Postnatal treatment of rats with the beta 2-adrenergic agonist salbutamol influences the volume of the sexually dimorphic nucleus in the preoptic area.
Sexual differentiation of the brain seems to be influenced by postnatal interaction of gonadal steroids with neurotransmitter systems, in particular the adrenergic system. Stimulation or inhibition of adrenergic receptors during early postnatal development had previously been shown to influence steroid-induced sexual differentiation of rat brain function. In the present study newborn male and female rats were treated daily for 5 days with salbutamol, a specific beta 2-receptor agonist, or with alprenolol, a beta-receptor antagonist and the volume of the sexually dimorphic nucleus of the preoptic area (SDN-POA) was examined in adulthood. This nucleus, one of the most striking sex differences in brain anatomy, is several-fold larger in male than in female rats. Postnatal treatment with salbutamol increased SDN-POA volume in female and in male rats. The effect was particularly striking in males, because any previous pre- and/or postnatal treatment of male rats with large amounts of gonadal steroids had been unable to increase the volume of the SDN-POA above normal. The beta-receptor antagonist alprenolol had no effect on SDN-POA differentiation. The results indicate that beta 2-adrenergic stimulation influences development and differentiation of the SDN-POA.
Jarzab
B
B
Department of General Biology, Silesian Academy of Medicine, Katowice, Poland.
Kaminski
M
M
Gubala
E
E
Achtelik
W
W
Wagiel
J
J
Döhler
K D
KD
D000420:Albuterol / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D011301:Preoptic Area / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D011943:Receptors, Adrenergic, beta / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D012727:Sex Characteristics
D011943:Receptors, Adrenergic, beta; D000420:Albuterol