Involvement of Lateral Habenula Dysfunction in Repetitive Mild Traumatic Brain Injury-Induced Motivational Deficits.

Affective disorders including depression (characterized by reduced motivation, social withdrawal, and anhedonia), anxiety, and irritability are frequently reported as long-term consequences of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) in addition to cognitive deficits, suggesting a possible dysregulation within mood/motivational neural circuits. One of the important brain regions that control motivation and mood is the lateral habenula (LHb), whose hyperactivity is associated with depression. Here, we used a repetitive closed-head injury mTBI model that is associated with social deficits in adult male mice and explored the possible long-term alterations in LHb activity and motivated behavior 10-18 days post-injury. We found that mTBI increased the proportion of spontaneous tonically active LHb neurons yet decreased the proportion of LHb neurons displaying bursting activity. Additionally, mTBI diminished spontaneous glutamatergic and GABAergic synaptic activity onto LHb neurons, while synaptic excitation and inhibition (E/I) balance was shifted toward excitation through a greater suppression of GABAergic transmission. Behaviorally, mTBI increased the latency in grooming behavior in the sucrose splash test suggesting reduced self-care motivated behavior following mTBI. To show whether limiting LHb hyperactivity could restore motivational deficits in grooming behavior, we then tested the effects of Gi (hM4Di)-DREADD-mediated inhibition of LHb activity in the sucrose splash test. We found that chemogenetic inhibition of LHb glutamatergic neurons was sufficient to reverse mTBI-induced delays in grooming behavior. Overall, our study provides the first evidence for persistent LHb neuronal dysfunction due to an altered synaptic integration as causal neural correlates of dysregulated motivational states by mTBI.

Behavioural actions of tuberoinfundibular peptide 39 (parathyroid hormone 2).

Tuberoinfundibular peptide of 39 residues (TIP39) acts via its endogenous class B G-protein coupled receptorthe parathyroid hormone 2 receptor (PTH2R). Hence, it is also known as parathyroid hormone 2. The peptide is expressed in the brain by a small number of neurons with a highly restricted distribution, which in turn project to a large number of brain regions that contain PTH2R. This peptide neuromodulator system has been extensively investigated over the past 20 years including its behavioural actions, such as its role in the control of nociception, fear and fear incubation, anxiety and depression-like behaviours, and maternal and social behaviours. It also influences thermoregulation and potentially auditory responses. TIP39 probably exerts direct effect on the neuronal networks controlling these behaviours based on the localization of PTH2R and local TIP39 actions. In addition, TIP39 also affects the secretion of several hypothalamic hormones providing the basis for indirect behavioural actions. Recently developed experimental tools have stimulated further behavioural investigations, and novel results obtained are discussed in this review.

Potentiation of glutamatergic synaptic transmission onto lateral habenula neurons following early life stress and intravenous morphine self-administration in rats.

Early life stress presents an important risk factor for drug addiction and comorbid depression and anxiety through persistent effects on the mesolimbic dopamine pathways. Using an early life stress model for child neglect (a single 24 h episode of maternal deprivation, MD) in rats, recent published works from our lab show that MD induces dysfunction in the ventral tegmental area and its negative controller, the lateral habenula (LHb). MD-induced potentiation of glutamatergic synaptic transmission onto LHb neurons shifts the coordination of excitation/inhibition (E/I) balance towards excitation, resulting in an increase in the overall spontaneous neuronal activity with elevation in bursting and tonic firing, and in the intrinsic excitability of LHb neurons in early adolescent male rats. Here, we explored how MD affects intravenous morphine self-administration (MSA) acquisition and sucrose preference as well as glutamatergic synaptic function in LHb neurons of adult male rats self-administering morphine. We found that MD-induced increases in LHb neuronal and glutamatergic synaptic activity and E/I ratio persisted into adulthood. Moreover, MD significantly reduced morphine intake, triggered anhedonia-like behaviour in the sucrose preference test and was associated with persistent glutamatergic potentiation 24 h after the last MSA session. MSA also altered the decay time kinetics of α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA) receptor (AMPAR) currents in LHb neurons of control rats during this time period. Our data highlight that early life stress-induced glutamatergic plasticity in LHb may dampen the positive reinforcing and motivational properties of both natural rewards and opioids, and may contribute to the development of anhedonia and dysphoric states associated with opioids.

