ABSTRACT
The red-sided garter snake exhibits a dissociated reproductive pattern, mating at a time when their gonads are quiescent and circulating sex steroids, initially reported to be low, have been found to be elevated during the breeding season. However, the only cue identified that initiates courtship behavior and mating in the red-sided garter snake is an extended period of low-temperature dormancy (LTD) followed by exposure to warm temperatures. In this study, we examined a possible association between winter dormancy, sex steroid hormone metabolism, and initiation of reproductive behavior in the male red-sided garter snake. Upon emergence from winter dormancy, courtship behavior was assessed using attractive females as stimuli. Animals receiving implants containing 1,4,6-androstatriene-3,17-dione (ATD), an aromatase inhibiter, showed little or no courtship behavior, while animals implanted with ATD + 17ß estradiol (E2 ) or blank implants exhibited normal courtship. In addition, neurons in the pathways critical in the control of reproductive behavior were examined using the Golgi method. Examination of brains collected upon emergence revealed animals implanted with ATD had a significantly reduced number of dendritic spines compared to controls and animals treated with ATD + E2 . This study provides the first documentation that courtship behavior and mating in the male red-sided garter snake appears to be controlled not by LTD alone, but in conjunction with sex steroid hormones. Moreover, behavioral data suggest that the aromatization of androgens during LTD appears to be critical for the initiation of reproductive behavior in the male red-sided garter snakes.
Subject(s)
Aromatase/metabolism , Colubridae/physiology , Estradiol/pharmacology , Neurons/enzymology , Sexual Behavior, Animal/physiology , Androstatrienes/pharmacology , Animals , Aromatase/genetics , Drug Therapy, Combination , Enzyme Inhibitors/administration & dosage , Enzyme Inhibitors/pharmacology , Female , Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic/drug effects , Male , Seasons , Sexual Behavior, Animal/drug effectsABSTRACT
In seasonally breeding songbirds such as canaries, singing behavior is predominantly under the control of testosterone and its metabolites. Short daylengths in the fall that break photorefractoriness are followed by increasing daylengths in spring that activate singing via both photoperiodic and hormonal mechanisms. However, we observed in a group of castrated male Fife fancy canaries maintained for a long duration under a short day photoperiod a large proportion of subjects that sang at high rates. This singing rate was not correlated with variation in the low circulating concentrations of testosterone. Treatment of these actively singing castrated male canaries with a combination of an aromatase inhibitor (ATD) and an androgen receptor blocker (flutamide) only marginally decreased this singing activity as compared to control untreated birds and did not affect various measures of song quality. The volumes of HVC and of the medial preoptic nucleus (POM) were also unaffected by these treatments but were relatively large and similar to volumes in testosterone-treated males. In contrast, peripheral androgen-sensitive structures such as the cloacal protuberance and syrinx mass were small, similar to what is observed in castrates. Together these data suggest that after a long-term steroid deprivation singing behavior can be activated by very low concentrations of testosterone. Singing normally depends on the activation by testosterone and its metabolites of multiple downstream neurochemical systems such as catecholamines, nonapeptides or opioids. These transmitter systems might become hypersensitive to steroid action after long term castration as they probably are at the end of winter during the annual cycle in seasonally breeding temperate zone species.
Subject(s)
Behavior, Animal/drug effects , Canaries/physiology , Gonadal Steroid Hormones/pharmacology , Orchiectomy , Vocalization, Animal/drug effects , Androgen Antagonists/pharmacology , Androstatrienes/pharmacology , Animals , Brain/drug effects , Brain/physiology , Flutamide/pharmacology , Male , Orchiectomy/veterinary , Photoperiod , Reproduction/drug effects , Reproduction/physiology , Seasons , Territoriality , Testosterone/pharmacologyABSTRACT
The estrogen-synthesizing enzyme aromatase is abundant at the synapse in the zebra finch hippocampus (HP), and its inhibition impairs spatial memory function. To more fully test the role of local estradiol (E2) synthesis in memory, the HP of adult male zebra finches was exposed to either control pellets or those containing the aromatase inhibitor 1,4,6-androstatriene-3,17-dione (ATD), ATD and E2, ATD and the G protein-coupled estrogen receptor (GPER) agonist G1, or the antagonist G15 alone. Birds were tested for spatial memory acquisition and performance, and HP levels of the postsynaptic protein PSD95 were measured. ATD-treated birds took longer to reach criterion than control birds, whereas acquisition in ATD+E2 and ATD+G1 birds was indistinguishable from control and ATD treatments. Interestingly, all G15 birds failed to acquire the task. Following a retention interval, ATD birds took the longest to reach the (formerly) baited cup and made the most mistakes. ATD+E2 animals displayed the lowest retention latencies and made fewer mistakes than ATD-treated birds, and ATD+G1 birds did not significantly differ from controls in retention latencies. The amount of PSD95 in the HP was lowest in ATD-treated animals compared with birds with silicone-only-implanted craniotomies, ATD+E2, and ATD+G1 birds, who did not differ in this expression. Thus, spatial memory acquisition and performance appear aromatase and E2 dependent, an effect more reliably revealed after consolidation and/or recall compared to acquisition. E2 may exert this effect via GPERs, resulting in an increase in PSD95 levels that may modify receptor activity or intracellular signaling pathways to increase synaptic strength.
