Estrogen receptor alpha and vasopressin in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus in Peromyscus.
The purpose of this study was to determine the presence of estrogen receptor alpha (ERalpha) and the relationship between neurons that express ERalpha and produce vasopressin (AVP) in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus (PVN) in new world mice of the genus Peromyscus. Brains were collected from male and female Peromyscus californicus, Peromyscus leucopus, Peromyscus maniculatus, and Peromyscus polionotus, and double labeled for the expression of ERalpha and AVP immunoreactivity (IR). The number of cells expressing ERalpha-IR and AVP-IR was determined in the medial and posterior region of the PVN. The results indicate that Peromyscus is the first taxonomic group reported to have ERalpha widely distributed in the PVN, occurring in both medial and posterior regions of the PVN. While estrogen can regulate the production of AVP, AVP and ERalpha were rarely colocalized. There was, however, a significant inverse relationship between the number of cells that expressed ERalpha-IR and the number expressing AVP-IR. There were no sex differences in the expression of ERalpha-IR or AVP-IR.
Kramer
Kristin M
KM
Brain-Body Center, Department of Psychiatry, M/C 912, University of Illinois at Chicago, 1601 W Taylor Street, Chicago, IL 60612, USA. kkramer@psych.uic.edu
Yamamoto
Yukiyo
Y
Hoffman
Gloria E
GE
Cushing
Bruce S
BS
D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D002452:Cell Count / Q000379:methods; D047628:Estrogen Receptor alpha / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D007150:Immunohistochemistry / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D009474:Neurons / Q000378:metabolism*; D010286:Paraventricular Hypothalamic Nucleus / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D010542:Peromyscus / Q000378:metabolism*; D014667:Vasopressins / Q000378:metabolism*
D047628:Estrogen Receptor alpha; D014667:Vasopressins