Estrogen modulates the sexually dimorphic synaptic connectivity of the ventromedial nucleus

Journal of Comparative Neurology

Volumn 484, Issue 1, 2005, Pages 68-79

  Sá, Susana I ^a   Madeira, M Dulce ^a  

^a Porto Medical School   (Portugal)

Author keywords

Estrus cycle; Hypothalamus; Sex differences; Stereology; Synaptic plasticity; VMN

Indexed keywords

ESTROGEN;

ANIMAL CELL; ANIMAL EXPERIMENT; ANIMAL TISSUE; ARTICLE; DENDRITIC CELL; DIESTRUS; ELECTRON MICROSCOPY; ESTROGEN ACTIVITY; ESTRUS CYCLE; FEMALE; HYPOTHALAMUS; MALE; NERVE CELL; NERVE CELL PLASTICITY; NERVE FIBER; NONHUMAN; PRIORITY JOURNAL; RAT; SENSORY NERVE; SEX DIFFERENCE; STEREOMETRY; SYNAPSE; THALAMUS VENTRAL NUCLEUS;

ANIMALS; CELL COUNT; CELL SIZE; ESTRADIOL; ESTROGENS; ESTROUS CYCLE; FEMALE; MALE; MICROSCOPY, ELECTRON; NEURAL PATHWAYS; NEURONS; RATS; SEX CHARACTERISTICS; SYNAPSES; VENTROMEDIAL HYPOTHALAMIC NUCLEUS;

EID: 14644422707     PISSN: 00219967     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1002/cne.20451     Document Type: Article

References (67)