Vendor differences in anxiety-like behaviors in female and male Sprague Dawley rats.

Although Sprague Dawley outbred rats are commonly used in behavioral, physiological, and pharmacological studies, dramatic differences in responses may emerge from rats obtained from different suppliers even when sex, age, and environmental conditions are maintained constant. In the present study, we compared behavioral responses on three tests related to anxiety of Sprague Dawley female and male rats obtained from three different vendors in the United States: Charles River, Envigo, and Taconic. All rats were tested in the open field, light-dark box, and elevated zero maze. We found reduced time spent in the center area of the open field and decreased light compartment duration in the light-dark box test in female and male rats from Taconic compared to Charles River and Envigo rats, suggesting anxiety-like behaviors differ between the three vendors. No vendor differences were found on performance in the elevated zero maze. Furthermore, the contribution of stress hormones to vendor differences was examined by measuring serum corticosterone levels in rats 30 min after exposure to the elevated zero maze. There were no vendor differences in corticosterone levels, suggesting that endogenous levels of stress hormones most likely did not contribute to vendor differences in anxiety-like behaviors. Collectively, these findings highlight the importance of vendor selection of the Sprague Dawley stock for research involving behavioral tests related to anxiety.

Sex differences in the modulation of mouse nest building behavior by kappa opioid receptor signaling.

Emerging evidence suggests that females are less sensitive than males to the effects of kappa opioid receptor (KOR) ligands across multiple behavioral measures. The effects of the KOR agonist U50,488 and the KOR antagonist aticaprant were assessed on nest building behavior, an ethologically relevant indicator of overall well-being and affect, in adult male and female C57BL/6J mice. Females required a higher dose of U50,488 to suppress nesting, and a higher dose of aticaprant to restore U50,488-induced impairment of nesting. Females also required a higher dose of aticaprant to decrease immobility scores in the forced swim test. Pretreatment with the estrogen receptor modulator tamoxifen, at a dose which blocked estrogen receptors, augmented the effect of U50,488 on nesting in female mice, suggesting that estrogen receptors play a key role in attenuating the effects of KOR ligands in female mice. Together, these results suggest that females are less sensitive to KOR mediation, requiring a higher dose to achieve comparable results to males. This behavioral sensitivity, as measured by nesting, may be mediated by estrogen receptors. Together these studies highlight the importance of comparing sex differences in response to KOR regulation on behaviors related to affective states.

Neurolastin, a dynamin family GTPase, translocates to mitochondria upon neuronal stress and alters mitochondrial morphology in vivo.

Neurolastin is a dynamin family GTPase that also contains a RING domain and exhibits both GTPase and E3 ligase activities. It is specifically expressed in the brain and is important for synaptic transmission, as neurolastin knockout animals have fewer dendritic spines and exhibit a reduction in functional synapses. Our initial study of neurolastin revealed that it is membrane-associated and partially co-localizes with endosomes. Using various biochemical and cell-culture approaches, we now show that neurolastin also localizes to mitochondria in HeLa cells, cultured neurons, and brain tissue. We found that the mitochondrial localization of neurolastin depends upon an N-terminal mitochondrial targeting sequence and that neurolastin is imported into the mitochondrial intermembrane space. Although neurolastin was only partially mitochondrially localized at steady state, it displayed increased translocation to mitochondria in response to neuronal stress and mitochondrial fragmentation. Interestingly, inactivation or deletion of neurolastin's RING domain also increased its mitochondrial localization. Using EM, we observed that neurolastin knockout animals have smaller but more numerous mitochondria in cerebellar Purkinje neurons, indicating that neurolastin regulates mitochondrial morphology. We conclude that the brain-specific dynamin GTPase neurolastin exhibits stress-responsive localization to mitochondria and is required for proper mitochondrial morphology.

The Role of Estrogen Receptor ß in the Dorsal Raphe Nucleus on the Expression of Female Sexual Behavior in C57BL/6J Mice.

