title: Testosterone regulates BCL-2 immunoreactivity in a sexually dimorphic motor pool of adult rats.
abstract: Bcl-2 and Bax immunoreactivity were examined in the spinal nucleus of the bulbocavernosus (SNB), an androgen-sensitive motor pool of adult rats. Castration reduced Bcl-2 immunoreactivity and testosterone treatment of castrates prevented this decline. Hormone manipulations did not affect Bcl-2 or Bax staining in the retrodorsolateral nucleus (RDLN), a relatively androgen-insensitive nucleus at the same spinal level. Changes in Bcl-2 expression may underlie the hormonal control of cell death and/or neural plasticity in SNB motoneurons.
authors.affiliation: Center for Neuroendocrine Studies, Neuroscience and Behavior Program, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, USA. szup001@umaryland.edu
authors.forename: Susan L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Zup
authors.forename: Nancy G
authors.initials: NG
authors.lastname: Forger
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D009046:Motor Neurons / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D009919:Orchiectomy / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 / Q000032:analysis* / Q000096:biosynthesis; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D013739:Testosterone / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2; D013739:Testosterone