Sex differences and maturational changes in arcuate nucleus neuronal plasma membrane organization

Intramembrane particles (IMP) are believed to represent protein-containing structures in the membrane. Hypothalamic arcuate nucleus neuronal plasma membranes from male and female rats studied from birth to adulthood were quantitatively assessed for IMP number and size using freeze-fracture techniques. We found that newborn female rats have a significantly greater number of IMP than newborn males. There is also a progressive increase in the number of IMP during the first 20 days of postnatal life in both sexes. The rate of protein particle insertion favors females, maintaining the unequal protein particle content into adulthood with female rats having more IMP than males of the same age. The differences in IMP concentration are mainly due to greater numbers of small (less than 10 nm) particles in neuronal membranes from female rats. These data extend previous reports of sexual dimorphism in the arcuate nucleus to the level of plasma membrane organization.