Subject(s)
Aromatase Inhibitors/pharmacology , Aromatase/metabolism , Hippocampus/drug effects , Spatial Memory/drug effects , Synaptic Membranes/drug effects , Androstatrienes/pharmacology , Animals , Benzodioxoles/pharmacology , Estradiol/pharmacology , Estrogens/pharmacology , Finches , Hippocampus/metabolism , Male , Quinolines/pharmacology , Synaptic Membranes/metabolismABSTRACT
A hyperactive hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis is a prominent feature in depression. It has been shown that androgens inhibit HPA activity and that estrogens stimulate it. We have therefore investigated, in human postmortem hypothalamus, whether depression features an increase in aromatase, which is the rate-limiting enzyme for the conversion of androgens to estrogens. In addition, we have tested the effect of an aromatase inhibitor on depression-like symptoms in a frequently used animal model for depression. At first, aromatase immunoreactivity (ir) was quantified in the central part of the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN) of 10 major depressive disorder (MDD) patients and 10 well-matched control subjects. Subsequently an animal experimental study was performed using the chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS) rats as depression model. The effect of administration of 1,4,6-androstatriene-3,17-dione (ATD), an aromatase inhibitor, was investigated by silastic capsule implantation. In the postmortem study, the amount of PVN aromatase-ir decreased significantly in the MDD group compared to the controls (P=0.029). In the animal study, ATD was found to cause significantly increased testosterone (T) levels, both in plasma and in the hypothalamus. However, ATD administration did not show significant effects on the depression-like behaviors or plasma corticosterone levels in CUMS rats. Based on our observations in human postmortem material and the animal experiment, we have to conclude that alterations in aromatase in adulthood do not seem to play a major role in the pathogenesis of the symptoms of depression.
Subject(s)
Aromatase/metabolism , Depressive Disorder, Major/metabolism , Paraventricular Hypothalamic Nucleus/metabolism , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Androstatrienes/pharmacology , Animals , Aromatase Inhibitors/pharmacology , Disease Models, Animal , Female , Humans , Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System/metabolism , Immunohistochemistry , Male , Middle Aged , Paraventricular Hypothalamic Nucleus/drug effects , Pituitary-Adrenal System/metabolism , Rats , Stress, Psychological/metabolism , Testosterone/bloodABSTRACT
In mid- to high-latitude songbirds, seasonal reproduction is stimulated by increasing day length accompanied by elevated plasma sex steroid levels, increased singing, and growth of the song control nuclei (SCN). Plasticity of the SCN and song behavior are primarily mediated by testosterone (T) and its metabolites in most species studied thus far. However, the majority of bird species are tropical and have less pronounced seasonal reproductive cycles. We have previously documented that equatorial rufous-collared sparrows (Zonotrichia capensis) exhibit seasonal neuroplasticity in the SCN. Manipulating T in these birds, however, did not alter singing behavior. In the current study, we investigated whether T mediates plasticity of the SCN in a similar manner to temperate songbirds. In the first experiment, we treated captive male birds with T or blank implants during the nonbreeding season. In a second experiment, we treated captive male birds with either blank implants, T-filled implants, T with flutamide (FLU; an androgen receptor antagonist) or T with FLU and 1,4,6-androstatriene-3,17-dione (ATD; an estrogen synthesis inhibitor) during the breeding season. In both experiments, the volumes of the brain areas high vocal center (HVC), Area X, and robust nucleus of the arcopallium (RA) were measured along with singing behavior. In summary, T stimulated growth of HVC and RA, and the combined effect of FLU and ATD reversed this effect in HVC. Area X was not affected by T treatment in either experiment. Neither T-treated birds nor controls sang in captivity during either experiment. Together, these data indicate that T mediates seasonal changes in the HVC and RA of both tropical and higher- latitude bird species even if the environmental signals differ. However, unlike most higher-latitude songbirds, we found no evidence that motivation to sing or growth of Area X are stimulated by T under captive conditions.
