scholarly journals Prenatal EDCs Impair Mate and Odor Preference and Activation of the VMN in Male and Female Rats

Endocrinology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 161 (9) ◽  
Author(s):  
Morgan E Hernandez Scudder ◽  
Amy Weinberg ◽  
Lindsay Thompson ◽  
David Crews ◽  
Andrea C Gore
Keyword(s):  
Preference Test ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Female Rats ◽  
Early Gene ◽  
Odor Preference ◽  
Pregnant Rat ◽  
Discrimination Ability ◽  
Preference Behavior ◽  
Male And Female Rats ◽  
Aroclor 1221

Abstract Environmental endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) disrupt hormone-dependent biological processes. We examined how prenatal exposure to EDCs act in a sex-specific manner to disrupt social and olfactory behaviors in adulthood and underlying neurobiological mechanisms. Pregnant rat dams were injected daily from embryonic day 8 to 18 with 1 mg/kg Aroclor 1221 (A1221), 1 mg/kg vinclozolin, or the vehicle (6% DMSO in sesame oil). A1221 is a mixture of polychlorinated biphenyls (weakly estrogenic) while vinclozolin is a fungicide (anti-androgenic). Adult male offspring exposed to A1221 or vinclozolin, and females exposed to A1221, had impaired mate preference behavior when given a choice between 2 opposite-sex rats that differed by hormone status. A similar pattern of impairment was observed in an odor preference test for urine-soaked filter paper from the same rat groups. A habituation/dishabituation test revealed that all rats had normal odor discrimination ability. Because of the importance of the ventrolateral portion of the ventromedial nucleus (VMNvl) in mate choice, expression of the immediate early gene product Fos was measured, along with its co-expression in estrogen receptor alpha (ERα) cells. A1221 females with impaired mate and odor preference behavior also had increased neuronal activation in the VMNvl, although not specific to ERα-expressing neurons. Interestingly, males exposed to EDCs had normal Fos expression in this region, suggesting that other neurons and/or brain regions mediate these effects. The high conservation of hormonal, olfactory, and behavioral traits necessary for reproductive success means that EDC contamination and its ability to alter these traits has widespread effects on wildlife and humans.

scholarly journals Two Hits of EDCs Three Generations Apart: Effects on Social Behaviors in Rats, and Analysis by Machine Learning

Toxics ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 30
Author(s):  
Ross Gillette ◽  
Michelle Dias ◽  
Michael P. Reilly ◽  
Lindsay M. Thompson ◽  
Norma J. Castillo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Machine Learning ◽  
Social Preference ◽  
Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals ◽  
Social Behaviors ◽  
Female Rats ◽  
Pregnant Rat ◽  
Three Generations ◽  
Male And Female Rats ◽  
Key Factor ◽  
Aroclor 1221

All individuals are directly exposed to extant environmental endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), and indirectly exposed through transgenerational inheritance from our ancestors. Although direct and ancestral exposures can each lead to deficits in behaviors, their interactions are not known. Here we focused on social behaviors based on evidence of their vulnerability to direct or ancestral exposures, together with their importance in reproduction and survival of a species. Using a novel “two hits, three generations apart” experimental rat model, we investigated interactions of two classes of EDCs across six generations. PCBs (a weakly estrogenic mixture Aroclor 1221, 1 mg/kg), Vinclozolin (antiandrogenic, 1 mg/kg) or vehicle (6% DMSO in sesame oil) were administered to pregnant rat dams (F0) to directly expose the F1 generation, with subsequent breeding through paternal or maternal lines. A second EDC hit was given to F3 dams, thereby exposing the F4 generation, with breeding through the F6 generation. Approximately 1200 male and female rats from F1, F3, F4 and F6 generations were run through tests of sociability and social novelty as indices of social preference. We leveraged machine learning using DeepLabCut to analyze nuanced social behaviors such as nose touching with accuracy similar to a human scorer. Surprisingly, social behaviors were affected in ancestrally exposed but not directly exposed individuals, particularly females from a paternally exposed breeding lineage. Effects varied by EDC: Vinclozolin affected aspects of behavior in the F3 generation while PCBs affected both the F3 and F6 generations. Taken together, our data suggest that specific aspects of behavior are particularly vulnerable to heritable ancestral exposure of EDC contamination, that there are sex differences, and that lineage is a key factor in transgenerational outcomes.

Interleukin-1 Receptor Type I mRNA Levels in Brain Regions From Male and Female Rats

1997 ◽  
Vol 42 (6) ◽  
pp. 463-467 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dave Gayle ◽  
Sergey E. Ilyin ◽  
Carlos R. Plata-Salamán
Keyword(s):  
Interleukin 1 ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Female Rats ◽  
Receptor Type ◽  
Type I ◽  
Mrna Levels ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Male And Female Rats

scholarly journals Behavior and Fos activation reveal that male and female rats differentially assess affective valence during CTA learning and expression

