Visualization of the sexual differentiation in the sexually dimorphic nucleus of the preoptic area.

雄性视前区性二形核（SDN-POA）比雌性大，但其性别分化的机制尚不清楚，只是围产期雄激素和/或雌激素引起雄性典型核的形成。我们最近发现增强型绿色荧光蛋白（EGFP）在雌激素受体α基因启动子的控制下在SDN-POA中表达。本研究表明，神经迁移在SDN-POA的性分化中起着关键作用，以可视化的SDN-POA在体内和体外的核发生。

The sexually dimorphic nucleus in the preoptic area (SDN-POA) is larger in males than in females, however the mechanism of sexual differentiation of this structure remains largely unknown, except that androgen and/or estrogen during perinatal period cause the establishment of male-typical nuclei. We have shown recently that enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) is expressed in the SDN-POA under the control of an estrogen receptor α gene promoter. The present study suggested that neural migration plays a key role in the sexual differentiation of the SDN-POA to visualize the nucleogenesis of the SDN-POA in vivo and in vitro.