title: Ultrastructural changes in hypothalamic supraoptic nucleus neurons of ovariectomized estrogen-deprived young rats.
abstract: We report the occurrence of neuronal degeneration in the supraoptic nucleus of the hypothalamus of prepubertal female rats as a consequence of ovariectomy followed by estrogen deprivation (OVX-EB). In contrast, no degenerating neurons were observed in ovariectomized rats treated with estrogens (OVX + EB) or sham-operated animals. The altered neurons in the OVX-EB group presented a cytoplasm with dilation of the rough endoplasmic reticulum lumen. The nuclear envelope also appeared dilated. There was mitochondrial swelling with disintegrated cristae, while lysosomes appeared intact. The cell nucleus showed a pattern of chromatin condensation and a nucleolus hardly distinguishable from the nucleoplasm. The neuronal alterations reported here may be due to altered gene expression in the cell nucleus resulting from induced hormonal loss during early postnatal development.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, University of Cantabria, Santander, Spain.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Crespo
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cos
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fernandez-Viadero
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gonzalez
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000648:ultrastructure; D004958:Estradiol / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005260:Female; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D009410:Nerve Degeneration / Q000187:drug effects; D009474:Neurons / Q000187:drug effects / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D010052:Ovariectomy; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D013495:Supraoptic Nucleus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000648:ultrastructure*
chemical_list: D004958:Estradiol