Subject(s)
High Vocal Center/drug effects , Neurons/physiology , Seasons , Testosterone/pharmacology , Tropical Climate , Vocalization, Animal/drug effects , Analysis of Variance , Androgen Antagonists/pharmacology , Androstatrienes/pharmacology , Animals , Cell Count , Enzyme Inhibitors/pharmacology , Flutamide/pharmacology , High Vocal Center/cytology , Male , Neuronal Plasticity/drug effects , Radioimmunoassay , Songbirds , Testosterone/blood , Time FactorsABSTRACT
Aromatase, the enzyme that aromatizes androstenedione (A) to estrone and testosterone (T) to estradiol (E), affects androgen control of male sex behavior in many vertebrates. In male monkeys, rats and quail, E mimics the ability of T to promote mating, and aromatase inhibitors block mating induced by T but not E. Aromatase inhibitors include androgens with different A-rings than T and A, e.g., 1,4,6-androstatriene-3,17-dione (ATD), azoles, e.g., fadrozole, and androgens α-halogenated at carbon 6, e.g., 6α-bromoA, 6α-fluoroA and 6α-fluoroT. 6α-FluoroT is the only 6α-halogenated androgen studied in regard to mating. It promotes mating in male rats and quail and was studied, before it was known to inhibit aromatase, because it cannot be aromatized yet has the same A-ring as T. 6α-FluoroT might promote mating by binding estrogen receptors (ER) directly, i.e., unassisted, or by metabolism to an androgen that binds ER. Since neither process would require aromatase, this study tested both hypotheses by determining how mating induced in castrated male rats by 6α-fluoroT is affected by ATD and fadrozole. Both aromatase inhibitors inhibited the effects of 6α-fluoroT on mating. Thus, 6α-fluoroT does not promote mating by direct ER binding or metabolism to another androgen. Since aromatase underlies a process in which 6α-fluoroT, unlike most nonaromatizable androgens, mimics T effects on male sex behavior, the process must involve a feature that 6α-fluoroT shares with T but not other nonaromatizable androgens. A-ring structure is a candidate. A hypothesis is also offered for how aromatase may participate without aromatizing the androgen.
Subject(s)
Androstatrienes/pharmacology , Aromatase Inhibitors/pharmacology , Fadrozole/pharmacology , Sexual Behavior, Animal/drug effects , Testosterone/analogs & derivatives , Androgens/pharmacology , Androstenedione/pharmacology , Animals , Drug Interactions , Estradiol/pharmacology , Estrone/pharmacology , Female , Male , Rats , Rats, Long-Evans , Rats, Sprague-Dawley , Reproduction/drug effects , Testosterone/antagonists & inhibitors , Testosterone/pharmacologyABSTRACT
A number of studies have shown that mutations or deletions of the monoamine oxidase-A (MAO-A) gene cause elevated CNS serotonin and elevated impulsive aggression in humans and animal models. In addition, low cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) 5-hydroxyindole acetic acid (5HIAA) has been documented in a limited number of violent criminal populations and in macaques that exhibit impulsive aggression. To reconcile these different analyses, we hypothesized that CSF 5HIAA reflected degradation of serotonin by the activity of MAO-A; and that low MAO-A activity would result in lower CSF 5HIAA, but overall higher serotonin in the CNS. To test this hypothesis, male Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata) were castrated, rested for 5-7months, and then treated for 3months with [1] placebo, [2] testosterone (T), [3] dihydrotestosterone (DHT; non-aromatizable androgen) and 1,4,6-androstatriene-3,17-dione (ATD) (steroidal aromatase inhibitor), or [4] flutamide (FLUT; androgen antagonist) and ATD (n=5/group). These treatments enable isolation of androgen and estrogen activities. In the dorsal raphe, MAO-A and MAO-B expressions were determined with in situ hybridization (ISH) and protein expression of aromatase was determined with immunohistochemistry (IHC). CSF concentrations of 5HIAA, 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol (MHPG), and homovanillic acid (HVA) were determined with liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS). From the same animals, previously published data on serotonin axon density were used as a proxy for CNS serotonin. Aromatase conversion of T to estrogen (E) suppressed MAO-A (positive pixel area, p=0.0045), but androgens increased MAO-B (positive pixel area, p=0.014). CSF 5HIAA was suppressed by conversion of T to E (Cohen's d=0.6). CSF 5HIAA was positively correlated with MAO-A-positive pixel area (r(2)=0.78). CSF 5HIAA was inversely correlated with serotonin axon-positive pixel area (r(2)=0.69). In summary, CSF 5HIAA reflects MAO-A activity rather than global serotonin. Low CSF 5HIAA may, in this paradigm, reflect higher serotonin activity. Androgens lower MAO-A activity via metabolism to E, thus elevating CNS serotonin and decreasing CSF 5HIAA. Since androgens increase certain types of aggression, these data are consistent with studies demonstrating that lower MAO-A activity is associated with elevated serotonin and increased aggression.
Subject(s)
Amines/cerebrospinal fluid , Androgens/metabolism , Axons/metabolism , Monoamine Oxidase/metabolism , Serotonin/metabolism , Analysis of Variance , Androgen Antagonists/pharmacology , Androgens/pharmacology , Androstatrienes/pharmacology , Animals , Aromatase/metabolism , Aromatase Inhibitors/pharmacology , Dihydrotestosterone/pharmacology , Flutamide/pharmacology , Macaca fascicularis , Male , Monoamine Oxidase/genetics , RNA, Messenger/metabolism , Raphe Nuclei/metabolism , Testosterone/pharmacologyABSTRACT
Recent evidence suggests that the aromatization of testosterone to estrogen is important for the organizing effects of neonatal testosterone on neuroendocrine responses to acute challenges. However, the extent to which neonatal inhibition of aromatase alters the stress-induced activation of neural pathways has not been examined. Here we assessed central patterns of c-fos mRNA induced by 30 min of restraint in 65-d-old adult male rats that were implanted with sc capsules of the aromatase inhibitor 1,4,6-androstatriene-3,17-dione (ATD), introduced within 12 h of birth and removed on d 21 of weaning. Neonatal ATD decreased the expression of arginine vasopressin within extrahypothalamic regions in adults, confirming reduced estrogen exposure during development. As adults, ATD-treated animals showed higher corticosterone responses at 30 min of restraint exposure compared with control animals as well as higher c-fos expression levels in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus. ATD treatment also increased stress-induced c-fos within several limbic regions of the forebrain, in addition to areas involved in somatosensory processing. Based on these results, we propose that the conversion of testosterone to estrogen during the neonatal period exerts marked, system-wide effects to organize adult neuroendocrine responses to homeostatic threat.
