Non-ovarian aromatization is required to activate female sexual motivation in testosterone-treated ovariectomized quail

Bournonville, Catherine de; Balthazart, Jacques; Ball, Gregory F.; Cornil, Charlotte

doi:10.1016/j.yhbeh.2016.05.011

Cited by 18 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 107 publications

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“…In females, AA positively correlated with E2 in both the POM/BST and mediobasal hypothalamus supporting a role for local, as opposed to ovarian, production regulating brain E2 concentrations. In addition, correlations of individual E2 concentrations in POM/BST and measurements of female sexual behavior suggested a role for local E2 synthesis in female receptivity and specific tests of this idea provided supporting evidence (de Bournonville et al , 2016a). These data thus highlight the complex mechanisms regulating local E2 concentrations in the brain and their rapid changes.…”

Section: Socio-sexual Stimuli and Restraint Stress Modulate Aromatasementioning

confidence: 92%

Steroid metabolism in the brain: From bird watching to molecular biology, a personal journey

Balthazart

2017

Hormones and Behavior

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Since Arnold Adolph Berthold established in 1849 the critical role of the testes in the activation of male sexual behavior, intensive research has identified many sophisticated neurochemical and molecular mechanisms mediating this action. Studies in Japanese quail demonstrated the critical role of testosterone action and of testosterone aromatization in the sexually dimorphic medial preoptic nucleus in the activation of male copulatory behavior. The development of an immunohistochemical visualization of brain aromatase in quail then allowed further refinement in the localization of the sites of neuroestrogens production. Testosterone aromatization is required for the activation of both appetitive and consummatory aspects of male sexual behavior. Brain aromatase activity is modulated by steroid-induced changes in the transcription of the corresponding gene but also more rapidly by phosphorylations processes. Sexual interactions with a female also rapidly regulate brain aromatase activity in an anatomically specific manner presumably via the release and action of endogenous glutamate. These rapid changes in estrogen production modulate sexual behavior and in particular its motivational component with latencies ranging between 15 and 30 minutes. Brain estrogens seem to act in a manner akin to a neurotransmitter or at least a neuromodulator. More recently, assays of brain estradiol concentrations in micropunched samples or in dialysis samples obtained from behaviorally active males suggested that aromatase activity measured ex vivo might not be an accurate proxy to the rapid changes in local neuroestrogens production and concentrations. Studies of brain testosterone metabolism are thus not over and will keep scientists busy for a little longer.

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Section: Socio-sexual Stimuli and Restraint Stress Modulate Aromatasementioning

confidence: 92%

Steroid metabolism in the brain: From bird watching to molecular biology, a personal journey

Balthazart

2017

Hormones and Behavior

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“…In a comprehensive study on candidate genes associated with autism, Chakrabarti et al [83] showed that the ESR2 gene, which codes for one of the two main estrogen receptors and is expressed in the brain, showed a nominally significant association with the Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ) and the Empathy Quotient (EQ). de Bournonville et al [84] showed that pathways of estrogens and androgens are coupled together, since androstenedione and T are precursors of androgens which can be converted into estrogens (estrone and estradiol respectively) in target tissues by the cytochrome P450 aromatase enzyme. Estradiol has been reported to closely associate with aggressive behaviors which are common in ASD subjects [85][86][87].…”

