title: Interplay of hormones and p53 in modulating gender dimorphism of subventricular zone cell number.
abstract: Previous studies have suggested the existence of a gender bias in repair after demyelination. Here we report the existence of gender dimorphism for the regulation of cell number in the subventricular zone (SVZ), an area that has been studied for its repair potential. The number of Sox2(+) multipotential cells in the SVZ of young adult female mice was greater than in age-matched male siblings, but this difference was not evident prior to the surge of sex hormones (i.e., in prepubertal mice). To begin asking whether hormonally derived signals were responsible for these gender-related differences, we analyzed proliferation and survival of cultured male- and female-derived SVZ cells. Estrogen, but not testosterone treatment increased cell proliferation and survival of cultured cells after IFN-gamma treatment or after UV irradiation, regardless of the gender of origin. Because apoptosis in UV-irradiated SVZ cells correlated with the expression of the proapoptotic molecule p53, we postulated that this molecule could be responsible for the gender dimorphism in the SVZ. In agreement with this prediction, no difference in the SVZ cell number was detected in male and female p53 null mice. Together with previous reports, these results implicate p53 as an important component of the mechanism regulating gender dimorphism in the SVZ.
authors.affiliation: Graduate Program in Neuroscience at the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Piscataway, New Jersey, USA.
authors.forename: Jin Young
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Patrizia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Casaccia-Bonnefil
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002452:Cell Count; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects / Q000528:radiation effects; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004967:Estrogens / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology; D005260:Female; D012739:Gonadal Steroid Hormones / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000494:pharmacology; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D055495:Neurogenesis / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology* / Q000528:radiation effects; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology / Q000528:radiation effects; D055748:SOXB1 Transcription Factors / Q000378:metabolism; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D018874:Spheroids, Cellular; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D013687:Telencephalon / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D014466:Ultraviolet Rays
chemical_list: D004967:Estrogens; D012739:Gonadal Steroid Hormones; D055748:SOXB1 Transcription Factors; C527783:Sox2 protein, mouse; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53; D007371:Interferon-gamma