very sensitive to oestrogen action. In this study a series of experiments was conducted to analyse the effects of different doses of raloxifene (50, 100, 250 or 500 microg per rat per day) administered to neonatal rats on days 1-5 of age. Female rats treated with raloxifene showed decreased gonadotrophin secretion, hyperprolactinaemia, advanced vaginal opening, decreased body weight, persistent presence of cornified epithelial cells in vaginal smears, anovulation, inhibition of positive feedback between oestradiol and LH, and infertility. Male rats showed delayed balanopreputial separation, reduced body weight and hyperprolactinaemia. All these changes resemble those obtained after neonatal administration of oestradiol benzoate, thus indicating, for the first time, that raloxifene exerts an oestrogenic action on the hypothalamic-pituitary structures controlling reproductive function in rats.


1951 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 271-279 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. T. EAYRS

The growth of the body and central nervous system and the emergence of stereotyped behaviour have been studied in male and female rats during the first 24 days of life. The effects of daily injections of equine gonadotrophin on these measures have also been investigated. The weight of the body and of the central nervous system was significantly less in the female than in the male. The daily administration of 10 i.u. of equine gonadotrophin was without effect on either. The movements of the trunk and limbs concerned in the body-righting reflex became coordinated more slowly in the gonadotrophin-injected animals than in their litter-mate controls. At 15 days old, male rats were able to right in mid-air more successfully than litter-mate females. The placing reflex appeared earlier in the male than in the female. Its appearance was accelerated in the females given gonadotrophin, but not in the males. In the ventral funiculus of the spinal cord of 24-day-old experimental animals, the axis cylinders occupied more space relative to that occupied by myelin than did those of the controls. The total amount of myelin present was unchanged. There was no sex difference in the progress of myelination in the spinal cord. The significance of these findings in relation to the secretion of sex hormones is discussed. It is suggested that the secretion of androgen may be responsible for an acceleration of nervous maturation.


1984 ◽  
Vol 49 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 193-197 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Ambrosio ◽  
M.T. Montero ◽  
I. Fernandez ◽  
M.C. Azuara ◽  
L.M. Orensanz

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
A Matzeu ◽  
L Terenius ◽  
R Martin-Fardon

AbstractBackgroundDespite considerable efforts, few drugs are available for the treatment of alcohol (ethanol [EtOH]) use disorders (AUDs). Ethanol directly or indirectly modulates several aspects of the central nervous system, including neurotransmitter/neuromodulator systems. Relapse vulnerability is a challenge for the treatment of EtOH addiction. Ethanol withdrawal symptoms create motivational states that lead to compulsive EtOH drinking and relapse even after long periods of abstinence. Among the therapeutics to treat AUDs, naltrexone (NTX) is a pharmacological treatment for relapse. The goal of the present study was to evaluate the effect of NTX on EtOH drinking in EtOH-dependent male and female rats during abstinence.MethodsWistar rats (males and females) were first trained to orally self-administer 10% EtOH. Half of them were then made dependent by chronic intermittent EtOH (CIE) vapor exposure, and the other half were exposed to air. Using this model, rats exhibit somatic and motivational signs of withdrawal. At the end of EtOH vapor (or air) exposure, the rats were tested for the effects of NTX (10 mg/kg, p.o.) on EtOH self-administration at three abstinence time points: acute abstinence (8 h, A-Abst), late abstinence (2 weeks, L-Abst), and protracted abstinence (6 weeks, P-Abst).ResultsNTX decreased EtOH intake in nondependent rats, regardless of sex and abstinence time point. In post-dependent rats, the effects of NTX improved with a longer abstinence time (i.e., L-Abst and P-Abst) in males, whereas it similarly reduced EtOH drinking in females at all abstinence points.ConclusionsThe data suggest that the therapeutic efficacy of NTX depends on the time of intervention during abstinence and sex. The data further suggest that EtOH dependence induces different neuroadaptations in male and female rats, reflected by differential effects of NTX. The results underscore the significance of considering the duration of EtOH abstinence and sex for the development of pharmacotherapeutic treatments for AUD.


2002 ◽  
Vol 50 (9) ◽  
pp. 1161-1168 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guillermo Bodega ◽  
Celia Hernández ◽  
Isabel Suárez ◽  
Montserrat Martín ◽  
Benjamín Fernández

We studied the level of the basal (constitutive) HSP70 expression (inducible and constitutive forms) in the central nervous system (CNS) of male and female rats from the postnatal period to maturity. HSP70 levels were analyzed by immunoblotting in five different areas (cortex, hippocampus, hypothalamus, cerebellum, and spinal cord). The highest levels of HSP70 were found in juvenile rats and decreased progressively until reaching baseline levels between 2 and 4 months. A slight and nonsignificant increase in aged (2-year-old) rats compared with adult subjects was observed in some cerebral areas (cerebral cortex, hippocampus, and cerebellum). In the first weeks of postnatal development, HSP70 immunoreactivity was distributed throughout CNS sections and no specific immunopositive cells could be clearly determined. In adult animals, strong immunostaining was observed in some large neurons (Purkinje neurons and mesencephalic and spinal cord motor neurons), some perivascular and subpial astrocytes, and ependymocytes. Immunoelectron microscopy revealed that HSP70 in these cells is located in the perinuclear area and in mitochondria, rough endoplasmic reticulum, and microtubules. In neurons, strong immunolabeling was also observed in synaptic membranes. The postnatal time course of HSP70 levels and the location and size of HSP70-immunopositive cells suggest that HSP70 constitutively expressed in the rat CNS may be mainly determined by the degree of development and metabolic activity of the neural cells.


2008 ◽  
Vol 7 (6) ◽  
pp. 7290.2008.00027 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessia Stell ◽  
Silvia Belcredito ◽  
Paolo Ciana ◽  
Adriana Maggi

Estrogen receptors have long been known to be expressed in several brain areas in addition to those directly involved in the control of reproductive functions. Investigations in humans and in animal models suggest a strong influence of estrogens on limbic and motor functions, yet the complexity and heterogeneity of neural tissue have limited our approaches to the full understanding of estrogen activity in the central nervous system. The aim of this study was to examine the transcriptional activity of estrogen receptors in the brain of male and female mice. Exploiting the ERE-Luc reporter mouse, we set up a novel, bioluminescence-based technique to study brain estrogen receptor transcriptional activity. Here we show, for the first time, that estrogen receptors are similarly active in male and female brains and that the estrous cycle affects estrogen receptor activity in regions of the central nervous system not known to be associated with reproductive functions. Because of its reproducibility and sensitivity, this novel bioluminescence application stands as a candidate as an innovative methodology for the study and development of drugs targeting brain estrogen receptors.


1986 ◽  
Vol 112 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Gayo ◽  
B. Bonet ◽  
A. S. Herranz ◽  
R. Iglesias ◽  
M.J. Toro ◽  
...  

Abstract. The postnatal development of immunoreactive TRH in the central nervous system (CNS), serum TSH and thyroid hormones was studied in both male and female normal rats. While in most structures of the CNS, TRH increased until day 20–30, serum TSH values peaked at day 15 as did T4. Significant differences were also obtained between both sexes in these parameters. These data further support the fact that pituitary-thyroid axis maturation is independent of brain TRH.


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