17ß-Estradiol (E2) regulates the expression of female sexual behavior by acting through estrogen receptor (ER) α and ß. Previously, we have shown that ERß knockout female mice maintain high level of lordosis expression on the day after behavioral estrus when wild-type mice show a clear decline of the behavior, suggesting ERß may be involved in inhibitory regulation of lordosis. However, it is not identified yet in which brain region(s) ERß may mediate an inhibitory action of E2. In this study, we have focused on the dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN) that expresses ERß in higher density than ERα. We site specifically knocked down ERß in the DRN in ovariectomized mice with virally mediated RNA interference method. All mice were tested weekly for a total of 3 weeks for their lordosis expression against a stud male in two consecutive days: day 1 with the hormonal condition mimicking the day of behavioral estrus, and day 2 under the hormonal condition mimicking the day after behavioral estrus. We found that the level of lordosis expression in ERß knockdown (ßERKD) mice was not different from that of control mice on day 1. However, ßERKD mice continuously showed elevated levels of lordosis behavior on day 2 tests, whereas control mice showed a clear decline of the behavior on day 2. These results suggest that the expression of ERß in the DRN may be involved in the inhibitory regulation of sexual behavior on the day after behavioral estrus in cycling female mice.

Estrogen and oxytocin involvement in social preference in male mice: a study using a novel long-term social preference paradigm with aromatase, estrogen receptor-α and estrogen receptor-ß, oxytocin, and oxytocin receptor knockout male mice.

Certain aspects of social behavior help animals make adaptive decisions during encounters with other animals. When mice choose to approach another conspecific, the motivation and preference behind the interaction is not well understood. Estrogen and oxytocin are known to influence a wide array of social behaviors, including social motivation and social preference. The present study investigated the effects of estrogen and oxytocin on social preference using aromatase (ArKO), estrogen receptor (ER) α (αERKO), ERß (ßERKO), oxytocin (OTKO), oxytocin receptor (OTRKO) knockout and their respective wild-type (WT) male mice. Mice were presented with gonadally-intact versus castrated male (IC), intact male versus ovariectomized female (IF), or intact male versus empty cage (IE) stimuli sets for 5 days. ArWT showed no preference for either stimuli in IC and IF and intact male preference in IE, but ArKO mice preferred a castrated male or an ovariectomized female, or had no preference for either stimulus in IC, IF and IE stimuli sets, respectively, suggesting reduced intact male preference. α and ß WT mice preferred a castrated male, showed no preference, and preferred an intact male in IC, IF and IE, respectively. αERKO mice displayed similar modified social preference patterns as ArKO, whereas the social preference of ßERKO mice remained similar to ßWT. OTWT preferred a castrated male whereas OTKO, OTRWT and OTRKO mice failed to show any preference in IC and none showed preference for either stimuli in IF. Collectively, these findings suggest that estrogen regulates social preference in male mice and that impaired social preference in oxytocin-deficient mice may be due to severe deficits in social recognition.

Incubation of Fear Is Regulated by TIP39 Peptide Signaling in the Medial Nucleus of the Amygdala.

Fear-related psychopathologies such as post-traumatic stress disorder are characterized by impaired extinction of fearful memories. Recent behavioral evidence suggests that the neuropeptide tuberoinfundibular peptide of 39 residues (TIP39), via its receptor, the parathyroid hormone 2 receptor (PTH2R), modulates fear memory. Here we examined the anatomical and cellular localization of TIP39 signaling that contributes to the increase in fear memory over time following a traumatic event, called fear memory incubation. Contextual freezing, a behavioral sign of fear memory, was significantly greater in PTH2R knock-out than wild-type male mice 2 and 4 weeks after a 2 s 1.5 mA footshock. PTH2R knock-out mice had significantly reduced c-Fos activation in the medial amygdala (MeA) following both footshock and fear recall, but had normal activation in the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus and the amygdalar central nucleus compared with wild-type. We therefore investigated the contribution of MeA TIP39 signaling to fear incubation. Similar to the effect of global TIP39 signaling loss, blockade of TIP39 signaling in the MeA by lentivirus-mediated expression of a secreted PTH2R antagonist augmented fear incubation. Ablation of MeA PTH2R-expressing neurons also strengthened the fear incubation effect. Using the designer receptor exclusively activated by designer drug pharmacogenetic approach, transient inhibition of MeA PTH2R-expressing neurons before or immediately after the footshock, but not at the time of fear recall, enhanced fear incubation. Collectively, the findings demonstrate that TIP39 signaling within the MeA at the time of an aversive event regulates the increase over time in fear associated with the event context. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: Fear-related psychopathologies such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are characterized by excessive responses to trauma-associated cues. Fear responses can increase over time without additional cue exposure or stress. This work shows that modulatory processes within the medial nucleus of the amygdala near the time of a traumatic event influence the strength of fear responses that occur much later. The modulatory processes include signaling by the neuropeptide TIP39 and neurons that express its receptor. These findings will help in the understanding of why traumatic events sometimes have severe psychological consequences. One implication is that targeting neuromodulation in the medial amygdala could potentially help prevent development of PTSD.