Subject(s)
Aging/metabolism , Animals, Newborn/metabolism , Aromatase/deficiency , Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos/metabolism , RNA, Messenger/metabolism , Restraint, Physical/physiology , Stress, Physiological/physiology , Androstatrienes/pharmacology , Animals , Aromatase/drug effects , Aromatase Inhibitors/pharmacology , Estrogens/metabolism , Male , Models, Animal , Paraventricular Hypothalamic Nucleus/metabolism , Prosencephalon/metabolism , Rats , Rats, Sprague-Dawley , Testosterone/metabolismABSTRACT
Partner preference behavior can be viewed as the outcome of a set of hierarchical choices made by an individual in anticipation of mating. The first choice involves approaching a conspecific verses an individual of another species. As a rule, a conspecific is picked as a mating partner, but early life experiences can alter that outcome. Within a species, an animal then has the choice between a member of the same sex or the opposite sex. The final choice is for a specific individual. This review will focus on the middle choice, the decision to mate with either a male or a female. Available data from rats, mice, and ferrets point to the importance of perinatal exposure to steroid hormones in the development of partner preferences, as well as the importance of activational effects in adulthood. However, the particular effects of this hormone exposure show species differences in both the specific steroid hormone responsible for the organization of behavior and the developmental period when it has its effect. Where these hormones have an effect in the brain is mostly unknown, but regions involved in olfaction and sexual behavior, as well as sexually dimorphic regions, seem to play a role. One limitation of the literature base is that many mate or 'partner preference studies' rely on preference for a specific stimulus (usually olfaction) but do not include an analysis of the relation, if any, that stimulus has to the choice of a particular sexual partner. A second limitation has been the almost total lack of attention to the type of behavior that is shown by the choosing animal once a 'partner' has been chosen, specifically, if the individual plays a mating role typical of its own sex or the opposite sex. Additional paradigms that address these questions are needed for better understanding of partner preferences in rodents.
Subject(s)
Choice Behavior/physiology , Mating Preference, Animal , Androstatrienes/pharmacology , Animals , Castration , Choice Behavior/drug effects , Female , Ferrets , Hormones , Male , Mice , Nitromifene/pharmacology , Pair Bond , Pregnancy , Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects , Preoptic Area/drug effects , Preoptic Area/physiology , Rats , Sex Characteristics , Smell , Testosterone/pharmacologyABSTRACT
A variety of natural and synthetic environmental substances have been shown to disrupt vertebrate reproduction through mimicking or modifying the regulation of the endocrine system. Tests to screen for any such chemicals that directly interact with the steroid hormone receptors are widely available; however, few tests have been developed to identify chemicals that affect endocrine function through non-receptor mediated mechanisms. The aim of this study was, therefore, to develop an assay for the identification of substances that disrupt the activity of enzymes involved in the sex steroid biosynthesis cascade, in particular the aromatase enzyme, CYP19, that catalyses the final conversion of androgens to estrogens. A gonad ex vivo assay was developed using gonad explants harvested from juvenile brown trout and cultured in a modified Leibovitz medium. Effects on sex steroid biosynthesis were quantified through measurement of 17ß-estradiol (E2) and testosterone (T) concentrations in the medium after 2 days incubation. Exposure of ovary explants to 100 ng/mL 1,4,6-androstatriene-3,17-dione (ATD), a potent pharmaceutical aromatase inhibitor, reduced E2 concentrations and elevated T concentrations confirming that CYP19 activity could be inhibited in the assay. Exposure of ovary explants to 250 ng/mL prochloraz, an imidazole fungicide, also reduced E2 concentrations but did not affect T levels, consistent with reports that in addition to inhibiting CYP19 activity, prochloraz also inhibits enzymes in the steroidogenic pathway upstream of the CYP19 enzyme. Exposure to a third chemical, tributyltin (TBT), did not affect T or E2 concentrations, further supporting previous evidence that the CYP19 modulating effects of this chemical are not mediated through direct inhibition of CYP19 activity. These results demonstrate that the gonad ex vivo assay developed here can be successfully used to identify substances that disrupt sex steroid biosynthesis and further that it has the potential to inform on their specific mode of action.
