DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Circadian Regulation of Female Reproductive Endocrinology

论文研究：女性生殖内分泌的昼夜节律调节

• 批准号: 0909716
• 负责人: Horacio de la Iglesia
• 金额: $ 1.4万
• 依托单位: University of Washington
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2009
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2009-07-01 至 2011-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0909716&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: DISSERTATION; RESEARCH; Circadian; Regulation; Female

Over the last 30 years, it has become clear that female reproductive cycles, including the timing of ovulation, depend on a both hormonal signals from the ovaries (e.g. estradiol, progesterone), and on precise timing signals from the brain's internal, daily clock - the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN); without an SCN, animals stop ovulating, and disturbances of the clock (e.g. shifting light schedules, such as in jetlag) cause reproductive disorders. The importance of the SCN in ovulation is clear, but how the SCN connects to and communicates with reproductive centers remains unknown. Using specific light schedules that challenge the clock of rats, researchers are now constructing the first map linking the SCN "clock" to the reproductive system. This brain map will include specific cells within the SCN responsible for the timing signals of ovulation, the reproductive brain centers they connect to, and the chemical signals used in these connections. If successful, this map will provide a more complete understanding of how ovulation is controlled by the brain, as well as how the SCN clock controls other timing events through the brain. The study will not only answer the question of how the clock controls ovulation, but it will also further our general knowledge of how the brain controls female reproduction, opening further questions for these fields.The researchers involved have a history of scientific outreach activities. They help to organize and run three Brain Awareness Week annual festivals, each bringing 500+ local K-12 students to the University of Washington campus for a day of lectures and educational games and interactive exhibits. Over the past two years, the researchers have made twelve visits to local Seattle classrooms in public, private and special needs schools, where they exposed potential future scientists to behavioral neuroscience research. From these experiences they have developed free on-line lesson plans to help other scientists and educators, which to date have been downloaded by more than 3,000 visitors to the web site.

在过去的30年里，很明显，女性的生殖周期，包括排卵的时间，取决于来自卵巢的两种激素信号(例如雌二醇和孕酮)，以及来自大脑内部的日常时钟-视交叉上核(SCN)的精确定时信号；如果没有视交叉上核(SCN)，动物就会停止排卵，时钟的紊乱(例如光表的变化，如时差)会导致生殖障碍。SCN在排卵中的重要性是显而易见的，但SCN如何与生殖中心连接和通信仍不清楚。利用挑战老鼠生物钟的特定光时间表，研究人员现在正在构建第一张将SCN“时钟”与生殖系统联系起来的地图。这张脑图将包括SCN中负责排卵时间信号的特定细胞，它们连接的生殖大脑中心，以及这些连接中使用的化学信号。如果成功，这张图谱将提供更完整的了解，了解排卵是如何由大脑控制的，以及SCN时钟如何通过大脑控制其他计时事件。这项研究不仅将回答时钟如何控制排卵的问题，还将进一步加深我们对大脑如何控制女性生殖的一般知识，为这些领域打开更多的问题。参与研究的研究人员有科学推广活动的历史。他们帮助组织和运营了三个大脑意识周年度节日，每个节日都会吸引500多名当地的K-12学生到华盛顿大学校园参加一天的讲座、教育游戏和互动展品。在过去的两年里，研究人员12次访问了西雅图当地公立、私立和有特殊需要的学校的教室，在那里他们让潜在的未来科学家接触到了行为神经科学研究。从这些经验中，他们开发了免费的在线教案，以帮助其他科学家和教育工作者，到目前为止，已有3000多名访问者下载了该网站。