Regional difference in sex steroid action on formation of morphological sex differences in the anteroventral periventricular nucleus and principal nucleus of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis.

Sex steroid action is critical to form sexually dimorphic nuclei, although it is not fully understood. We previously reported that masculinization of the principal nucleus of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNSTp), which is larger and has more neurons in males than in females, involves aromatized testosterone that acts via estrogen receptor-α (ERα), but not estrogen receptor-ß (ERß). Here, we examined sex steroid action on the formation of the anteroventral periventricular nucleus (AVPV) that is larger and has more neurons in females. Morphometrical analysis of transgenic mice lacking aromatase, ERα, or ERß genes revealed that the volume and neuron number of the male AVPV were significantly increased by deletion of aromatase and ERα genes, but not the ERß gene. We further examined the AVPV and BNSTp of androgen receptor knockout (ARKO) mice. The volume and neuron number of the male BNSTp were smaller in ARKO mice than those in wild-type mice, while no significant effect of ARKO was found on the AVPV and female BNSTp. We also examined aromatase, ERα, and AR mRNA levels in the AVPV and BNSTp of wild-type and ARKO mice on embryonic day (ED) 18 and postnatal day (PD) 4. AR mRNA in the BNSTp and AVPV of wild-type mice was not expressed on ED18 and emerged on PD4. In the AVPV, the aromatase mRNA level was higher on ED18, although the ERα mRNA level was higher on PD4 without any effect of AR gene deletion. Aromatase and ERα mRNA levels in the male BNSTp were significantly increased on PD4 by AR gene deletion. These results suggest that estradiol signaling via ERα during the perinatal period and testosterone signaling via AR during the postnatal period are required for masculinization of the BNSTp, whereas the former is sufficient to defeminize the AVPV.

Anxiety- and depression-like behavior and impaired neurogenesis evoked by peripheral neuropathy persist following resolution of prolonged tactile hypersensitivity.

Pain and depression are frequently associated with and often persist after resolution of an initial injury. Identifying the extent to which depression remains causally associated with ongoing physical discomfort during chronic pain, or becomes independent of it, is an important problem for basic neuroscience and psychiatry. Difficulty in distinguishing between effects of ongoing aversive sensory input and its long-term consequences is a significant roadblock, especially in animal models. To address this relationship between localized physical discomfort and its more global consequences, we investigated cellular and behavioral changes during and after reversing a mouse model of neuropathic pain. Tactile allodynia produced by placing a plastic cuff around the sciatic nerve resolved within several days when the cuff was removed. In contrast, the changes in elevated O-maze, forced-swim, Y-maze spontaneous alternation and novel-object recognition test performance that developed after nerve cuff placement remained for at least 3 weeks after the nerve cuffs were removed, or 10-15 d following complete normalization of mechanical sensitivity. Hippocampal neurogenesis, measured by doublecortin and proliferating cell nuclear antigen expression, was also suppressed after nerve cuff placement and remained suppressed 3 weeks after cuff removal. FosB expression was elevated in the central nucleus of the amygdala and spinal cord dorsal horn only in mice with ongoing allodynia. In contrast, FosB remained elevated in the basolateral amygdala of mice with resolved nociception and persisting behavioral effects. These observations suggest that different processes control tactile hypersensitivity and the behavioral changes and impaired neurogenesis that are associated with neuropathic allodynia.

