Linked Life Data

9047279

Source:http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/id/9047279

Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
4
pubmed:dateCreated
1997-6-5
pubmed:abstractText
It is well established that gonadal steroids mediate sexual differentiation of the brain via direct effects on neurons during a restricted critical period. In addition, estrogen can influence glial morphology in the adult brain, and in vitro studies suggest estrogen induces glial differentiation. However, there is a lack of in vivo evidence for steroid effects on glia during the critical period. We report here a hormone-mediated sexual differentiation of arcuate glia as early as Postnatal Day 1. Using glial fibrillary acidic protein immunoreactivity (GFAP-ir), we compared the responsiveness of astroglia in the rat arcuate nucleus among five hormonally different groups. The results indicate increased GFAP-ir cell surface area 24 hr after hormonal manipulation in castrate males compared to intact males, intact females (ANOVA; P < 0.01), and females injected with testosterone propionate (50 microg; ANOVA; P < 0.05). However, astroglia in intact males extended their processes significantly greater distances from the cell body compared to all other treatment groups (ANOVA; P < 0.01). The GFAP-ir cells were categorized into four distinct classes ranging from a simple bipolar to a fully stellate morphology. The frequency distribution of classes varied between groups with more stellate cells found in intact males. Finally, these sex differences in arcuate glia persisted into adulthood. We hypothesize that during the critical period, testosterone, or its metabolite estrogen, induce sexual differentiation of glia. We further hypothesize that in females glial cells remain partially undifferentiated and this may be important to glial plasticity seen in adult female arcuate.
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Dec
pubmed:issn
0018-506X
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:volume
30
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
553-62
pubmed:dateRevised
2003-11-14
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
1996
pubmed:articleTitle
Evidence for sexual differentiation of glia in rat brain.
pubmed:affiliation
Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Center for Studies in Reproduction, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore 21201, USA.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article