Subject(s)
Aromatase/metabolism , Cell Culture Techniques/methods , Gonadal Steroid Hormones/biosynthesis , Gonads/cytology , Trout , Androstatrienes/pharmacology , Animals , Aromatase Inhibitors/pharmacology , Estradiol/metabolism , Female , Fungicides, Industrial/toxicity , Gonads/metabolism , Imidazoles/toxicity , Male , Testosterone/metabolism , Trialkyltin Compounds/toxicityABSTRACT
Steroidal sex hormones play an important role in the neural control of breathing. Previous studies in our laboratory have shown that gonadectomy in young male rats (3 months) eliminates a form of respiratory plasticity induced by intermittent hypoxia, known as long term facilitation (LTF). Testosterone replenishment restores LTF in gonadectomized male rats, and this is dependent on the conversion of testosterone to oestradiol by aromatase. By middle age (12 months), male rats no longer exhibit LTF of hypoglossal motor output; phrenic LTF is significantly reduced, and this persists into old age. We tested the hypothesis that LTF can be restored in old male rats by administration of testosterone. Intact Fischer 344 rats (>20 months) were implanted with Silastic tubing containing testosterone (T), T plus an aromatase inhibitor (T+ADT), or 5α-dihydrotestosterone (DHT), a form of testosterone not converted to oestradiol. One week post-surgery, LTF of hypoglossal and phrenic motor output was measured. By comparison with control rats, hypoglossal LTF was increased in testosterone-treated rats, with levels approaching that of normal young rats. LTF was not restored in T+ADT or DHT-treated rats. Aromatase levels in hypoglossal and phrenic nuclei did not change with age. As serum testosterone levels did not decline with age, local bioavailability of testosterone in old rats may be a limiting factor in the expression of this form of respiratory plasticity. Our findings suggest that testosterone supplementation could potentially be used to enhance upper airway control in the elderly.
Subject(s)
Aging/physiology , Aromatase/metabolism , Respiration , Respiratory System/metabolism , Testosterone/metabolism , Androstatrienes/pharmacology , Animals , Aromatase Inhibitors/pharmacology , Hypoglossal Nerve/drug effects , Hypoglossal Nerve/metabolism , Male , Phrenic Nerve/drug effects , Phrenic Nerve/metabolism , Rats , Rats, Inbred F344 , Respiratory System/drug effects , Testosterone/pharmacologyABSTRACT
Sex steroid hormones during development permanently alter, or organize, the brain and behavior, while during adulthood they act to reversibly modulate, or activate, physiology and behavior. Testosterone exerts both organizational and activational effects on the magnitude of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis response to acute stress. What has never been approached is how testosterone can organize habituation of the HPA axis, in which stress induced elevations in ACTH and corticosterone release decline over repeated exposures to the same stimulus. In the current study we examined HPA responses to repeated psychogenic stress in 65-day-old, adult male rats that received subcutaneous capsules containing the antiandrogen flutamide or the aromatase inhibitor 1,4,6-androstatriene-3,17-dione (ATD), introduced within 12h of birth and removed on day 21 of weaning. An additional group of castrated, adult male rats were used to differentiate organizational from activational effects of testosterone. All treatment groups displayed smaller declines in ACTH in response to repeated restraint compared to control animals. Remarkably, the normal decline in corticosterone failed to occur in flutamide- and ATD-treated animals. By contrast, males that were castrated as adults showed a significant reduction in corticosterone after repeated stress. Taken together, these findings underscore an organizing influence of both androgen receptors and estrogen conversion on HPA habituation to repeated psychogenic stress, which appears to occur independent of the activational effects of testosterone.
Subject(s)
Androgen Antagonists/pharmacology , Aromatase Inhibitors/pharmacology , Habituation, Psychophysiologic/drug effects , Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System/drug effects , Pituitary-Adrenal System/drug effects , Androstatrienes/pharmacology , Animals , Animals, Newborn , Drug Evaluation, Preclinical , Female , Flutamide/pharmacology , Habituation, Psychophysiologic/physiology , Hormones/blood , Hormones/metabolism , Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System/metabolism , Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System/physiology , Male , Maternal Behavior/physiology , Pituitary-Adrenal System/metabolism , Pituitary-Adrenal System/physiology , Rats , Rats, Sprague-Dawley , Receptors, Androgen/drug effects , Receptors, Androgen/metabolism , Signal Transduction/drug effects , Signal Transduction/physiology , Stress, Psychological/blood , Stress, Psychological/metabolismABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: In order to clarify the effect of the prenatal (PN) treatment of the drug 1,4,6-androstatriene-3,17-dione (ATD) which blocks the conversion of testosterone into estradiol on male sexual behavior of the rats offsprings, from the effect of the mild stress induced by the PN administration of the Propylene glycol (PG), the vehicle used to dissolve ATD. METHODS: Pregnant Wistar rats were divided into three groups. The CON group did not receive any kind of treatment. The other two groups (PG and ATD) were injected i.p. during gestation (days 11-22) with 0 and 5 mg of ATD, dissolved in 0.1 ml of PG, respectively, doses reported by other authors. Sexual performance of the male pups was analyzed three months later in four successive tests. RESULTS: In the first sexual test of these naive rats, the percentage of males mounting, intromitting, ejaculating and the ejaculation frequency of the ATD group decreased significantly in comparison with the CON group. Also in the first and 4th tests, mounting, intromission and ejaculation latencies, as in the post-ejaculatory refractory period, ATD group, was significantly longer in comparison with the CON group. PG males showed a male sexual behavior (MSB) similar to that observed in the ATD group, but the differences did not reach statistical significance when they were compared with the CON group. CONCLUSION: We considered that the PN stress induced by the daily administration of PG and ATD, results in a slower execution of the MSB in both groups and avoid distinguish the effect of the ATD. Then chronic PN injections, as a route of administration, could act as mild stressor and may have additive effects on drugs affecting brain sexual differentiation.
