Early postnatal changes in sexual dimorphism of catecholamine and indoleamine content in the brain of prenatally stressed rats

Reznikov, Alexander; Nosenko, N. D.

doi:10.1016/0306-4522(95)00339-8

Cited by 30 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…However, given an underlying mechanism of interference with sexual differentiation of the brain, there is no reason to expect that this is the only brain region or neurotransmitter affected by prenatal dexamethasone treatment, or that only males are targeted. Indeed, prenatal stress eliminates sex differences in monoamine levels (Reznikov and Nosenko, 1996), so it is likely that dexamethasone treatment will have similar actions for these pathways. A detailed neurochemical survey of different brain regions and neurotransmitter systems will be forthcoming in a separate study.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gestational Dexamethasone Treatment Elicits Sex-Dependent Alterations in Locomotor Activity, Reward-Based Memory and Hippocampal Cholinergic Function in Adolescent and Adult Rats

Kreider

Levin

Seidler

et al. 2005

Neuropsychopharmacol

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Glucocorticoids are the consensus treatment for preventing respiratory distress syndrome in preterm infants but there is emerging evidence of subsequent neurobehavioral abnormalities, independent of somatic growth effects. Pregnant rats were given 0.2 mg/kg of dexamethasone, a dose commensurate with clinical use, on gestational days 17-19 and behavioral evaluations were made on the offspring in adolescence and adulthood. The dexamethasone groups had the same body weights as the controls but nevertheless displayed long-term, sex-selective alterations in locomotor and cognitive behaviors. In the figure-8 activity apparatus, dexamethasone treatment ablated the normal sex differences in locomotor activity by reducing values in females to the lower level typical of males; habituation of activity similarly was impaired in females, reducing the profile to match that of control males, while male rats in the dexamethasone group showed a partially feminized pattern of habituation. In the 8-arm radial maze, control rats displayed typical sex differences, with male rats performing more accurately than females. Dexamethasone treatment eliminated this normal dichotomy, delaying learning in males while improving performance in females to the level normally seen in control males. Finally, we assessed hippocampal [3 H]hemicholinium-3 binding as a biomarker for cholinergic synaptic activity, and again found loss of sex differences in the dexamethasone group: values in males were increased to the higher levels typical of females. These results indicate that gestational treatment with dexamethasone obtunds the normal sex differences in neurochemistry and behavior that are typically seen in adolescence in adulthood, thus producing sex-selective alterations in activity, learning, and memory.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gestational Dexamethasone Treatment Elicits Sex-Dependent Alterations in Locomotor Activity, Reward-Based Memory and Hippocampal Cholinergic Function in Adolescent and Adult Rats

Kreider

Levin

Seidler

et al. 2005

Neuropsychopharmacol

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“…In vitro studies of the whole or mediobasal hypothalamus have revealed that tissue exposed to testosterone (or oestradiol), either by administration of exogenous steroid or because the tissue originated from males, exhibits higher rates of DA synthesis and release compared with tissue not exposed to steroids (Kawashima & Takagi 1994, Melnikova et al 1999. Similar findings have been obtained in vivo, when exposure to neonatal steroids induced greater concentrations and turnover of hypothalamic DA (Vathy et al 1995, Lesage et al 1996, Reznikov & Nosenko 1996. The greater activity of DA in the male mediobasal hypothalamus may mediate some of the masculinizing effects of oestradiol.…”

Section: Dopaminementioning

confidence: 75%

“…On day 10 post partum, NA turnover rate in the POA is higher in males than in females, (as assessed by inhibition of synthesis with a-methyl tyrosine), while the content of NA in the male POA on day 10 and 33 post partum is lower than in the female (Vathy et al 1995, Reznikov & Nosenko 1996, indicating a greater turnover of NA in this region in the male during the neonatal period. It is possible that the greater release of NA in the male is due to oestradiol derived from the perinatal testosterone surge (Reznikov & Nosenko 1987).…”

