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Updated: Jul 18, 2026

A Chemical Screening Procedure for Glucocorticoid Signaling with a Zebrafish Larva Luciferase Reporter System
Published on: September 10, 2013
Glucocorticoids affect gonadotropin-releasing hormone immunoreactivity in musk shrew brain
P A Schiml-Webb1, J L Temple, E F Rissman
1Department of Psychology, Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio 45435, USA.
Abstract:
Multiple interactions between the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal and the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal systems exist. In this study, we asked if glucocorticoid administration affected gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) immunoreactivity. We found that musk shrews treated with dexamethasone (DEX), a synthetic glucocorticoid, had more GnRH-immunoreactive (ir) cells in the forebrain than did cortisol- or control-treated animals. The effects of DEX were noted rapidly, within 15 min, after administration. These effects were observed in the forebrain as a whole and also in specific subpopulations of GnRH-ir cells located in the medial septum/diagonal band and the hypothalamus.
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