Modification of female and male social behaviors in estrogen receptor beta knockout mice by neonatal maternal separation.

Maternal separation (MS) is an animal model mimicking the effects of early life stress on the development of emotional and social behaviors. Recent studies revealed that MS stress increased social anxiety levels in female mice and reduced peri-pubertal aggression in male mice. Estrogen receptor (ER) ß plays a pivotal role in the regulation of stress responses and anxiety-related and social behaviors. Behavioral studies using ERß knockout (ßERKO) mice reported increased social investigation and decreased social anxiety in ßERKO females, and elevated aggression levels in ßERKO males compared to wild-type (WT) mice. In the present study, using ßERKO and WT mice, we examined whether ERß contributes to MS effects on anxiety and social behaviors. ßERKO and WT mice were separated from their dam daily (4 h) from postnatal day 1-14 and control groups were left undisturbed. First, MS and ERß gene deletion individually increased anxiety-related behaviors in the open field test, but only in female mice. Anxiety levels were not further modified in ßERKO female mice subjected to MS stress. Second, ßERKO female mice showed higher levels of social investigation compared with WT in the social investigation test and long-term social preference test. However, MS greatly reduced social investigation duration and elevated number of stretched approaches in WT and ßERKO females in the social investigation test, suggesting elevated levels of social anxiety in both genotypes. Third, peri-pubertal and adult ßERKO male mice were more aggressive than WT mice as indicated by heightened aggression duration. On the other hand, MS significantly decreased aggression duration in both genotypes, but only in peri-pubertal male mice. Altogether, these results suggest that ßERKO mice are sensitive to the adverse effects of MS stress on subsequent female and male social behaviors, which could then have overrode the ERß effects on female social anxiety and male aggression.

Sex and estrogen receptor expression influence opioid peptide levels in the mouse hippocampal mossy fiber pathway.

The opioid peptides, dynorphin (DYN) and enkephalin (L-ENK) are contained in the hippocampal mossy fiber pathway where they modulate synaptic plasticity. In rats, the levels of DYN and L-ENK immunoreactivity (-ir) are increased when estrogen levels are elevated (Torres-Reveron et al., 2008, 2009). Here, we used quantitative immunocytochemistry to examine whether opioid levels are similarly regulated in wildtype (WT) mice over the estrous cycle, and how these compared to males. Moreover, using estrogen receptor (ER) alpha and beta knock-out mice (AERKO and BERKO, respectively), the present study examined the role of ERs in rapid, membrane-initiated (6 h), or slower, nucleus-initiated (48 h) estradiol effects on mossy fiber opioid levels. Unlike rats, the levels of DYN and L-ENK-ir did not change over the estrous cycle. However, compared to males, females had higher levels of DYN-ir in CA3a and L-ENK-ir in CA3b. In WT and BERKO ovariectomized (OVX) mice, neither DYN- nor L-ENK-ir changed following 6 or 48 h estradiol benzoate (EB) administration. However, DYN-ir significantly increased 48 h after EB in the dentate gyrus (DG) and CA3b of AERKO mice only. These findings suggest that cyclic hormone levels regulate neither DYN nor L-ENK levels in the mouse mossy fiber pathway as they do in the rat. This may be due to species-specific differences in the mossy fiber pathway. However, in the mouse, DYN levels are regulated by exogenous EB in the absence of ERα possibly via an ERß-mediated pathway requiring new gene transcription.

Collapsin response mediator protein 4 affects the number of tyrosine hydroxylase-immunoreactive neurons in the sexually dimorphic nucleus in female mice.

