Medial preoptic area in mice is capable of mediating sexually dimorphic behaviors regardless of gender

Wei, Yichao; Wang, Shao-Ran; Jiao, Zhuo-Lei; Zhang, Wen; Lin, Jun-Kai; Li, Xingyu; Li, Shuaishuai; Zhang, Xin; Xu, Xiaohong

doi:10.1038/s41467-017-02648-0

Cited by 177 publications

(208 citation statements)

References 67 publications

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“…Recent studies have identified MeA Kiss neurons and the POA as regulators of sexual motivation and behaviour in male rodents [15, 16, 44]. Several studies have identified various neuronal types in the POA as key players in mediating male-typical mating and paternal behaviour including neurons expressing oestrogen receptor alpha [45], progesterone receptor [46], and galanin [47]. Therefore, future studies will be required to identify the exact cellular substrate in the POA responsive to modulation by MeA Kiss neurons.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Medial Amygdala Kiss1 Neurons Mediate Female Pheromone Stimulation of Luteinizing Hormone in Male Mice

et al. 2018

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Background/Aims: The medial amygdala (MeA) responds to olfactory stimuli and alters reproductive physiology. However, the neuronal circuit that relays signals from the MeA to the reproductive axis remains poorly defined. This study aimed to test whether MeA kisspeptin (MeA^Kiss) neurons in male mice are sensitive to sexually relevant olfactory stimuli and transmit signals to alter reproductive physiology. We also investigated whether MeA^Kiss neurons have the capacity to elaborate glutamate and GABA neurotransmitters and potentially contribute to reproductive axis regulation. Methods: Using female urine as a pheromone stimulus, MeA^Kiss neuronal activity was analysed and serum luteinizing hormone (LH) was measured in male mice. Next, using a chemogenetic approach, MeA^Kiss neurons were bi-directionally modulated to measure the effect on serum LH and evaluate the activation of the preoptic area. Lastly, using in situ hybridization, we identified the proportion of MeA^Kiss neurons that express markers for GABAergic (Vgat) and glutamatergic (Vglut2) neurotransmission. Results: Male mice exposed to female urine showed a two-fold increase in the number of c-Fos-positive MeA^Kiss neurons concomitant with raised LH. Chemogenetic activation of MeA^Kiss neurons significantly increased LH in the absence of urine exposure, whereas inhibition of MeA^Kiss neurons did not alter LH. In situ hybridization revealed that MeA^Kiss neurons are a mixed neuronal population in which 71% express Vgat mRNA, 29% express Vglut2 mRNA, and 6% express both. Conclusions: Our results uncover, for the first time, that MeA^Kiss neurons process sexually relevant olfactory signals to influence reproductive hormone levels in male mice, likely through a complex interplay of neuropeptide and neurotransmitter signalling.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Medial Amygdala Kiss1 Neurons Mediate Female Pheromone Stimulation of Luteinizing Hormone in Male Mice

et al. 2018

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“…Their presence in males and absence in females due to developmental apoptosis may explain the sexually dimorphic patterns of flies' social behaviors (Kimura et al, 2008). Yet, recent studies in both mice and flies have revealed the existence of latent neural circuitries that encode malelike mating behaviors in the female brain Rezaval et al, 2016;Wei et al, 2018), suggesting a conserved bisexual nature of brain organization and function . In flies, this circuitry consists of the dsx + pC1 cluster of neurons that are also essential for female sexual receptivity (Rezaval et al, 2016;Zhou et al, 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Drosophilafemale-specific brain neuron elicits persistent position- and direction-selective male-like social behaviors

Ss²,

Mahringer

2019

Preprint

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Latent neural circuitry in the female brain encoding male-like mating behaviors has been revealed in both mice and flies. In Drosophila, a key component of this circuitry consists of the doublesex-expressing pC1 neurons, which were deemed to exist in both sexes and function based on the amount of cells being activated. Here, we identify pC1-alpha, a female-specific subtype of pC1, as responsible for inducing persistent male-like social behaviors in females. We demonstrate that activation of a single pC1-alpha neuron is sufficient for such induction in a position-and direction-selective manner, and activity of pC1alpha neurons as a whole is indispensable for maintaining normal sexual receptivity. These dual functions of pC1-alpha may require different neurotransmission, with acetylcholine specifically required for the former but not the latter. Our findings suggest that pC1-alpha may be the female counterpart of male P1 due to their shared similarities in morphology, lineage, and social promoting function.

