This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Purchase Article View Shopping Cart Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Request Copyright Permission Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Roy, B. N. Articles by Van Vugt, D. A. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Roy, B. N. Articles by Van Vugt, D. A.

The Effects of Estrogen and Progesterone on Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone and Arginine Vasopressin Messenger Ribonucleic Acid Levels in the Paraventricular Nucleus and Supraoptic Nucleus of the Rhesus Monkey

Departments of Physiology (B.N.R., D.A.V.V.) and Obstetrics and Gynecology (R.L.R., D.A.V.V.), Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada K7L 3N6

Address all correspondence and requests for reprints to: Dean Van Vugt, Ph.D., Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 3022 Etherington Hall, Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada K7L 3N6. E-mail: vanvugtd{at}post.queensu.ca

Ovarian steroids increase hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity and sensitize the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian (HPO) axis to stress-induced inhibition. The present study investigated the effect of ovarian steroids on CRH and arginine vasopressin (AVP) messenger RNA (mRNA) levels in the rhesus monkey hypothalamus, as both neuropeptides have been shown to stimulate the HPA axis and inhibit the HPO axis in this species. This was accomplished by measuring CRH and AVP mRNA in the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) and supraoptic nucleus (SON) by in situ hybridization histochemistry. Menstrual cycles were simulated in ovariectomized (OVX) rhesus monkeys by sequential addition and removal of SILASTIC brand (Dow Corning Corp.) tubing containing either 17ß-estradiol (E₂) or progesterone (P₄). On the morning of day 11 of the simulated follicular phase (E₂ alone) or day 21 of the luteal phase (E₂ + P₄), animals were anesthetized, and the brains were perfused with paraformaldehyde via the carotid artery. Coronal sections (30 µm) were cut, and mRNA for CRH and AVP in the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) and supraoptic nucleus (SON) were semiquantified by in situ hybridization. CRH mRNA in the PVN of E₂-replaced OVX animals (n = 7) was 2-fold greater than that in untreated OVX controls (n = 4), whereas CRH mRNA after E₂ + P₄ (n = 4) was no different from that in controls (optical density ± SEM, 0.38 ± 0.06, 0.13 ± 0.08, and 0.14 ± 0.09 for OVX + E₂, OVX + E₂ + P₄, and OVX, respectively; P = 0.02). CRH in the SON was undetectable. In contrast to CRH, AVP mRNA in the PVN and the SON was similar in the three treatment groups. We conclude that E₂ and E₂ + P₄ replacement to OVX monkeys exert different effects on CRH and AVP gene expression, as estrogen stimulation of CRH mRNA in the PVN was abrogated by progesterone, whereas no effect of ovarian steroids on AVP mRNA in either the PVN or SON was observed. We postulate that ovarian steroid regulation of CRH synthesis and release may in part explain the central nervous system mechanisms by which ovarian steroids affect the HPA and HPO axes during basal and stress conditions.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				A. Kapoor and S. G. Matthews Prenatal Stress Modifies Behavior and Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal Function in Female Guinea Pig Offspring: Effects of Timing of Prenatal Stress and Stage of Reproductive Cycle Endocrinology, December 1, 2008; 149(12): 6406 - 6415. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. S. Lalmansingh and R. M. Uht Estradiol Regulates Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone Gene (crh) Expression in a Rapid and Phasic Manner that Parallels Estrogen Receptor-{alpha} and - Recruitment to a 3',5'-Cyclic Adenosine 5'-Monophosphate Regulatory Region of the Proximal crh Promoter Endocrinology, January 1, 2008; 149(1): 346 - 357. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. Suzuki and R. J. Handa Regulation of Estrogen Receptor-{beta} Expression in the Female Rat Hypothalamus: Differential Effects of Dexamethasone and Estradiol Endocrinology, August 1, 2004; 145(8): 3658 - 3670. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. Heitkemper, M. Jarrett, E. F. Bond, and L. Chang Impact of Sex and Gender on Irritable Bowel Syndrome Biol Res Nurs, July 1, 2003; 5(1): 56 - 65. [Abstract] [PDF]

				V. Viau, P. Lee, J. Sampson, and J. Wu A Testicular Influence on Restraint-Induced Activation of Medial Parvocellular Neurons in the Paraventricular Nucleus in the Male Rat Endocrinology, July 1, 2003; 144(7): 3067 - 3075. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. C. Scallet, M. Wofford, J. C. Meredith, W. T. Allaben, and S. A. Ferguson Dietary Exposure to Genistein Increases Vasopressin but Does Not Alter {beta}-Endorphin in the Rat Hypothalamus Toxicol. Sci., April 1, 2003; 72(2): 296 - 300. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				X. Ni, R. C. Nicholson, B. R. King, E.-C. Chan, M. A. Read, and R. Smith Estrogen Represses whereas the Estrogen-Antagonist ICI 182780 Stimulates Placental CRH Gene Expression J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab., August 1, 2002; 87(8): 3774 - 3778. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				H. F. Figueiredo, C. M. Dolgas, and J. P. Herman Stress Activation of Cortex and Hippocampus Is Modulated by Sex and Stage of Estrus Endocrinology, July 1, 2002; 143(7): 2534 - 2540. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				E. Xiao, L. Xia-Zhang, M. Ferin, and S. L. Wardlaw Differential Effects of Estradiol on the Adrenocorticotropin Responses to Interleukin-6 and Interleukin-1 in the Monkey Endocrinology, July 1, 2001; 142(7): 2736 - 2741. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]