In the sexually dimorphic anteroventral periventricular nucleus (AVPV) of the hypothalamus, females have a greater number of tyrosine hydroxylase-immunoreactive (TH-ir) and kisspeptin-immunoreactive (kisspeptin-ir) neurons than males. In this study, we used proteomics analysis and gene-deficient mice to identify proteins that regulate the number of TH-ir and kisspeptin-ir neurons in the AVPV. Analysis of protein expressions in the rat AVPV on postnatal day 1 (PD1; the early phase of sex differentiation) using two-dimensional fluorescence difference gel electrophoresis followed by MALDI-TOF-MS identified collapsin response mediator protein 4 (CRMP4) as a protein exhibiting sexually dimorphic expression. Interestingly, this sexually differential expressions of CRMP4 protein and mRNA in the AVPV was not detected on PD6. Prenatal testosterone exposure canceled the sexual difference in the expression of Crmp4 mRNA in the rat AVPV. Next, we used CRMP4-knockout (CRMP4-KO) mice to determine the in vivo function of CRMP4 in the AVPV. Crmp4 knockout did not change the number of kisspeptin-ir neurons in the adult AVPV in either sex. However, the number of TH-ir neurons was increased in the AVPV of adult female CRMP4-KO mice as compared with the adult female wild-type mice. During development, no significant difference in the number of TH-ir neurons was detected between sexes or genotypes on embryonic day 15, but a female-specific increase in TH-ir neurons was observed in CRMP4-KO mice on PD1, when the sex difference was not yet apparent in wild-type mice. These results indicate that CRMP4 regulates the number of TH-ir cell number in the female AVPV.

Differential effects of site-specific knockdown of estrogen receptor α in the medial amygdala, medial pre-optic area, and ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus on sexual and aggressive behavior of male mice.

Testosterone is known to play an important role in the regulation of male-type sexual and aggressive behavior. As an aromatised metabolite of testosterone, estradiol-induced activation of estrogen receptor α (ERα) may be crucial for the induction of these behaviors in male mice. However, the importance of ERα expressed in different nuclei for this facilitatory action of testosterone has not been determined. To investigate this issue, we generated an adeno-associated virus vector expressing a small hairpin RNA targeting ERα to site-specifically knockdown ERα expression. We stereotaxically injected either a control or ERα targeting vector into the medial amygdala, medial pre-optic area (MPOA), or ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus (VMN) in gonadally intact male mice. Two weeks after injection, all mice were tested biweekly for sexual and aggressive behavior, alternating between behavior tests each week. We found that suppressing ERα in the MPOA reduced sexual but not aggressive behavior, whereas in the VMN it reduced both behaviors. Knockdown of ERα in the medial amygdala did not alter either behavior. Additionally, it was found that ERα knockdown in the MPOA caused a parallel reduction in the number of neuronal nitric oxide synthase-expressing cells. Taken together, these results indicate that the testosterone facilitatory action on male sexual behavior requires the expression of ERα in both the MPOA and VMN, whereas the testosterone facilitatory action on aggression requires the expression of ERα in only the VMN.

Long-lasting consequences of neonatal maternal separation on social behaviors in ovariectomized female mice.

Maternal separation (MS) stress is known to induce long-lasting alterations in emotional and anxiety-related behaviors, but effects on social behaviors are not well defined. The present study examined MS effects on female social behaviors in the social investigation (SIT) and social preference (SPT) tests, in addition to non-social behaviors in the open-field (OFT) and light-dark transition (LDT) tests in C57BL/6J mice. All females were tested as ovariectomized to eliminate confounding effects of endogenous estrogen during behavioral testing. Daily MS (3 hr) from postnatal day 1 to 14 did not affect anxiety levels in LDT, but were elevated in OFT with modified behavioral responses to the novel environment. Furthermore, MS altered social investigative behaviors and preference patterns toward unfamiliar stimulus mice in SIT and short- and long-term SPT paradigms. In SIT, MS reduced social investigation duration and increased number of stretched approaches towards both female and male unfamiliar stimulus mice, suggesting increased social anxiety levels in MS females. Similarly, MS heightened levels of social anxiety during short-term SPT but no MS effect on social preference was found. On the other hand, MS females displayed a distinctive preference for female stimuli, unlike control females, when tested for long-term SPT over a prolonged period of 5 days. Evaluation of FosB expression in the paraventricular nucleus, medial and central amygdala following stimulus exposure demonstrated greater number of FosB immunopositive cells in all three brain regions in MS females compared to control females. These results suggest that MS females might differ in neuroendocrine responses toward unfamiliar female and male opponents, which may be associated with modifications in social behaviors found in the present study. Taken together, this study provides new evidence that early life stress modifies female social behaviors by highlighting alterations in behavioral responses to situations involving social as well as non-social novelty.