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“…Male and female mice were group housed (5 animals maximum/per cage) according to the sex. Castration and sham surgery were performed as previously described (Xu et al, 2012; Wei et al, 2018) with animals anesthetized under intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection of ketamine (80 mg/kg) and xylazine (8 mg/kg).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Videos were manually annotated on a frame-by-frame basis using a custom written MATLAB program as previously described (Xu et al, 2012, Wei et al, 2018), by experimenters blinded to the group information. Behaviors were scored according to the following criteria: nose-to-urogenital contact is defined as “sniff”, also known as “chemoinvestigation”.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Sex differences in electrophysiological properties of mouse mPOA neurons revealed by in vitro whole-cell recordings

Zhang

Jiao

et al. 2019

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13The medial preoptic area (mPOA) of the hypothalamus is sexually 14 dimorphic and controls sexually dimorphic display of male mating and parental 15 care. Yet, despite extensive characterization of sex differences in the mPOA, 16 we know surprisingly little about whether or how male and female mPOA 17 neurons differ electrophysiologically, which relate more directly to neuronal 18 firing and behavioral pattern generation. In this study, we performed whole-cell 19 patch clamp recordings of the mPOA in acute brain slices cut from virgin adult 20 mice, and compared in total 29 electrophysiological parameters between male 21 and female mPOA neurons. We find that resting membrane potential (Vm), 22 input resistance (Rm), time constant (τm), threshold (Vth) and minimum current 1 (rheobase) required to generate an action potential differ significantly between 2 male and female in a cell-type dependent manner. Nonetheless, there is little 3 evidence for profuse sex differences in neuronal excitability, except for a 4 higher probability of rebound neurons in males. Depletion of male gonadal 5 hormones in adulthood partially de-masculinizes sexually dimorphic 6 electrophysiological parameters, suggesting that some of these sex 7 differences may establish during development. Furthermore, as a 8 demonstration of the behavioral relevance of these sex differences, we show 9 that pharmacologic blockage of currents mediated by T-type Ca 2+ channel, 10 which underlie rebound and tends to be larger in male mPOA neurons, result in 11 behavioral deficits in male mating. In summary, we have identified key sex 12 differences in electrophysiological properties of mPOA neurons that likely 13 contribute to sexually dimorphic display of behaviors. 14 15 Significance Statement 16 Sex represents an important biological variable that impact an individual's 17 behaviors, physiology and disease susceptibility. Indeed, sex differences in the 18 nervous system manifest across many different levels and scales. Yet, 19 throughout previous multifaceted investigations on sex differences in the brain, 20 electrophysiological characterizations, which could potentially bridge cellular 21 and molecular sex differences with sexually dimorphic brain functions and 22 behaviors, remains scant. Here, focusing on an evolutionarily conserved 1 sexually dimorphic nucleus, we investigated sex differences in 2 electrophysiological properties of mPOA neurons and its modulation by 3 gonadal hormones in adult males via in vitro whole-cell patch clamp. As a 4 result, we identified novel sex differences in electrophysiological properties 5 that likely contribute to sexually dimorphic display of behaviors and 6 physiological functions.7 8

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Medial preoptic area in mice is capable of mediating sexually dimorphic behaviors regardless of gender

Cited by 177 publications

References 67 publications

Medial Amygdala <b><i>Kiss1</i></b> Neurons Mediate Female Pheromone Stimulation of Luteinizing Hormone in Male Mice

Medial Amygdala <b><i>Kiss1</i></b> Neurons Mediate Female Pheromone Stimulation of Luteinizing Hormone in Male Mice

Drosophilafemale-specific brain neuron elicits persistent position- and direction-selective male-like social behaviors

Sex differences in electrophysiological properties of mouse mPOA neurons revealed by in vitro whole-cell recordings

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