Subject(s)
Androstatrienes/pharmacology , Enzyme Inhibitors/pharmacology , Pharmaceutical Vehicles/pharmacology , Propylene Glycol/pharmacology , Sex Differentiation/drug effects , Sexual Behavior, Animal/drug effects , Stress, Psychological/complications , Androstatrienes/administration & dosage , Animals , Brain/drug effects , Brain/growth & development , Enzyme Inhibitors/administration & dosage , Female , Gestational Age , Injections, Intraperitoneal , Male , Pharmaceutical Vehicles/administration & dosage , Pregnancy , Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects/psychology , Propylene Glycol/administration & dosage , Rats , Rats, Wistar , Severity of Illness Index , Stress, Psychological/psychology , Time FactorsABSTRACT
Anabolic androgenic steroids and high testosterone doses have been reported to induce impulsive behavior in man and behavioral disinhibition in rats. The purpose of the present study was to investigate whether aromatization of testosterone to estradiol is of importance for the behavioral disinhibiting effect of a high testosterone dose in adult male rats. Testosterone administered via five testosterone-filled silastic capsules implanted subcutaneously (s.c.) to non-castrated, group-housed rats for six days induced behavioral disinhibition in a modified Vogel's drinking conflict model and yielded supraphysiological serum levels of testosterone and increased accessory sex organ weights. Moreover, concurrent administration of the aromatase inhibitor 1,4,6-androstatriene-3,17-dione (ATD; 60 mg/kg/day s.c.) decreased behavioral disinhibition in testosterone-treated rats (without affecting accessory sex organ weights) while behavior was not significantly affected in sham-treated animals. Since some reports indicate that ATD, in addition to inhibit aromatase, also may affect the binding of testosterone to the androgen receptor, the effect of the non-steroidal androgen receptor antagonist flutamide was investigated. Flutamide treatment did not affect disinhibited behavior in testosterone-treated rats. However, in sham-treated animals, flutamide (50mg/kg/day) produced behavioral disinhibition. These results suggest that estradiol is of importance in the mechanisms underlying behavioral disinhibition in non-castrated rats treated with a high testosterone dose. Speculatively, aromatization may be involved in pro-impulsive effects of high testosterone doses in humans.
Subject(s)
Androstatrienes/pharmacology , Behavior, Animal/drug effects , Estradiol/metabolism , Inhibition, Psychological , Testosterone/pharmacology , Analysis of Variance , Androgen Antagonists/pharmacology , Androgens/pharmacology , Animals , Body Weight/drug effects , Dose-Response Relationship, Drug , Drinking/drug effects , Electroshock , Epididymis/anatomy & histology , Flutamide/pharmacology , Male , Organ Size/drug effects , Radioimmunoassay , Random Allocation , Rats , Rats, Wistar , Testis/anatomy & histology , Testosterone/metabolismABSTRACT
Sex steroids play a significant role in organizing male social behavior, which is associated with low levels of pro-social behavior and high levels of aggression. However, the role of steroids in organizing behavior in highly social males is unclear. The authors tested the hypothesis that low levels of sex steroids facilitate the expression of pro-social behavior in male prairie voles (Microtus ochragaster), predicting that inhibition of testosterone and estradiol would reduce spontaneous-alloparental behavior. Treatment with the aromatase inhibitor 1,4,6-androstatriene-3,17-dione (ATD) or the androgen receptor blocker flutamide, days 8-14, significantly reduced the expression of alloparental behavior in 21-day old males. While both treatments reduced alloparental behavior and increased pup-directed aggression, there were differential treatment effects. Flutamide altered initial response, increasing latency to enter the pup cage and the likelihood of retreat from initial contact. ATD-treated males that were alloparental showed increases in sniffing and latencies to lick and huddle. Results indicate that endogenous steroids play a role in the development of male pro-social behavior and the effects of estrogens and androgens differ.