Effects of aromatase or estrogen receptor gene deletion on masculinization of the principal nucleus of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis of mice.

The principal nucleus of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNSTp) is a sexually dimorphic nucleus, and the male BNSTp is larger and has more neurons than the female BNSTp. To assess the roles of neuroestrogen synthesized from testicular androgen by brain aromatase in masculinization of the BNSTp, we performed morphometrical analyses of the adult BNSTp in aromatase knockout (ArKO), estrogen receptor-α knockout (αERKO), and estrogen receptor-ß knockout (ßERKO) mice and their respective wild-type littermates. In wild-type littermates, the BNSTp of males had a larger volume and greater numbers of neuronal and glial cells than did that of females. The volume and neuron number of the BNSTp in ArKO and αERKO males and glial cell number of the BNSTp in αERKO males were significantly smaller than those of wild-type male littermates, and they were not significantly different from those in female mice with either gene knockout. In contrast, there was no significant morphological difference in the BNSTp between ßERKO and wild-type mice. Next, we examined the BNSTp of ArKO males subcutaneously injected with estradiol benzoate (EB) on postnatal days 1, 2, and 3 (1.5 µg/day). EB-treated ArKO males had a significantly greater number of BNSTp neurons than did oil-treated ArKO males. The number of BNSTp neurons in EB-treated ArKO males was comparable to that in wild-type males. These findings suggested that masculinization of the BNSTp in mice involves the actions of neuroestrogen that was synthesized by aromatase and that this estrogen mostly binds to ERα during the postnatal period.

Early life stress disrupts peripubertal development of aggression in male mice.

To investigate the effects of early life stress on the development of social behaviors in male mice, we examined behavioral responses toward same sex stimulus mice in the social investigation test and aggressive behaviors in peripubertal male mice exposed to maternal separation (MS) during the first 2 weeks of life. MS suppressed aggressive behaviors from 5-9 weeks of age, but had no effect on social investigative behaviors in the social investigation test. Investigation of neuroendocrine bases of behavioral effects of MS showed that MS reduced plasma testosterone levels and decreased arginine vasopressin and increased oxytocin immunoreactivity in the paraventricular nucleus of peripubertal males. These results collectively suggest that early life stress disrupts the development of male aggressive behaviors and associated neuroendocrine systems.

Hormonal regulation of prolactin cell development in the fetal pituitary gland of the mouse.

The developmental process of prolactin (PRL) cells in the fetal pituitary gland was studied in mice. Although PRL cells were hardly detectable in the pituitary gland of intact fetuses, a treatment with 17beta-estradiol (E(2)) in vitro induced a number of PRL cells that varied drastically in number depending on the stage of gestation with a peak at embryonic d 15. This effect was specific to E(2), with epidermal growth factor, insulin, and forskolin failing to induce PRL cells. Although both estrogen receptor (ER)alpha and ERbeta were expressed in the fetal pituitary gland, the results from ER knockout models showed that only ERalpha mediates E(2) action on PRL cells. A few PRL cells were observed in ERalpha-deficient mice as well as in their control littermates, suggesting that estrogen is not required for the phenotype determination of PRL cells. Unexpectedly, the effect of E(2) on the induction of PRL cells in vitro was diminished after embryonic d 15. Present results suggest that the exposure of fetal PRL cells to glucocorticoids (GCs) results in a reduction of sensitivity to E(2). The mechanism underlying the down-regulation of estrogen sensitivity by GCs was found not to be down-regulation of ER levels, induction of annexin 1, a GC-inducible inhibitor of PRL secretion, or a decrease in the number of PRL precursors by apoptosis. The effect of GCs appeared within 2 h and did not require a de novo protein synthesis. GCs are considered to be involved in the mechanisms of silencing pituitary PRL in gestation possibly through a novel mechanism.