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The Effect of Perinatal Blockade of Androgen Receptors on Adult Rat Behaviors and the Expression of Estrogen and Androgen Receptors in specific brain regions
Author(s) -
Gopalan Chaya,
Colley Zach,
Niepoetter Paige,
Waller Christopher,
Cashikar Anil
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.2019.33.1_supplement.738.21
Subject(s) - medicine , endocrinology , estrous cycle , open field , androgen , estrogen , blockade , androgen receptor , amygdala , receptor , testosterone (patch) , estrogen receptor , hypothalamus , ovariectomized rat , hippocampus , flutamide , biology , hormone , prostate cancer , cancer , breast cancer
The brain, by default, differentiates into a female brain unless testosterone (T) is present during a critical window of time. In rats, there is a surge of T around the time of birth, more specifically four days prior to and four days after birth, referred to as the perinatal period. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of blockade of androgen receptors (AR) during the perinatal period using flutamide (F) on sexual motivation (SM) and an open field (OF) test as well as the expression of AR and estrogen receptors (ER)‐alpha and ER‐beta in the hypothalamus, hippocampus, and amygdala. Four timed‐pregnant rats were divided into two groups: one group (N=2) received F during perinatal period whereas the other group (N=2) served as the control group receiving vehicle (95% Olive oil‐5% ethanol). Once the pups reached adulthood, the male rats underwent SM testing where they were exposed to either an estrus or an ovariectomized rat. Both F and control groups of male rats spent more time with the estrus rat compared to the ovariectomized rat suggesting that SM was not affected by their AR blockade during perinatal period. Open field testing recorded animal movements between the two zones, the center and the periphery, within an open arena. Male rats moved between the two zones more than the female rats did. At the end of the behavioral study, animals were sacrificed and the brains were harvested to isolate the hippocampus, hypothalamus, and amygdala. Real time PCR testing was carried out to quantify the levels of AR, ER alpha, and ER beta using B‐Actin as an internal control. Perinatal blockade of AR had no effect on the expression of any of the receptors in the three regions tested in the adult rats. Thus, the increased movement by the male rats in the OF testing is not associated with changes in the expression of AR, ER‐alpha, or ER‐beta. This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2019 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal .