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The Effects of Estrogen and Progesterone on Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone and Arginine Vasopressin Messenger Ribonucleic Acid Levels in the Paraventricular Nucleus and Supraoptic Nucleus of the Rhesus Monkey

Departments of Physiology (B.N.R., D.A.V.V.) and Obstetrics and Gynecology (R.L.R., D.A.V.V.), Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada K7L 3N6

Address all correspondence and requests for reprints to: Dean Van Vugt, Ph.D., Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 3022 Etherington Hall, Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada K7L 3N6. E-mail: vanvugtd{at}post.queensu.ca

Ovarian steroids increase hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity and sensitize the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian (HPO) axis to stress-induced inhibition. The present study investigated the effect of ovarian steroids on CRH and arginine vasopressin (AVP) messenger RNA (mRNA) levels in the rhesus monkey hypothalamus, as both neuropeptides have been shown to stimulate the HPA axis and inhibit the HPO axis in this species. This was accomplished by measuring CRH and AVP mRNA in the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) and supraoptic nucleus (SON) by in situ hybridization histochemistry. Menstrual cycles were simulated in ovariectomized (OVX) rhesus monkeys by sequential addition and removal of SILASTIC brand (Dow Corning Corp.) tubing containing either 17ß-estradiol (E₂) or progesterone (P₄). On the morning of day 11 of the simulated follicular phase (E₂ alone) or day 21 of the luteal phase (E₂ + P₄), animals were anesthetized, and the brains were perfused with paraformaldehyde via the carotid artery. Coronal sections (30 µm) were cut, and mRNA for CRH and AVP in the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) and supraoptic nucleus (SON) were semiquantified by in situ hybridization. CRH mRNA in the PVN of E₂-replaced OVX animals (n = 7) was 2-fold greater than that in untreated OVX controls (n = 4), whereas CRH mRNA after E₂ + P₄ (n = 4) was no different from that in controls (optical density ± SEM, 0.38 ± 0.06, 0.13 ± 0.08, and 0.14 ± 0.09 for OVX + E₂, OVX + E₂ + P₄, and OVX, respectively; P = 0.02). CRH in the SON was undetectable. In contrast to CRH, AVP mRNA in the PVN and the SON was similar in the three treatment groups. We conclude that E₂ and E₂ + P₄ replacement to OVX monkeys exert different effects on CRH and AVP gene expression, as estrogen stimulation of CRH mRNA in the PVN was abrogated by progesterone, whereas no effect of ovarian steroids on AVP mRNA in either the PVN or SON was observed. We postulate that ovarian steroid regulation of CRH synthesis and release may in part explain the central nervous system mechanisms by which ovarian steroids affect the HPA and HPO axes during basal and stress conditions.

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