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Unilateral Lesion Increases Oestrogen Receptor α Expression in the Intact Side of the Ventromedial Hypothalamic Nucleus in Ovariectomised Rats
Author(s) -
Shimogawa Y.,
Maekawa F.,
Yamanouchi K.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
journal of neuroendocrinology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.062
H-Index - 116
eISSN - 1365-2826
pISSN - 0953-8194
DOI - 10.1111/jne.12149
Subject(s) - medicine , endocrinology , nucleus , arc (geometry) , immunohistochemistry , lesion , receptor , arcuate nucleus , biology , hypothalamus , chemistry , pathology , neuroscience , geometry , mathematics
To determine the relationship between the right and left sides of the ventrolateral ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus (vl VMN ) in regulating the expression of oestrogen receptor ( ER )α, the unilateral vl VMN was lesioned and the number of ER α‐immunoreactive cells and the ER α m RNA level in the intact side of the vl VMN and arcuate nucleus ( ARC ) were measured in ovariectomised rats. Twenty‐four hours after lesioning, brain samples were collected for analysis of ER α expression by immunohistochemistry and the real‐time reverse transcriptase ‐ polymerase chain reaction . The number of ER α‐immunoreactive cells in the intact side of the vl VMN but not the ARC in the unilateral lesioned group was significantly higher than that in the control or sham‐lesioned group. Expression levels of ER α m RNA in the intact side of the vl VMN but not the ARC in unilateral lesioned rats were significantly higher than those in the sham‐lesioned group. Of transcript variants with alternative 5′‐untranslated regions (0S, 0N, 0, 0T and E1), the ER α 0 transcript level was significantly increased. These results indicate that unilateral damage of vl VMN induces an increase in ER α in the intact side by increasing ER α transcription in a promoter‐specific manner. The findings also suggest the existence of new neuroendocrine control system between the right and left sides for the expression of ER α in the vl VMN .