title: Motoneuron development after deafferentation: II. dorsal rhizotomy does not block estrogen-supported growth in the dorsolateral nucleus (DLN).
abstract: The lumbar spinal cord of the rat contains two sexually dimorphic motor nuclei, the spinal nucleus of the bulbocavernosus (SNB) and the dorsolateral nucleus (DLN). Postnatally, SNB and DLN motoneurons grow substantially and reach their adult morphology by 7 weeks of age. The masculinization of SNB and DLN motoneuron dendrites depends upon steroid hormones. After early castration, the growth of SNB and DLN dendrites is markedly attenuated, but testosterone replacement restores this growth. In the SNB, initial dendritic growth is also supported in castrates treated with estrogen. By using castration and hormone replacement techniques, we examined the development of DLN motoneuron morphology in estrogen-treated castrated rats to determine if estrogen also supports the growth of DLN motoneurons. In addition, given that dorsal root ganglia may be a site of estrogen action, we tested the hypothesis that estrogen acts at primary afferents to support DLN dendritic growth. Thus, we attempted to block the potential trophic effect of estrogen by performing unilateral dorsal rhizotomies in estrogen-treated castrates. DLN motoneuron morphology was analyzed at 4 and 7 weeks of age by using cholera toxin horseradish peroxidase (BHRP) histochemistry. As found for SNB motoneurons, estrogen treatment transiently supported development. DLN motoneurons in estrogen-treated castrates developed normally through 4 weeks of age, but by 7 weeks, DLN motoneuron morphology in estrogen-treated castrates was no longer different from that in oil-treated castrates. Moreover, deafferentation via unilateral dorsal rhizotomy did not inhibit estrogen's ability to masculinize the early development of DLN motoneurons. Thus, the trophic effect of estrogen did not appear to act via the dorsal root ganglia to support the early postnatal development of DLN motoneurons.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Indiana University, Bloomington 47405, USA.
authors.forename: T C
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Hays
authors.forename: L A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Goldstein
authors.forename: A C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Mills
authors.forename: D R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Sengelaub
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002772:Cholera Toxin; D003712:Dendrites / Q000648:ultrastructure; D004967:Estrogens / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005727:Ganglia, Spinal / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development*; D006651:Histocytochemistry; D008297:Male; D009046:Motor Neurons / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D009475:Neurons, Afferent / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D009919:Orchiectomy; D010744:Phosphoric Monoester Hydrolases; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D019051:Rhizotomy
chemical_list: D004967:Estrogens; D002772:Cholera Toxin; C022734:thiamine monophosphatase; D010744:Phosphoric Monoester Hydrolases