1. Baddeley AJ, Gundersen HJG, Cruz-Orive LM. 1986. Estimation of surface area from vertical sections. J Microsc 142:259-276.
2. Bleier R, Cohn P, Siggelkow IR. 1979. A cytoarchitectonic atlas of the hypothalamus and hypothalamic third ventricle of the rat. In: Morgane PJ, Panskaap J, editors. The handbook of the hypothalamus, vol. 1. Anatomy of the hypothalamus. New York: Dekker. p 137-220.
3. Braendgaard H, Gundersen HJG. 1986. The impact of recent stereological advances on quantitative studies of the nervous system. J Neurosci Methods 18:39-78.
4. Butcher RL, Collins WE, Fugo NW. 1974. Plasma concentrations of LH, FSH, prolactin, progesterone and estradiol-17β throughout the 4-day estrous cycle of the rat. Endocrinology 94:1704-1708.
5. Calizo LH, Flanagan-Cato LM. 2000. Estrogen selectively regulates spine density within the dendritic arbor of rat ventromedial hypothalamic neurons. J Neurosci 20:1589-1596.
6. Canteras NS, Swanson LW. 1992. Projections of the ventral subiculum to the amygdala, septum, and hypothalamus: a PHAL anterograde tract-tracing study in the rat. J Comp Neurol 324:180-194.
7. Canteras NS, Simerly RB, Swanson LW. 1992. Connections of the posterior nucleus of the amygdala. J Comp Neurol 324:143-179.
8. Canteras NS, Simerly RB, Swanson LW. 1994. Organization of projections from the ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus: a Phaseolus vulgaris-leucoagglutinin study in the rat. J Comp Neurol 348:41-79.
9. Canteras NS, Simerly RB, Swanson LW. 1995. Organization of projections from the medial nucleus of the amygdala: a PHLA study in the rat. J Comp Neurol 360:213-245.
10. Carrer HF, Aoki A. 1982. Ultrastructural changes in the hypothalamic ventromedial nucleus of ovariectomized rats after estrogen treatment. Brain Res 240:221-233.
11. Cohen RS, Pfaff DW. 1981. Ultrastructure of neurons in the ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus in ovariectomized rats with or without estrogen treatment. Cell Tissue Res 217:451-470.
12. Cohen RS, Chung SK, Pfaff DW. 1984. Alteration by estrogen of the nucleoli in nerve cells of the rat hypothalamus. Cell Tissue Res 235:485-489.
13. Colonnier M. 1968. Synaptic patterns on different cell types in the different laminae of the cat visual cortex. An electron microscope study. Brain Res 9:268-287.
14. Curcio CA, Hinds JW. 1983. Stability of synaptic density and spine volume in dentate gyrus of aged rats. Neurobiol Aging 4:77-87.
15. deToledo-Morrell L, Geinisman Y, Morrell F. 1988. Individual differences in hippocampal synaptic plasticity as a function of aging: behavioral, electrophysiological and morphological evidence. In: Petit TL, Ivy G, editors. Neural plasticity: a lifespan approach. New York: Liss. p 283-328.
16. Frankfurt M, McEwen BS. 1991a. 5,7-Dihydroxytryptamine and gonadal steroid manipulation alter spine density in ventromedial hypothalamic neurons. Neuroendocrinology 54:653-657.
17. Frankfurt M, McEwen BS. 1991b. Estrogen increases axodendritic synapses in the VMN of rats after ovariectomy. NeuroReport 2:380-382.
18. Frankfurt M, Gould E, Wooley CS, McEwen BS. 1990. Gonadal steroids modify dendritic spine density in ventromedial hypothalamic neurons: a Golgi study in the adult rat. Neuroendocrinology 51:530-535.
19. Geinisman Y, Gundersen HJG, Van Der Zee E, West MJ. 1996. Unbiased stereological estimation of the total number of synapses in a brain region. J Neurocytol 25:805-819.
20. Gray EG, Guillery RW. 1966. Synaptic morphology in the normal and degenerating nervous system. Int Rev Cytol 19:111-182.
21. Gundersen HJG. 1986. Stereology of arbitrary particles: a review of unbiased number and size estimators and the presentation of some new ones, in memory of William R. Thompson. J Microsc 143:3-45.
22. Gundersen HJG. 1988. The nucleator. J Microsc 151:3-21.
23. Gundersen HJG, Jensen EB. 1987. The efficiency of systematic sampling in stereology and its prediction. J Microsc 147:29-63.
24. Harris KM, Stevens JK. 1989. Dendritic spines of CA1 pyramidal cells in the rat hippocampus: serial electron microscopy with reference to their biophysical characteristics. J Neurosci 9:2982-2987.
25. Heimer L, Nauta WJH. 1969. The hypothalamic distribution of the stria terminalis in the rat. Brain Res 13:284-297.
26. Hering H, Sheng M. 2001. Dendritic spines: structure, dynamics and regulation. Nat Rev Neurosci 2:880-888.
27. Jones KJ, Pfaff DW, McEwen BS. 1985. Early estrogen-induced nuclear changes in rat hypothalamic ventromedial neurons: an ultrastructural and morphometric analysis. J Comp Neurol 239:255-266.
28. Kasai H, Matsuzaki M, Noguchi J, Yasumatsu N, Nakahara H. 2003. Structure-stability-function relationships of dendritic spines. Trends Neurosci 26:360-368.
29. Langub MC Jr, Maley BE, Watson RE Jr. 1994. Estrous cycle-associated axosomatic plasticity upon estrogen receptive neurons in the rat preoptic area. Brain Res 641:303-310.
30. Leal S, Andrade JP, Paula-Barbosa MM, Madeira MD. 1998. Arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus: effects of age and sex. J Comp Neurol 401:65-88.
31. Ling EA, Paterson JA, Privat A, Mori S, Leblond CP. 1973. Investigation of glial cells in semithin sections. I. Identification of glial cells in the brain of young rats. J Comp Neurol 149:43-72.
32. Madeira MD, Lieberman AR. 1995. Sexual dimorphism in the mammalian limbic system. Prog Neurobiol 45:275-333.
33. Madeira MD, Paula-Barbosa MM. 1993. Reorganization of mossy fiber synapses in male and female hypothyroid rats: a stereological study. J Comp Neurol 337:334-352.
