Estrogen suppresses the stress response of prolactin-releasing peptide-producing cells
Sachika Adachi1, Akikazu Mochiduki, Haruki Nemoto
1Department of Regulation Biology, Faculty of Science, Saitama University, 255 Shimo-ohkubo, Sakura-ku, Saitama 338-0825, Japan.
Abstract:
Prolactin-releasing peptide (PrRP) is known to be produced in A1/A2 noradrenergic neurons and to mediate the stress response. Our preliminary experiment showed that PrRP neurons in the A2 region differed between males and females in terms of c-Fos expression. In addition it has been reported that estrogen receptor alpha is detectable in A2 PrRP neurons. Therefore, we speculated that the stress response of PrRP neurons is modified by estrogen. We, therefore, examined c-Fos expression in A2 PrRP neurons during the estrous cycle and found that c-Fos accumulation in PrRP neurons was significantly decreased in estrus compared with in proestrus, metestrus and diestrus. This suggests that estrogen suppresses the activation of PrRP neurons. We thus administered diethylstilbestrol (DES) to ovariectomized rats and then added restraint stress. The data clearly showed that PrRP cells in DES-administered rats significantly suppressed c-Fos accumulation induced by stress.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Hypothalamic-Pituitary Axis
Major Hormones and Their Functions
Oxytocin, produced in the hypothalamus and released by the pituitary gland, plays a role in social bonding, childbirth, and lactation.
Regulation of Hormone Secretion
Humoral stimuli,...
Target Cell Response to Hormones
Notably, the cellular response can be regulated by altering the number of receptors expressed in the cell. For example, prolonged exposure to elevated hormone levels results in a gradual decline or down-regulation in the number of receptors for that specific hormone on the cell surface. Conversely, in response to low hormone levels, cells may use up-regulation, producing an...
Hormones of the Pituitary Gland
The most abundantly secreted hormone from the anterior lobe is the growth hormone, which controls overall growth by...
Feedback Loops