Subject(s)
Arvicolinae/physiology , Estradiol/physiology , Paternal Behavior , Testosterone/physiology , Aggression/drug effects , Analysis of Variance , Androgen Antagonists/pharmacology , Androstatrienes/pharmacology , Animals , Animals, Newborn , Brain/metabolism , Enzyme Inhibitors/pharmacology , Estrogen Receptor alpha/metabolism , Flutamide/pharmacology , Image Processing, Computer-Assisted , Immunohistochemistry , Male , Social BehaviorABSTRACT
The protandrous black porgy, Acanthopagrus schlegeli, has a striking life cycle with sex differentiation at the juvenile stage, mono-male development, and male-to-female sex change (with vitellogenic oocytes) at age 3 yr. In the present study, we investigated the possible roles of wnt4 in gonadal development in a nonmammalian model organism (protandrous black porgy), especially in relation to sex differentiation, ovarian growth, and sex change. Fish of various ages were treated with estradiol (E2) or aromatase inhibitor (AI) to determine whether manipulation of the hormonal environment had an effect on these processes. Furthermore, a natural sex change (> or =2-yr-old fish) and a nonchemical method to induce an early sex change (> or =1-yr-old fish) via the removal of testicular tissue were examined in this study. We present herein an integrative immunohistochemical, cellular, and molecular data set describing these phenomena. During gonadal sex differentiation, no increase in wnt4 expression was detected. A profile of increased wnt4 expression and decreased cyp19a1a expression was associated with ovarian growth (proliferation of oogonia and development of ovarian lamellae) in > or =1-yr-old fish. Both E2 and AI induced an increase in wnt4 transcripts and resulted in ovarian development in > or =0-yr-old and > or =1-yr-old fish. Increased wnt4 transcripts were found in ovarian tissue undergoing development from primary oocytes to vitellogenic oocytes during the natural sex change in > or =2-yr-old fish. Removal of testicular tissue in > or =1-yr-old fish resulted in successful early sex change (with vitellogenic oocytes) 6 mo after the excision. During the process of the early sex change (3 mo after testis excision), the fish ovary became active and had increased diameter of the primary oocytes; this was in accord with increased ovarian wnt4 expression but not sf1, foxl2, and genes in the steroidogenic pathway, including cyp19a1a. Wnt4 staining further confirmed the profile of wnt4 expression associated with ovarian development. The results of the present study suggest that wnt4 has important roles in late ovarian growth (e.g., oogonia proliferation and structure of ovarian lamellae) and the natural sex change (vitellogenic oocytes) in the protandrous black porgy.
Subject(s)
Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental/genetics , Hermaphroditic Organisms , Ovary/growth & development , Sex Determination Processes/genetics , Sex Differentiation/genetics , Wnt Proteins/genetics , Analysis of Variance , Androstatrienes/pharmacology , Animals , Aromatase/genetics , Aromatase/metabolism , Aromatase Inhibitors/pharmacology , Cytochrome P-450 CYP11B2/genetics , Cytochrome P-450 CYP11B2/metabolism , Estradiol/analysis , Estradiol/pharmacology , Estrogens/pharmacology , Female , Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental/drug effects , Immunohistochemistry , In Situ Hybridization , Male , Ovary/chemistry , Ovary/drug effects , Ovary/metabolism , Perciformes/genetics , Perciformes/growth & development , Perciformes/metabolism , RNA, Messenger/drug effects , RNA, Messenger/genetics , RNA, Messenger/metabolism , Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction , Sex Determination Processes/metabolism , Sex Differentiation/drug effects , Sexual Maturation/drug effects , Sexual Maturation/genetics , Testis/chemistry , Testis/growth & development , Testis/metabolism , Wnt Proteins/metabolism , Wnt4 ProteinABSTRACT
Estradiol impacts a wide variety of brain processes, including sex differentiation, mood, and learning. Here we show that estradiol regulates auditory processing of acoustic signals in the vertebrate brain, more specifically in the caudomedial nidopallium (NCM), the songbird analog of the mammalian auditory association cortex. Multielectrode recordings coupled with local pharmacological manipulations in awake animals reveal that both exogenous and locally generated estradiol increase auditory-evoked activity in NCM. This enhancement in neuronal responses is mediated by suppression of local inhibitory transmission. Surprisingly, we also found that estradiol is both necessary and sufficient for the induction of multiple mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK)-dependent genes thought to be required for synaptic plasticity and memorization of birdsong. Specifically, we show that local blockade of estrogen receptors or aromatase activity in awake birds decrease song-induced MAPK-dependent gene expression. Infusions of estradiol in acoustically isolated birds induce transcriptional activation of these genes to levels comparable with song-stimulated animals. Our results reveal acute and rapid nongenomic functions for estradiol in central auditory physiology and suggest that such roles may be ubiquitously expressed across sensory systems.