34. Madeira MD, Leal S, Paula-Barbosa MM. 1999. Stereological evaluation and Golgi study of the sexual dimorphisms in the volume, cell numbers, and cell size in the medial preoptic nucleus of the rat. J Neurocytol 28:131-148.
35. Madeira MD, Ferreira-Silva LP, Paula-Barbosa MM. 2001. Influence of sex and estrus cycle on the sexual dimorphisms of the hypothalamic ventromedial nucleus: stereological evaluation and Golgi study. J Comp Neurol 432:329-345.
36. Matsumoto A, Arai Y. 1980. Sexual dimorphism in "wiring pattern" in the hypothalamic arcuate nucleus and its modification by neonatal hormonal environment. Brain Res 190:238-242.
37. Matsumoto A, Arai Y. 1983. Sex differences in the volume of the ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus in the rat. Endocr Jpn 30:277-280.
38. Matsumoto A, Arai Y. 1986a. Development of sexual dimorphism in synaptic organization in the ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus in rats. Neurosci Lett 68:165-168.
39. Matsumoto A, Arai Y. 1986b. Male-female difference in synaptic organization of the ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus in the rat. Neuroendocrinology 42:232-236.
40. McEwen BS, Woolley CS. 1994. Estradiol and progesterone regulate neuronal structure and synaptic connectivity in adult as well as developing brain. Exp Gerontol 29:431-436.
41. Miller LDP, Aoki A. 1991. Stereological analysis of the hypothalamic ventromedial nucleus. II. Hormone-induced changes in the synaptogenic pattern. Dev Brain Res 61:189-196.
42. Millhouse OE. 1978. The organization of the ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus. Brain Res 55:71-87.
43. Morrell JI, Pfaff DW. 1983. Immunocytochemistry of steroid hormone receiving cells in the CNS. Methods Enzymol 103:639-662.
44. Nishizuka M, Pfaff DW. 1989. Intrinsic synapses in the ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus: an ultrastructural study. J Comp Neurol 286:260-268.
45. Nyengaard JR, Gundersen HJG. 1992. The isector: a simple and direct method for generating isotropic, uniform random sections from small specimens. J Microsc 165:427-431.
46. Olmos G, Naftolin F, Pérez J, Tranque PA, Garcia-Segura LM. 1989. Synaptic remodeling in the rat arcuate nucleus during the estrous cycle. Neuroscience 32:663-667.
47. Oorschot DE. 1994. Are you using neuronal densities, synaptic densities or neurochemical densities as your definitive data? There is a better way to go. Prog Neurobiol 44:233-247.
48. Pérez J, Naftolin F, Garcia-Segura LM. 1990. Sexual differentiation of synaptic connectivity and neuronal plasma membrane in the arcuate nucleus of the rat hypothalamus. Brain Res 527:116-122.
49. Pfaff DW, Keiner M. 1973. Atlas of estradiol-concentrating cells in the central nervous system of the female rat. J Comp Neurol 151:121-158.
50. Raisman G, Field PM. 1973. Sexual dimorphism in the neuropil of the preoptic area of the rat and its dependence on neonatal androgen. Brain Res 54:1-29.
51. Rubin BS, Barfield RJ. 1980. Priming of estrous responsiveness by implants of 17β-estradiol in the ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus of female rats. Endocrinology 106:504-509.
52. Saper CB, Swanson LW, Cowan WM. 1978. The efferent connections of the anterior hypothalamic area of the rat, cat and monkey. J Comp Neurol 182:575-600.
53. Schikorski T, Stevens CF. 1997. Quantitative ultrastructural analysis of hippocampal excitatory synapses. J Neurosci 17:5858-5867.
54. Schmitz C. 1997. Towards more readily comprehensible procedures in disector stereology. J Neurocytol 26:707-710.
55. Segal M. 2001. Rapid plasticity of dendritic spine: hints to possible functions? Prog Neurobiol 63:61-70.
56. Shughrue PJ, Lane MV, Merchenthaler I. 1997. Comparative distribution of estrogen receptor-α and -β mRNA in the rat central nervous system. J Comp Neurol 388:507-525.
57. Simerly RB. 1995. Anatomical substrates of hypothalamic integration. In: Paxinos G, editor. The rat nervous system. San Diego: Academic Press, p 353-376.
58. Simerly RB. 2002. Wired reproduction: organization and development of sexually dimorphic circuits in the mammalian forebrain. Annu Rev Neurosci 25:507-536.
59. Simerly RB, Swanson LW. 1988. Projections of the medial preoptic nucleus: a Phaseolus vulgaris leucoagglutinin anterograde tract-tracing study in the rat. J Comp Neurol 270:209-242.
60. Simerly RB, Chang C, Muramatsu M, Swanson LW. 1990. Distribution of androgen and estrogen receptor mRNA-containing cells in the rat brain: an in situ hybridization study. J Comp Neurol 294:76-95.
61. Small JV. 1968. Measurement of section thickness. In: Bocciarelli DS, editor. Proceedings 4th European Congress of Electron Microscopy, vol. 1. Roma: Tipografia Poliglotta Vaticana. p 609.
62. Sorra KE, Harris KM. 2000. Overview on the structure, composition, function, development, and plasticity of hippocampal dendritic spines. Hippocampus 10:501-511.
63. Sterio DC. 1984. The unbiased estimation of number and sizes of arbitrary particles using the disector. J Microsc 134:127-136.
64. Trachtenberg JT, Chen BE, Knott GW, Feng G, Sanes JR, Welker E, Svoboda K. 2002. Long-term in vivo imaging of experience-dependent synaptic plasticity in adult cortex. Nature 420:788-794.
65. Uchizono K. 1965. Characteristics of excitatory and inhibitory synapses in the central nervous system of the cat. Nature 207:642-643.
66. Westrum LE, Blackstad TW. 1962. An electron microscopic study of the stratum radiatum of the rat hippocampus (region superior, CA1) with particular emphasis on synaptology. J Comp Neurol 119:281-309.
67. Woolley CS, McEwen BS. 1992. Estradiol mediates fluctuation in hippocampal synapses density during the estrous cycle in the adult rat. J Neurosci 12:2549-2554.