Female sexual behavior is disrupted in a preclinical mouse model of PCOS via an attenuated hypothalamic nitric oxide pathway.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A
; 119(30): e2203503119, 2022 07 26.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-35867816
ABSTRACT
Women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) frequently experience decreased sexual arousal, desire, and sexual satisfaction. While the hypothalamus is known to regulate sexual behavior, the specific neuronal pathways affected in patients with PCOS are not known. To dissect the underlying neural circuitry, we capitalized on a robust preclinical animal model that reliably recapitulates all cardinal PCOS features. We discovered that female mice prenatally treated with anti-Müllerian hormone (PAMH) display impaired sexual behavior and sexual partner preference over the reproductive age. Blunted female sexual behavior was associated with increased sexual rejection and independent of sex steroid hormone status. Structurally, sexual dysfunction was associated with a substantial loss of neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS)-expressing neurons in the ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus (VMH) and other areas of hypothalamic nuclei involved in social behaviors. Using in vivo chemogenetic manipulation, we show that nNOSVMH neurons are required for the display of normal sexual behavior in female mice and that pharmacological replenishment of nitric oxide restores normal sexual performance in PAMH mice. Our data provide a framework to investigate facets of hypothalamic nNOS neuron biology with implications for sexual disturbances in PCOS.
Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Síndrome do Ovário Policístico
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Comportamento Sexual
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Núcleo Hipotalâmico Ventromedial
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Óxido Nítrico Sintase Tipo I
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Óxido Nítrico
Tipo de estudo:
Prognostic_studies
Limite:
Animals
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A
Ano de publicação:
2022
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
França