Section: Estradiolmentioning

confidence: 99%

Neuroactive Steroids and Related Steroids in Autism Spectrum Disorders

Zheng¹,

Wang²,

Li³

et al. 2018

Neuropsychiatry

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Neuroactive steroids (rapidly acting steroids that act as allosteric modulators of neurotransmitter receptors such as the ɣ-aminobutyric acid A (GABA A ) receptor and the NMDA glutamate receptor) are involved in brain development and have been proposed to be important in the etiology and/or pharmacotherapy of a number of psychiatric and neurologic disorders, but there is limited information available on their association with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). This paper reviews the possible involvement of neuroactive steroids (NASs) and some related steroids, including testosterone, androstenedione and estradiol steroids in the etiology of ASD. NASs include progesterone, pregnanolone, pregnenolone, pregnenolone sulfate, allopregnanolone, tetrahydrodeoxycorticosterone (THDOC), dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and DHEA sulfate (DHEAS). Studies on the levels of NASs and related steroids in blood, urine, saliva, and amniotic fluid in ASD are also reviewed. The results on plasma levels of NASs in ASD reported in the literature are generally inconclusive, probably because of differences among studies in terms of experimental design and factors such as age, gender, number of subjects, and medication being taken and differences in time of day at which samples are taken and storage conditions of samples. Future studies on levels of NASs in ASD should include careful consideration of the factors mentioned above, the possible advantages of saliva sampling and the use of assay procedures that provide simultaneous analysis of levels of a large number of these steroids.

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“…Oestrogens play a key role in the activation of female sexual behaviour in birds, 19,26 as they do in mammals. 22 Moreover, previous results had shown that AA measured in pooled samples containing POM and BST microdissections positively correlates with the content of oestrogens in the tissue regardless of the condition in which the female was placed.…”

Section: Functional Significance Of These Enzymatic Changesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, the female brain expresses significant levels of AA in the same brain regions as in males that overlap extensively with the group of interconnected nuclei controlling social behaviour: the so‐called social behaviour network . Even if brain AA is somewhat lower in females than in males, this enzymatic activity still produces substantial concentrations of neuro‐oestrogens and recent work from our laboratory suggests that these locally produced steroids play a significant role in the activation of female sexual motivation and receptivity …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…25 Even if brain AA is somewhat lower in females than in males, this enzymatic activity still produces substantial concentrations of neuro-oestrogens and recent work from our laboratory suggests that these locally produced steroids play a significant role in the activation of female sexual motivation and receptivity. 26 Furthermore, evidence indicates that AA in females is regulated both in the long-and short-term. Treatment of ovariectomised female quail with testosterone increases brain AA as it does in castrated males 27 presumably via changes in the transcription of the corresponding gene.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Rapid changes in brain aromatase activity in the female quail brain following expression of sexual behaviour

Bournonville

Ball

Balthazart

et al. 2017

J Neuroendocrinology

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In male quail, oestrogens produced in the brain (neuro-oestrogens) exert a dual action on male sexual behaviour: they increase sexual motivation within minutes via mechanisms activated at the membrane but facilitate sexual performance by slower, presumably nuclear-initiated, mechanisms. Recent work indicates that neuro-oestrogens are also implicated in the control of female sexual motivation despite the presence of high circulating concentrations of oestrogens of ovarian origin. Interestingly, aromatase activity (AA) in the male brain is regulated in time domains corresponding to the slow "genomic" and faster "nongenomic" modes of action of oestrogens. Furthermore, rapid changes in brain AA are observed in males after sexual interactions with a female. In the present study, we investigated whether similar rapid changes in brain AA are observed in females allowed to interact sexually with males. A significant decrease in AA was observed in the medial preoptic nucleus after interactions that lasted 2, 5 or 10 minutes, although this decrease was no longer significant after 15 minutes of interaction. In the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, a progressive decline of average AA was observed between 2 and 15 minutes, although it never reached statistical significance. AA in this nucleus was, however, negatively correlated with the sexual receptivity of the female. These data indicate that sexual interactions affect brain AA in females as in males in an anatomically specific manner and suggest that rapid changes in brain oestrogens production could also modulate female sexual behaviour.

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Non-ovarian aromatization is required to activate female sexual motivation in testosterone-treated ovariectomized quail

Cited by 18 publications

References 107 publications

Steroid metabolism in the brain: From bird watching to molecular biology, a personal journey

Steroid metabolism in the brain: From bird watching to molecular biology, a personal journey

Neuroactive Steroids and Related Steroids in Autism Spectrum Disorders

Rapid changes in brain aromatase activity in the female quail brain following expression of sexual behaviour

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