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (12) ◽  
pp. e0260577
Author(s):  
Alyssa Bernanke ◽  
Elizabeth Burnette ◽  
Justine Murphy ◽  
Nathaniel Hernandez ◽  
Sara Zimmerman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sex Differences ◽  
D2 Receptor ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
D1 Receptor ◽  
Neural Mechanisms ◽  
Female Rats ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress ◽  
Affective Valence ◽  
Male And Female Rats ◽  
Males And Females

Females are more affected by psychiatric illnesses including eating disorders, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder than males. However, the neural mechanisms mediating these sex differences are poorly understood. Animal models can be useful in exploring such neural mechanisms. Conditioned taste aversion (CTA) is a behavioral task that assesses how animals process the competition between associated reinforcing and aversive stimuli in subsequent task performance, a process critical to healthy behavior in many domains. The purpose of the present study was to identify sex differences in this behavior and associated neural responses. We hypothesized that females would value the rewarding stimulus (Boost®) relative to the aversive stimulus (LiCl) more than males in performing CTA. We evaluated behavior (Boost® intake, LiCl-induced behaviors, ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs), CTA performance) and Fos activation in relevant brain regions after the acute stimuli [acute Boost® (AB), acute LiCl (AL)] and the context-only task control (COT), Boost® only task (BOT) and Boost®-LiCl task (BLT). Acutely, females drank more Boost® than males but showed similar aversive behaviors after LiCl. Females and males performed CTA similarly. Both sexes produced 55 kHz USVs anticipating BOT and inhibited these calls in the BLT. However, more females emitted both 22 kHz and 55 kHz USVs in the BLT than males: the latter correlated with less CTA. Estrous cycle stage also influenced 55 kHz USVs. Fos responses were similar in males and females after AB or AL. Females engaged the gustatory cortex and ventral tegmental area (VTA) more than males during the BOT and males engaged the amygdala more than females in both the BOT and BLT. Network analysis of correlated Fos responses across brain regions identified two unique networks characterizing the BOT and BLT, in both of which the VTA played a central role. In situ hybridization with RNAscope identified a population of D1-receptor expressing cells in the CeA that responded to Boost® and D2 receptor-expressing cells that responded to LiCl. The present study suggests that males and females differentially process the affective valence of a stimulus to produce the same goal-directed behavior.

Chronic alcohol feeding and its influence on c-Fos and heat shock protein-70 gene expression in different brain regions of male and female rats

Metabolism ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 51 (12) ◽  
pp. 1562-1568 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tatsuo Nakahara ◽  
Makoto Hirano ◽  
Hideyuki Uchimura ◽  
Sima Shirali ◽  
Colin R. Martin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Heat Shock ◽  
Heat Shock Protein ◽  
Heat Shock Protein 70 ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Female Rats ◽  
Chronic Alcohol ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Male And Female Rats

Creatine kinase-B mRNA levels in brain regions from male and female rats

1996 ◽  
Vol 41 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 50-56 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sergey E Ilyin ◽  
Gayatri Sonti ◽  
George Molloy ◽  
Carlos R Plata-Salamán
Keyword(s):  
Creatine Kinase ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Female Rats ◽  
Mrna Levels ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Male And Female Rats ◽  
Creatine Kinase B

scholarly journals Molecular cloning and expression of novel sulphotransferase-like cDNAs from human and rat brain

2000 ◽  
Vol 346 (3) ◽  
pp. 857-864 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles N. FALANY ◽  
Xiaowei XIE ◽  
Jin WANG ◽  
Jorge FERRER ◽  
Josie L. FALANY
Keyword(s):  
Rat Brain ◽  
Polyclonal Antibodies ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Female Rats ◽  
Cloning And Expression ◽  
Female Rat ◽  
Affinity Tag ◽  
Calculated Molecular Mass ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Male And Female Rats

The sulphotransferase (SULT) gene family is involved with the conjugation of many small drugs, xenobiotics and endogenous compounds. In this report, we describe the cloning and expression of novel cDNAs from human and rat brain, which are structurally related to the SULTs. These cDNAs have been termed ‘brain sulphotransferase-like’ (BR-STL), because of their similarity to the SULTs and their selective expression in brain tissue. The proteins encoded by the human and rat BR-STL cDNAs (hBR-STL-1 and rBR-STL cDNA respectively), denoted as hBR-STL and rBR-STL, are 98% identical and 99% similar in sequence. The hBR-STL-1 cDNA contains an 852-nt open reading frame encoding a 284-amino-acid protein with a calculated molecular mass of 33083 Da. Northern-blot analyses of RNA isolated from eight human tissues indicate that the hBR-STL message is selectively expressed in brain. Characterization of different brain regions showed that message levels were highest in cortical brain regions. rBR-STL message levels were relatively low in brains of 1-day-old male and female rats, but increased to adult levels in RNA from 7-day-old rats, and remained at that level in adult animals. The hBR-STL and rBR-STL cDNAs were expressed in both Escherichia coli and Sf9 insect cells in the presence or absence of an N-terminal histidine-affinity tag (His-tag). Polyclonal antibodies were raised in chickens against purified His-tagged hBR-STL, and were used to detect the presence of rBR-STL in adult male and female rat brain cytosol. The high degree of sequence conservation, and the selective localization of the BR-STL message in brain, suggest an important function in the central nervous system.

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