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 Roemmich, J. N. Articles by Rissman, E. F. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Roemmich, J. N. Articles by Rissman, E. F.

Food Availability Affects Neural Estrogen Receptor Immunoreactivity in Prepubertal Mice¹

Department of Pediatric, Division of Endocrinology (J.N.R., A.D.R., E.F.R.), the Departments of Biology (X.L., E.F.R.) and Pharmacology (A.D.R.), and the Center for Biological Timing (A.D.R., E.F.R.), University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia 22903

Address all correspondence and requests for reprints to: James N. Roemmich, Ph.D., Department of Pediatrics, Division of Endocrinology, University of Virginia Health Sciences Center, Box 386, Charlottesville, Virginia 22908. E-mail: jr5n{at}virginia.edu

How underfeeding delays maturation of the central mechanisms affecting GnRH release at the onset of puberty, and why females are more sensitive to underfeeding than males are not well understood. We tested the hypothesis that the sexually dimorphic effects of underfeeding on GnRH release are mediated in part through the estrogen receptor (ER). We investigated the influence of underfeeding on the number of ER-immunoreactive (ER-ir) cells in the medial preoptic area (mPOA), ventromedial nucleus (VMN), and arcuate nucleus (ARH) of prepubertal CF-1 mice, neural areas known to influence GnRH release. In females, 7 days of underfeeding reduced detectable ER-ir cells in the mPOA and VMN, but not in the ARH. Also, we noted a direct relationship between the percent body weight change the last 24 h before perfusion and the numbers of ER-ir cells in the mPOA (r = 0.69; P = 0.0008) and VMN (r = 0.56; P = 0.01). In males, 17 days of underfeeding did not affect ER-ir cell numbers in any region. A subsequent investigation of the time course of alterations in ER immunoreactivity revealed that in female mice ER-ir cell numbers were reduced within 48 h of underfeeding in the mPOA, VMN, and ARH. ER-ir cell number was not changed in male mice. When female mice were underfed for 48 h and then refed, ER-ir cell numbers normalized by 24 h in the mPOA, VMN, and ARH. For the time-course experiments, the percent body weight change the last 24 h before perfusion and the number of ER-ir cells were related in the mPOA (r = 0.47; P < 0.001) and VMN (r = 0.49; P < 0.001), but not in the the ARH (r = 0.23; P < 0.12) in female mice, and in the mPOA (r = 0.66; P < 0.001), VMN (r = 0.33; P = 0.06), and ARH (r = 0.45; P = 0.007) in male mice. Thus, despite no significant change in ER-ir cell number in the male mice, there was a relationship between the percent body weight change during the last 24 h before perfusion and the number of ER-ir cells. We conclude that in male mice, correlation analyses between the percent body weight change before perfusion and ER-ir cell number may be a more sensitive marker of the metabolic condition at the time of perfusion. In female mice, underfeeding may stall puberty by reducing the number of ER-ir cells in brain areas important for signal transmission of GnRH release.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				B. A S Reyes, H. Tsukamura, H. I'Anson, M. A. C Estacio, K. Hirunagi, and K.-I. Maeda Temporal expression of estrogen receptor {alpha} in the hypothalamus and medulla oblongata during fasting: a role of noradrenergic neurons. J. Endocrinol., September 1, 2006; 190(3): 593 - 600. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. J. McManus, R. L. Goodman, N. V. Llanza, M. Valent, A. B. Dobbins, J. M. Connors, and S. M. Hileman Inhibition of Luteinizing Hormone Secretion by Localized Administration of Estrogen, but not Dihydrotestosterone, Is Enhanced in the Ventromedial Hypothalamus During Feed Restriction in the Young Wether Biol Reprod, October 1, 2005; 73(4): 781 - 789. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				G. N. Wade and J. E. Jones Neuroendocrinology of nutritional infertility Am J Physiol Regulatory Integrative Comp Physiol, December 1, 2004; 287(6): R1277 - R1296. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. E. Kudwa, J.-A. Gustafsson, and E. F. Rissman Estrogen Receptor {beta} Modulates Estradiol Induction of Progestin Receptor Immunoreactivity in Male, But Not in Female, Mouse Medial Preoptic Area Endocrinology, October 1, 2004; 145(10): 4500 - 4506. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A.-S. Parent, G. Teilmann, A. Juul, N. E. Skakkebaek, J. Toppari, and J.-P. Bourguignon The Timing of Normal Puberty and the Age Limits of Sexual Precocity: Variations around the World, Secular Trends, and Changes after Migration Endocr. Rev., October 1, 2003; 24(5): 668 - 693. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. W. Hill and J. E. Levine Abnormal Response of the Neuropeptide Y-Deficient Mouse Reproductive Axis to Food Deprivation But Not Lactation Endocrinology, May 1, 2003; 144(5): 1780 - 1786. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. K. Panicker, R. A. Mangels, J. B. Powers, G. N. Wade, and J. E. Schneider AP lesions block suppression of estrous behavior, but not estrous cyclicity, in food-deprived Syrian hamsters Am J Physiol Regulatory Integrative Comp Physiol, July 1, 1998; 275(1): R158 - R164. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]