Subject(s)
Brain , Estradiol/pharmacology , Estrogens/pharmacology , Gene Expression Regulation/drug effects , Inhibitory Postsynaptic Potentials/drug effects , Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Kinases/metabolism , Neuronal Plasticity/drug effects , Acoustic Stimulation/methods , Action Potentials/drug effects , Action Potentials/physiology , Analysis of Variance , Androstatrienes/pharmacology , Animals , Bicuculline/pharmacology , Biophysics , Brain/cytology , Brain/drug effects , Brain/physiology , Dose-Response Relationship, Drug , Electric Stimulation/methods , Enzyme Inhibitors/pharmacology , Estrogen Antagonists/pharmacology , Evoked Potentials, Auditory/drug effects , Evoked Potentials, Auditory/physiology , Female , Finches , Fourier Analysis , Functional Laterality/drug effects , Functional Laterality/physiology , GABA Antagonists/pharmacology , Gene Expression Regulation/physiology , Immediate-Early Proteins/genetics , Immediate-Early Proteins/metabolism , In Vitro Techniques , Inhibitory Postsynaptic Potentials/physiology , Male , Microinjections/methods , Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Kinases/genetics , Neuronal Plasticity/physiology , Patch-Clamp Techniques/methods , Psychoacoustics , Tamoxifen/pharmacology , Time Factors , WakefulnessABSTRACT
The orphan G protein coupled receptor, GPR30, has the characteristics of a high affinity, specific estrogen membrane receptor on Atlantic croaker oocytes and mediates estrogen inhibition of oocyte maturation in this perciform fish. In order to determine the broad applicability of these findings to other teleosts, similar experiments were conducted in a cyprinid fish, zebrafish, in the present study. GPR30 mRNA expression was detected in zebrafish oocytes but not in the ovarian follicular cells. Both spontaneous and 17, 20beta-dihyroxy-4-pregnen-3-one (DHP)-induced maturation of follicle-enclosed zebrafish oocytes was significantly decreased when they were incubated with either estradiol-17beta, or the GPR30 agonists, ICI 182 780 and tamoxifen, or with the GPR30 specific agonist G-1. On the other hand spontaneous oocyte maturation increased two-fold when zebrafish ovarian follicles were incubated with an aromatase inhibitor, ATD. Moreover, the stimulatory effects of ATD on germinal vesicle breakdown (GVBD) were partially reversed by co-treatment with 100 nM of E2 or G-1. These results suggest that endogenous estrogens acting through GPR30 are involved in maintaining meiotic arrest of zebrafish oocytes.
Subject(s)
Estradiol/metabolism , Oocytes/physiology , Receptors, Estradiol/physiology , Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled/physiology , Zebrafish Proteins/physiology , Androstatrienes/pharmacology , Animals , Aromatase Inhibitors/pharmacology , Cyclopentanes/pharmacology , Estradiol/analogs & derivatives , Estradiol/pharmacology , Female , Fulvestrant , Hydroxyprogesterones/pharmacology , Quinolines/pharmacology , Receptors, Estradiol/agonists , Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled/agonists , Tamoxifen/pharmacology , ZebrafishABSTRACT
Paced mating reduces the aversive properties and increases the positive characteristics of mating, inducing a reward state. Pacing is able to induce conditioned place preference (CPP), whereas nonpaced mating does not. The authors hypothesized that the aversive properties of mating are caused by androgens from adjacent males or from the mother during fetal life. To test whether aromatization of androgens induces the aversive properties of mating, female rats were treated perinatally with 1,4,6-androstatriene-3, 17-dione (ATD) to inhibit aromatization. When adults, these females were ovariectomized and hormonally primed to evaluate CPP after paced and nonpaced mating. During paced mating, control females showed higher return latencies after ejaculation, whereas ATD-treated females did not show a similar increase. In CPP tests, both paced and nonpaced mating induced a reward state in ATD-treated females, whereas only paced mating induced a reward state in control females. These results show that the perinatal inhibition of aromatization enhances the rewarding properties of mating, suggesting that estradiol induced the aversive properties of mating and/or modified the perinatal organization of the neuronal pathways in females.
Subject(s)
Aromatase/metabolism , Conditioning, Operant/physiology , Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects , Reward , Sexual Behavior, Animal/physiology , Analysis of Variance , Androstatrienes/pharmacology , Animals , Aromatase Inhibitors/pharmacology , Behavior, Animal/drug effects , Conditioning, Operant/drug effects , Female , Male , Ovariectomy/methods , Pregnancy , Rats , Rats, Sprague-Dawley , Reaction Time/drug effects , Reaction Time/physiology , Sexual Behavior, Animal/drug effectsABSTRACT
Copulatory behaviors in most rodents are highly sexually dimorphic, even when circulating hormones are equated between the sexes. Prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster) are monomorphic in their display of some social behaviors, including partner preferences and parenting, but differences between the sexes in their masculine and feminine copulatory behavior potentials have not been studied in detail. Furthermore, the role of neonatal aromatization of testosterone to estradiol on the development of prairie vole sexual behavior potentials or their brain is unknown. To address these issues, prairie vole pups were injected daily for the first week after birth with 0.5 mg of the aromatase inhibitor 1,4,6-androstatriene-3,17-dione (ATD) or oil. Masculine and feminine copulatory behaviors in response to testosterone or estradiol were later examined in both sexes. Males and females showed high mounting and thrusting in response to testosterone, but only males reliably showed ejaculatory behavior. Conversely, males never showed feminine copulatory behaviors in response to estradiol. Sex differences in these behaviors were not affected by neonatal ATD, but ATD-treated females received fewer mounts and thrusts than controls, possibly indicating reduced attractiveness to males. In other groups of subjects, neonatal ATD demasculinized males' tyrosine hydroxylase expression in the anteroventral periventricular preoptic area, and estrogen receptor alpha expression in the medial preoptic area. Thus, although sexual behavior in both sexes of prairie voles is highly masculinized, aromatase during neonatal life is necessary only for females' femininity. Furthermore, copulatory behavior potentials and at least some aspects of brain development in male prairie voles are dissociable by their requirement for neonatal aromatase.