Section: Noradrenalinementioning

confidence: 95%

“…On day 1 post partum, 5-HT activity is greater in males than females in the whole hypothalamus, but this difference disappears by day 10 post partum. However, greater 5-HT activity can still be detected in the male POA on day 10 post partum (Wilson et al 1986, Lesage et al 1996, Reznikov & Nosenko 1996. On day 12 (Ladosky & Gaziri 1970) or 14 (Wilson et al 1986) post partum, there is a transient decrease in hypothalamic 5-HT and 5-hydroxyindole acetic acid (the chief metabolite of 5-HT) in males.…”

Section: -Hydroxytryptaminementioning

confidence: 99%

“…In contrast to its effect on the mediobasal hypothalamus, neonatal testosterone has no effect on DA activity in cell cultures taken from the POA (Kawashima & Takagi 1994) or in the POA in vivo and there are no dopaminergic sex differences in this region of the hypothalamus (Reznikov & Nosenko 1996). In fact, there is a virtual absence of DA neurones in the medial POA (Simerly et al 1986).…”

Section: Dopaminementioning

confidence: 99%

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The control of sexual differentiation of the reproductive system and brain

Wilson¹,

Davies²

2007

Reproduction

160

116

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This review summarizes current knowledge of the genetic and hormonal control of sexual differentiation of the reproductive system, brain and brain function. While the chromosomal regulation of sexual differentiation has been understood for over 60 years, the genes involved and their actions on the reproductive system and brain are still under investigation. In 1990, the predicted testicular determining factor was shown to be the SRY gene. However, this discovery has not been followed up by elucidation of the actions of SRY, which may either stimulate a cascade of downstream genes, or inhibit a suppressor gene. The number of other genes known to be involved in sexual differentiation is increasing and the way in which they may interact is discussed. The hormonal control of sexual differentiation is well-established in rodents, in which prenatal androgens masculinize the reproductive tract and perinatal oestradiol (derived from testosterone) masculinizes the brain. In humans, genetic mutations have revealed that it is probably prenatal testosterone that masculinizes both the reproductive system and the brain. Sexual differentiation of brain structures and the way in which steroids induce this differentiation, is an active research area. The multiplicity of steroid actions, which may be specific to individual cell types, demonstrates how a single hormonal regulator, e.g. oestradiol, can exert different and even opposite actions at different sites. This complexity is enhanced by the involvement of neurotransmitters as mediators of steroid hormone actions. In view of current environmental concerns, a brief summary of the effects of endocrine disruptors on sexual differentiation is presented.

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Scavenging of hydroxyl radical by catecholamines

et al. 2012

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The direct effects of the four catecholamines (CATs), adrenaline (A), noradrenaline (NA), dopamine (D) and isoproterenol (I), on free radicals were investigated using the free radical 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH(•)) and hydroxyl radial (HO(•)). The CATs examined were found to inhibit the ESR signal intensity of DPPH(•) in a dose-dependent manner over the range 0.1-2.5 mmol/L in the following order: NA > A > I > D, with IC50= 0.30 ± 0.03 for noradrenaline and IC50= 0.86 ± 0.02 for dopamine. Hydroxyl radicals were produced using a Fenton reaction in the presence of the spin trap 5,5-dimethyl-1-pyrroline N-oxide (DMPO), and ESR technique was applied to detect the CATs reactivity toward the radicals. The reaction rates constant (k(r)) of CATs with HO(•) were found to be in the order of 10(9) L/mol/s, and the k(r) value for noradrenaline was the highest (k(r)= 8.4 × 10(9) L/mol/s). The CATs examined exhibited also a strong decrease in the light emission (62-73% at 1 mmol/L concentration and 79-89% at 2 mmol/L concentration) from a Fenton-like reaction. These reactions may be relevant to the biological action of these important polyphenolic compounds.

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Early postnatal changes in sexual dimorphism of catecholamine and indoleamine content in the brain of prenatally stressed rats

Cited by 30 publications

References 32 publications

Gestational Dexamethasone Treatment Elicits Sex-Dependent Alterations in Locomotor Activity, Reward-Based Memory and Hippocampal Cholinergic Function in Adolescent and Adult Rats

Gestational Dexamethasone Treatment Elicits Sex-Dependent Alterations in Locomotor Activity, Reward-Based Memory and Hippocampal Cholinergic Function in Adolescent and Adult Rats

The control of sexual differentiation of the reproductive system and brain

Scavenging of hydroxyl radical by catecholamines

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