SEXUAL STIMULATION ACTIVATES C-FOS WITHIN ESTROGEN-CONCENTRATING REGIONS OF THE FEMALE RAT FOREBRAIN
SEXUAL STIMULATION ACTIVATES C-FOS WITHIN ESTROGEN-CONCENTRATING REGIONS OF THE FEMALE RAT FOREBRAIN
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DOI：
10.1016/0006-8993(93)90085-2
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发表时间：
1993-10-08
期刊：
影响因子：
2.9
通讯作者：
PFAFF, DW
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
PFAUS, JG;KLEOPOULOS, SP;PFAFF, DW
集中雌激素和孕激素的大脑区域被认为通过改变基因表达和神经对传入刺激的敏感性来调节女性的性行为。我们用免疫细胞化学和原位杂交检测c-fos基因表达的雌激素集中区的前脑后，各种类型的性刺激，有或没有激素治疗。卵巢切除大鼠在测试前48 h注射苯甲酸雌二醇和4 h注射孕酮。在测试前至少5个月切除卵巢的对照组大鼠没有接受激素治疗。然后将大鼠放入具有性活跃雄性的双层试验室中，接受侧腹的手动刺激，用玻璃棒接受阴道宫颈刺激，或留在其饲养笼中。在雌激素处理的大鼠中，交配伴随插入和射精，或者在雌激素处理的大鼠和对照大鼠中刺激阴道宫颈，在雌激素集中区域，如外侧隔、内侧视前区、终纹床核、下丘脑室旁核、下丘脑腹内侧、外侧缰核和内侧杏仁核，产生显著的c-fos mRNA和Fos样免疫反应性诱导，此外，还包括不易聚集雌激素的区域，如新皮质、丘脑和纹状体。在这些大鼠中，机械刺激侧腹产生较小的Fos诱导，而单独的激素治疗没有影响。这些数据表明，传入感觉刺激，而不是雌激素或孕激素，调节c-fos基因的表达在不同的雌激素集中和非集中区域的雌性大鼠前脑。
Regions of the brain that concentrate estrogen and progesterone are thought to regulate female sexual behavior by altering gene expression and neural sensitivity to afferent stimulation. We used immunocytochemistry and in situ hybridization to examine c-fos gene expression within estrogen-concentrating regions of the forebrain following various types of sexual stimulation with or without hormone treatment. Ovariectomized rats received injections of estradiol benzoate 48 h and progesterone 4 h before testing. Control rats that had been ovariectomized at least 5 months before testing did not receive hormone treatment. Rats were then either placed into bilevel testing chambers with sexually vigorous males, received manual stimulation of the flanks, received vaginocervical stimulation with a glass rod, or were left in their home cages. Copulation with intromission and ejaculation in hormone-treated rats, or stimulation of the vaginal cervix in both hormone-treated and control rats, produced a dramatic induction of c-fos mRNA and Fos-like immunoreactivity in estrogen-concentrating regions, such as the lateral septum, medial preoptic area, bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus, ventromedial hypothalamus, lateral habenula, and medial amygdala, in addition to regions that do not readily concentrate estrogen, such as the neocortex, thalamus, and striatum. Mechanical stimulation of the flanks produced a smaller induction of Fos in these rats, whereas hormone treatment alone had no effect. These data demonstrate that afferent sensory stimulation, but not estrogen or progesterone, regulates c-fos gene expression within different estrogen-concentrating and non-concentrating regions of the female rat forebrain.