Role of Estrogen in Stimulated Water Intake

描述（由申请人提供）：体液稳态通过综合激素和行为机制（包括饮水）维持。关于这个主题的大多数研究都是在雄性动物模型中进行的。然而，越来越清楚的是，女性对脱水的反应与男性不同。事实上，人们普遍认为雌激素调节水分摄入量是对脱水的反应。尽管这一普遍的协议，有冲突的发现，雌激素的作用，在具体的脱水挑战的反应。此外，激素操作的方法学差异使这些研究难以评估。更重要的是，我们对雌激素影响水摄入量的神经机制和中枢通路知之甚少。大多数研究已经检查了这个问题，使用血管紧张素II的中央管理，以刺激水的摄入。虽然这些研究的结果提供了令人信服的证据，中央雌激素/血管紧张素II相互作用的控制水的摄入量，目前还不清楚这种相互作用是否涉及更多的生理刺激的水的摄入量。 因此，本提案的目标是区分雌激素对饮酒行为的影响，并确定激素影响雌性啮齿动物口渴的机制。通过这样做，我们将测试的整体假设，雌激素和血管紧张素II之间的中央相互作用的基础上的生理刺激的水摄入量的雌激素的影响。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Body fluid homeostasis is maintained by integrated hormonal and behavioral mechanisms, including water intake. The majority of research on this topic has been done in male animal models. However, it is becoming increasingly clear that females respond differently to dehydration than do males. In fact, there is general agreement that estrogen modulates water intake in response to dehydration. Despite this general agreement, there are conflicting findings about the role of estrogen in the responses to specific dehydrational challenges. In addition, methodological differences in hormonal manipulations make these studies difficult to assess. More importantly, very little is known about the neural mechanisms and central pathways underlying the effect of estrogen on water intake. Most studies that have examined this issue have used central administration of angiotensin II to stimulate water intake. Although results from these studies provide compelling evidence for a central estrogen/angiotensin II interaction in the control of water intake, it is unclear whether such an interaction is involved in more physiological stimuli for water intake. Accordingly, the goals of the present proposal are to distinguish estrogen effects on drinking behavior and ascertain the mechanism by which the hormone affects the thirst of female rodents. By doing so, we will test the overall hypothesis that central interactions between estrogen and angiotensin II underlie the effect of estrogen on physiologically stimulated water intake.