title: Estradiol modulation of neuron loss in the medial division of medial preoptic nucleus in rats during aging.
abstract: The age-related morphological changes in the darkly stained sex-dimorphic nucleus (SDN-POA) and the lighter staining surrounding area (non-SDN-POA) within the medial division of preoptic nucleus of Long-Evans rats were studied. The long-term effects of estradiol benzoate (EB) on the changes were also assessed. During aging, the neuron loss in 14-(middle-age) and 22-month-old rats as well as increased pyknotic ratio of neurons in old male rats were observed in SDN-POA, but not in the non-SDN-POA. In female rats, significant neuron loss with advancing age was observed both in SDN-POA and the non-SDN-POA. Neuron loss in SDN-POA of EB-treated males was more severe than that of the intact males, while no significant difference of neuron loss was observed between EB-treated and age-matched intact female rats. However, neuron loss in SDN-POA of ovariectomized female rats was more severe than that of the age-matched intact females. These results indicate that age-related neuron loss in medial preoptic nucleus show sex-specific and area-specific features, and estradiol may play a important role in modulating neuron loss during aging.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Kaohsiung Medical College, Taiwan, ROC.
authors.forename: Y L
authors.initials: YL
authors.lastname: Hsieh
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hsu
authors.forename: S L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: H K
authors.initials: HK
authors.lastname: Hsu
authors.forename: M T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Peng
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000097:blood / Q000473:pathology* / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D016923:Cell Death / Q000187:drug effects; D004958:Estradiol / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000097:blood / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D009410:Nerve Degeneration / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D009474:Neurons / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology; D010052:Ovariectomy; D010053:Ovary / Q000502:physiology; D011301:Preoptic Area / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000473:pathology* / Q000502:physiology; D051381:Rats; D012727:Sex Characteristics
chemical_list: C074283:estradiol 3-benzoate; D004958:Estradiol