title: A Novel Membrane Estrogen Receptor Activated by STX Induces Female Sexual Receptivity through an Interaction with mGluR1a.
abstract: Membrane initiated estradiol signaling has been shown to be vital for multiple physiological processes. Several receptors have been proposed to mediate the actions of estradiol at the membrane. Here, we examined the ability of STX, an agonist of a novel putative membrane estrogen receptor, to activate sexually receptive behavior in the female rat. Infusions of STX into the arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus resulted in the activation and internalization of μ-opioid receptors in the medial preoptic nucleus, an action that is required for lordosis behavior. Indeed, STX was able to augment sexual receptivity in female rats given a sub-behavioral dose of estradiol. However, if the mGluR1a antagonist, LY367,385, was administered prior to STX, its circuit-activating effects, the internalization of μ-opioid receptors, were lost. This suggests that the receptor stimulated by STX activates rapid membrane-initiated signaling through an interaction with mGluR1a - an effect previously described for estrogen receptor-α at the membrane.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurobiology and Laboratory of Neuroendocrinology of the Brain Research Institute, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1763, USA.
authors.forename: Amy
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Christensen
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Micevych
mesh_terms: D000178:Acrylamides / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D011187:Posture / Q000502:physiology; D011485:Protein Binding; D051381:Rats; D020318:Rats, Long-Evans; D011960:Receptors, Estrogen / Q000819:agonists* / Q000502:physiology*; D018094:Receptors, Metabotropic Glutamate / Q000378:metabolism*; D020845:Selective Estrogen Receptor Modulators / Q000494:pharmacology*; D012726:Sexual Behavior, Animal / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000187:drug effects; D013629:Tamoxifen / Q000031:analogs & derivatives
chemical_list: C553231:2-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-3-phenylpent-2-enoic acid (4-(2-dimethylaminoethoxy)phenyl)amide; D000178:Acrylamides; D011960:Receptors, Estrogen; D018094:Receptors, Metabotropic Glutamate; D020845:Selective Estrogen Receptor Modulators; C104077:metabotropic glutamate receptor type 1; D013629:Tamoxifen