Neurotrophic factors in the posterodorsal medial amygdala of male and cycling female rats.
Brain Res Bull
; 155: 92-101, 2020 02.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-31812781
ABSTRACT
The posterodorsal medial amygdala (MePD) has a high concentration of receptors for gonadal hormones, is a sexually dimorphic region and dynamically controls the reproductive behavior of both males and females. Neurotrophic factors can promote dendritic spine remodeling and change synaptic input strength in a region-specific manner. Here, we analyzed the gene and protein expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-1), polysialylated neural cell adhesion molecule (PSA-NCAM) and Ephrin-A4 in the MePD of adult males and females in diestrus, proestrus and estrus using real-time qPCR and fluorescent immunohistochemistry. The first approach showed their amplification except for Igf1 and the latter revealed that BDNF, IGF-1, PSA-NCAM and Ephrin-A4 are expressed in the MePD of the adult rats. Protein expression of these neurotrophic factors showed no differences between groups. However, proestrus females displayed a higher number of labelled puncta than males for BDNF expression and diestrus females for IGF-1 expression. In conjunction, results indicate that IGF-1 might be released rather than synthetized in the MePD, and the expression of specific neurotrophic factors varies specifically during proestrus. The dynamic modulation of BDNF and IGF-1 during this cyclic phase is coincident with synaptic changes and spine density remodeling in the MePD, the disinhibition of gonadotrophin secretion for ovulation and the display of sexual behavior.
Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Ciclo Estral
/
Complexo Nuclear Corticomedial
/
Fatores de Crescimento Neural
Limite:
Animals
Idioma:
En
Ano de publicação:
2020
Tipo de documento:
Article