Critical re-examination of the distribution of aromatase-immunoreactive cells in the quail forebrain using antibodies raised against human placental aromatase and against the recombinant quail, mouse or human enzyme

Foidart, Agnès; Reid, Jacqueline; Absil, Philippe; Yoshimura, Nagahisa; Harada, Nobuhiro; Balthazart, Jacques

doi:10.1016/0891-0618(95)00054-b

Cited by 146 publications

(162 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…The sex differences in the volume of these structures that have been observed in these species are influenced by the endocrine state of the subjects in adulthood and do not simply reflect organizational effects of steroids as is the case for volumetric sex differences in the more restricted parts of these nuclei identified as the SDN-POA in rat of the SDA pars compacta in gerbils (see above). The fact that the rat MPN and the quail POM are specifically labeled by a dense expression of aromatase (identified by in situ hybridization in rat and by in situ hybridization and immunocytochemistry in quail) further support this hypothesized homology [13,70,119,147]. Based on this criterion, the sheep sexually dimorphic nucleus of the mPOA would also be homologous [127].…”

Section: The Preoptic Neuronal Circuit Controlling Male Sexual Behavimentioning

confidence: 80%

“…The enzyme P450 arom or aromatase which catalyzes this transformation can, for reasons that are still partly unexplained, be easily identified by immunocytochemistry in the quail brain [20,70] while this is still very difficult if not impossible in the mPOA of mammalian species including rodents. Because aromatase is a limiting step in the activation of sexual behavior by testosterone [32] and because aromatase expression is itself regulated by testosterone [30], immunocytochemical visualization of this enzyme provides a cellular marker of testosterone action in the brain in relation to the expression of copulatory behavior (Fig.…”

Section: The Preoptic Neuronal Circuit Controlling Male Sexual Behavimentioning

confidence: 99%

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Topography in the preoptic region: Differential regulation of appetitive and consummatory male sexual behaviors

Balthazart

Ball

2007

Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology

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193

168

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Several studies have suggested dissociations between neural circuits underlying the expression of appetitive (i.e. sexual motivation) and consummatory components (i.e., copulatory behavior) of vertebrate male sexual behavior. The medial preoptic area (mPOA) clearly controls the expression of male copulation but, according to a number of experiments, is not necessarily implicated in the expression of appetitive sexual behavior. In rats for example, lesions to the mPOA eliminate maletypical copulatory behavior but have more subtle or no obvious effects on measures of sexual motivation. Rats with such lesions still pursue and attempt to mount females. They also acquire and perform learned instrumental responses to gain access to females. However, recent lesions studies and measures of the expression of the immediate early gene c-fos demonstrate that, in quail, subregions of the mPOA, in particular of its sexually dimorphic component the medial preoptic nucleus, can be specifically linked with either the expression of appetitive or consummatory sexual behavior. In particular more rostral regions can be linked to appetitive components while more caudal regions are involved in consummatory behavior. This functional sub-region variation is associated with neurochemical and hodological specializations (i.e. differences in chemical phenotype of the cells or in their connectivity), especially those related to the actions of androgens in relation to the activation of male sexual behavior, that are also present in rodents and other species. It could thus reflect general principles about POA organization and function in the vertebrate brain.

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Section: The Preoptic Neuronal Circuit Controlling Male Sexual Behavimentioning

confidence: 80%

Section: The Preoptic Neuronal Circuit Controlling Male Sexual Behavimentioning

confidence: 99%

Topography in the preoptic region: Differential regulation of appetitive and consummatory male sexual behaviors

Balthazart

Ball

2007

Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology

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193

168

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“…Finally, it should be noted that, in addition to its presence in cell bodies, aromatase has also been identified throughout the length of neuronal dendrites and axons, including presynaptic boutons, in a relatively large number of brain areas [87,91]. Aromatase activity is also enriched in synaptosomes prepared from quail or rat brain [230,250] and dense aromatase immunoreactivity is observed in presynaptic boutons at the surface of synaptic vesicles [114,178,194].…”

Section: Brain Synthesized Estrogensmentioning

confidence: 99%

Functional significance of the rapid regulation of brain estrogen action: Where do the estrogens come from?

