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Endocrinology Vol. 141, No. 8 2951-2962
Copyright © 2000 by The Endocrine Society

ARTICLES

The Distribution of Cells Containing Estrogen Receptor-{alpha} (ER{alpha}) and ERß Messenger Ribonucleic Acid in the Preoptic Area and Hypothalamus of the Sheep: Comparison of Males and Females

Christopher J. Scott, Alan J. Tilbrook, Donna M. Simmons, John A. Rawson, Simon Chu, Peter J. Fuller, Nancy H. Ing and Iain J. Clarke

Department of Physiology, Monash University (C.J.S., A.J.T., J.A.R.,), and Prince Henry’s Institute of Medical Research (C.J.S., S.C., P.J.F., I.J.C.), Clayton, Victoria 3168, Australia; Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California (D.M.S.), Los Angeles, California 90089; and Department of Animal Science, Texas A&M University (N.H.I.), College Station, Texas 77843

Address all correspondence and requests for reprints to: Dr. Christopher J. Scott, Department of Physiology, Monash University, P.O. Box 13F, Victoria 3800, Australia. E-mail: chris.scott{at}med.monash edu.au.

We have used in situ hybridization to compare the distributions of estrogen receptor {alpha} (ER{alpha}) and ERß messenger RNA (mRNA)-containing cells in the preoptic area and hypothalamus of ewes and rams. Perfusion-fixed brain tissue was collected from luteal phase ewes and intact rams (n = 4) during the breeding season. Matched pairs of sections were hybridized with sheep-specific, 35S-labeled riboprobes, and semiquantitative image analysis was performed on emulsion-dipped slides.

A number of sex differences were observed, with females having a greater density of labeled cells than males (P < 0.001) and a greater number of silver grains per cell (P < 0.01) in the ventromedial nucleus for both ER subtypes. In addition, in the retrochiasmatic area, males had a greater (P < 0.05) cell density for ER{alpha} mRNA-containing cells than females, whereas in the paraventricular nucleus, females had a greater density (P < 0.05) of ER{alpha} mRNA-containing cells than males. There was a trend (P = 0.068) in the arcuate nucleus for males to have a greater number of silver grains per cell labeled for ER{alpha} mRNA.

In both sexes, there was considerable overlap in the distributions of ER{alpha} and ERß mRNA-containing cells, but the density of labeled cells within each nucleus differed in a number of instances. Nuclei that contained a higher (P < 0.001) density of ER{alpha} than ERß mRNA-containing cells included the preoptic area, bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, and ventromedial nucleus, whereas the subfornical organ (P < 0.001), paraventricular nucleus (males only, P < 0.05), and retrochiasmatic nucleus (females only, P < 0.05) had a greater density of ER{alpha} than ERß mRNA-containing cells. The anterior hypothalamic area and supraoptic nucleus had similar densities of cells containing both ER subtypes. The lateral septum and arcuate nucleus contained only ER{alpha}, whereas only ERß mRNA-containing cells were seen in the zona incerta.

The sex differences in the populations of ER mRNA-containing cells in the ventromedial and arcuate nuclei may explain in part the sex differences in the neuroendocrine and behavioral responses to localized estrogen treatment in these nuclei. Within sexes, the differences between the distributions of ER{alpha} and ERß mRNA-containing cells may reflect differential regulation of the actions of estrogen in the sheep hypothalamus. Low levels of ERß mRNA in the preoptic area and ventromedial and arcuate nuclei, regions known to be important for the regulation of reproduction, suggest that ERß may not be involved in these functions.




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