Title :

Male minipuberty involves the gonad-independent activation of preoptic nNOS neurons

Author(s) :

Delli, Virginia [Auteur]
Dehame, Julien [Auteur]
Franssen, Delphine [Auteur]
Rasika, Sowmyalakshmi [Auteur]
Lille Neurosciences & Cognition - U 1172 [LilNCog]
FHU 1 000 jours pour la santé
Parent, Anne-Simone [Auteur]
Prevot, Vincent [Auteur]
FHU 1 000 jours pour la santé
Lille Neurosciences & Cognition (LilNCog) - U 1172
Chachlaki, Konstantina [Auteur]
Lille Neurosciences & Cognition - U 1172 [LilNCog]
FHU 1 000 jours pour la santé
Aghia Sophia Children's Hospital

Journal title :

Free Radical Biology and Medicine

Abbreviated title :

Free Radic Biol Med

Volume number :

194

Pages :

199-208

Publisher :

Elsevier

Publication date :

2023-01

ISSN :

0891-5849

English keyword(s) :

Hypothalamus
Estrogen
Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH)
Neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS)
minipuberty

HAL domain(s) :

Sciences du Vivant [q-bio]

English abstract : [en]

Background The maturation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis is crucial for the establishment of reproductive function. In female mice, neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) activity appears to be key for ...
Show more >Background The maturation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis is crucial for the establishment of reproductive function. In female mice, neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) activity appears to be key for the first postnatal activation of the neural network promoting the release of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH), i.e. minipuberty. However, in males, the profile of minipuberty as well as the role of nNOS-expressing neurons remain unexplored. Methods nNOS-deficient and wild-type mice were studied during postnatal development. The expression of androgen (AR) and estrogen receptor alpha (ERα) as well as nNOS phosphorylation were evaluated by immunohistochemistry in nNOS neurons in the median preoptic nucleus (MePO), where most GnRH neuronal cell bodies reside, and the hormonal profile of nNOS-deficient male mice was assessed using previously established radioimmunoassay and ELISA methods. Gonadectomy and pharmacological manipulation of ERα were used to elucidate the mechanism of minipubertal nNOS activation and the maturation of the HPG axis. Results In male mice, minipubertal FSH release occurred at P23, preceding the LH surge at P30, when balanopreputial separation occurs. Progesterone and testosterone remained low during minipuberty, increasing around puberty, whereas estrogen levels were high throughout postnatal development. nNOS neurons showed a sharp increase in Ser1412 phosphorylation of nNOS at P23, a phenomenon that occurred even in the absence of the gonads. In male mice, nNOS neurons did not appear to express AR, but abundantly expressed ERα throughout postnatal development. Selective pharmacological blockade of ERα during the infantile period blunted Ser1412 phosphorylation of nNOS at P23. Conclusions Our results show that the timing of minipuberty differs in male mice when compared to females, but as in the latter, nNOS activity in the preoptic region plays a role in this process. Additionally, akin to male non-human primates, the profile of minipuberty in male mice is shaped by sex-independent mechanisms, and possibly involves extragonadal estrogen sources.Show less >

Language :

Anglais

Peer reviewed article :

Oui

Audience :

Internationale

Popular science :

Non

ANR Project :

Vieillissement et démence: un rôle hormonal?

Administrative institution(s) :

Université de Lille
Inserm
CHU Lille

Collections :

• Lille Neurosciences & Cognition (LilNCog) - U 1172

Submission date :

2024-01-16T00:09:44Z
2025-02-18T14:15:01Z