2006

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Estrogens exert a wide variety of actions on reproductive and non-reproductive functions. These effects are mediated by slow and long lasting genomic as well as rapid and transient non-genomic mechanisms. Besides the host of studies demonstrating the role of genomic actions at the physiological and behavioral level, mounting evidence highlights the functional significance of non-genomic effects. However, the source of the rapid changes in estrogen availability that are necessary to sustain their fast actions is rarely questioned. For example, the rise of plasma estrogens at pro-estrus that represents one of the fastest documented changes in plasma estrogen concentration appears too slow to explain these actions. Alternatively, estrogen can be synthesized in the brain by the enzyme aromatase providing a source of locally high concentrations of the steroid. Furthermore, recent studies demonstrate that brain aromatase can be rapidly modulated by afferent inputs, including glutamatergic afferents. A role for rapid changes in estrogen production in the central nervous system is supported by experiments showing that acute aromatase inhibition affects nociception as well as male sexual behavior and that preoptic aromatase activity is rapidly (within min) modulated following mating. Such mechanisms thus fulfill the gap existing between the fast actions of estrogen and their mode of production and open new avenues for the understanding of estrogenic effects on the brain.

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“…In quail, dense populations of aromataseimmunoreactive neurons are clustered in only four brain areas: the preoptic area, the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, the medio-basal hypothalamus and to a lesser extent the nucleus taeniae of the amygdala (Foidart, Reid, Absil, Yoshimura, Harada, and Balthazart, 1995). Among those locations, the medial preoptic area is established as a key area in the control of both appetitive and consummatory aspects of male sexual behavior Panzica, Viglietti-Panzica, and Balthazart, 1996) and therefore also represents a likely potential target for rapid effects of estrogens on sexual behavior.…”

Section: Site and Mechanisms Of Rapid Action Of Estrogensmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rapid effects of aromatase inhibition on male reproductive behaviors in Japanese quail

Cornil

Taziaux

Baillien

et al. 2006

Hormones and Behavior

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102

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Non-genomic effects of steroid hormones on cell physiology have been reported in the brain. However, relatively little is known about the behavioral significance of these actions. Male sexual behavior is activated by testosterone partly through its conversion to estradiol via the enzyme aromatase in the preoptic area (POA). Brain aromatase activity (AA) changes rapidly which might in turn be important for the rapid regulation of behavior. Here, acute effects of Vorozole ™ , an aromatase inhibitor, injected IP at different doses and times before testing (between 15 and 60 min), were assessed on male sexual behavior in quail. To limit the risk of committing both types of statistical errors (I and II), data of all experiments were entered into a meta-analysis. Vorozole ™ significantly inhibited mount attempts (p<0.05, size effect [g]=0.527) and increased the latency to first copulation (p<0.05, g=0.251). The treatment had no effect on the other measures of copulatory behavior. Vorozole ™ also inhibited appetitive sexual behavior measured by the social proximity response (p<0.05, g=0.534) or rhythmic cloacal sphincter movements (p<0.001, g=0.408). Behavioral inhibitions always reached a maximum at 30 min. Another aromatase inhibitor, androstatrienedione, induced a similar rapid inhibition of sphincter movements. Radioenzyme assays demonstrated that within 30 min Vorozole ™ had reached the POA and completely blocked AA measured in homogenates. When added to the extracellular milieu, Vorozole ™ also blocked within 5 min the AA in POA explants maintained in vitro. Together, these data demonstrate that aromatase inhibition rapidly decreases both consummatory and appetitive aspects of male sexual behavior.

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Critical re-examination of the distribution of aromatase-immunoreactive cells in the quail forebrain using antibodies raised against human placental aromatase and against the recombinant quail, mouse or human enzyme

Cited by 146 publications

References 45 publications

Topography in the preoptic region: Differential regulation of appetitive and consummatory male sexual behaviors

Topography in the preoptic region: Differential regulation of appetitive and consummatory male sexual behaviors

Functional significance of the rapid regulation of brain estrogen action: Where do the estrogens come from?

Rapid effects of aromatase inhibition on male reproductive behaviors in Japanese quail

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