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Sexually dimorphic oxytocin receptor-expressing neurons in the preoptic area of the mouse brain.

ABSTRACT: Oxytocin is involved in the regulation of social behaviors including parental behaviors in a variety of species. Oxytocin triggers social behaviors by binding to oxytocin receptors (OXTRs) in various parts of the brain. OXTRs are present in the preoptic area (POA) where hormone-sensitive sexually dimorphic nuclei exist. The present study was conducted to examine whether sex differences exist in the distribution of neurons expressing OXTRs in the POA. Using OXTR-Venus (an enhanced variant of yellow fluorescent protein) mice, the distribution of OXTR-Venus cells in the POA was compared between sexes. The total number of OXTR-Venus cells in the medial POA (MPOA) was significantly greater in females than in males. No detectable OXTR-Venus cells were observed in the anteroventral periventricular nucleus (AVPV) within the MPOA in most of the brain sections from males. We further examined the total number of OXTR-Venus cells in the AVPV and the rest of the MPOA between the sexes. The total number of OXTR-Venus cells in the AVPV in females (615 ± 43) was significantly greater than that in males (14 ± 2), whereas the total number of OXTR-Venus cells in the rest of the MPOA did not differ significantly between the sexes. Thus, the sexually dimorphic expression of OXTR-Venus specifically occurred in the AVPV, but not in the rest of the MPOA. We also examined whether the expression of OXTR in the AVPV is driven by the female gonadal hormone, estrogen. Immunocytochemistry and single-cell RT-PCR revealed the presence of the estrogen receptor ? in OXTR-Venus cells in the female AVPV. Moreover, ovariectomy resulted in the absence of OXTR-Venus expression in the AVPV, whereas estrogen replacement therapy restored OXTR-Venus expression. These results demonstrate that the expression of OXTR in the AVPV is primarily female specific and estrogen dependent. The presence of the sexually dimorphic expression of OXTR in the AVPV suggests the involvement of OXTR neurons in the AVPV in the regulation of female-specific behavior and/or physiology.

SUBMITTER: Sharma K

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6622548 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Sexually dimorphic oxytocin receptor-expressing neurons in the preoptic area of the mouse brain.

Sharma Kaustubh K LeBlanc Ryan R Haque Masudul M Nishimori Katsuhiko K Reid Madigan M MM Teruyama Ryoichi R

PloS one 20190711 7

Oxytocin is involved in the regulation of social behaviors including parental behaviors in a variety of species. Oxytocin triggers social behaviors by binding to oxytocin receptors (OXTRs) in various parts of the brain. OXTRs are present in the preoptic area (POA) where hormone-sensitive sexually dimorphic nuclei exist. The present study was conducted to examine whether sex differences exist in the distribution of neurons expressing OXTRs in the POA. Using OXTR-Venus (an enhanced variant of yell ...[more]

PMID: 31295328

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Project description:BackgroundIndividuals with alcohol use disorder (AUD) exhibit a disruption of social behavior and dysregulation of oxytocin signaling in the brain, possibly reflecting decreased activation of oxytocin receptors (OxTRs) in reward pathways in response to social stimuli. We hypothesize that daily binge ethanol intake causes a deficit in social reward and oxytocin signaling in the ventral tegmental area (VTA).MethodsAfter 9 weeks of daily binge ethanol intake (blood ethanol concentration >80 mg%), OxTR-cre mice underwent conditioned place preference for social reward. Separate groups of mice were tested for the effects of binge ethanol on voluntary social interactions, food reward, locomotion, and anxiety-like behaviors. A subset of mice underwent transfection of OxTR-expressing VTA neurons (VTAOxtr ) with a light-sensitive opsin, followed by operant training to respond to light delivered to VTA.ResultsEthanol-naïve male mice increased the time spent on the side previously paired with novel mice while ethanol-treated mice did not. Binge ethanol did not affect conditioned place preference for food reward in males, but this response was weakened in ethanol-treated females. Ethanol treatment also caused a sex-specific impairment of voluntary social interactions with novel mice. There were minimal differences between groups in measures of anxiety and locomotion. Ethanol-naïve mice had significantly greater operant responding for activation of VTAOxtr than sham-transfected mice but ethanol-treated mice did not. There was no difference in the number of VTAOxtr after binge ethanol.ConclusionsDaily binge ethanol causes social reward deficits that cannot be explained by nonspecific effects on other behaviors, at least in males. Only ethanol-naïve mice exhibited positive reinforcement caused by activation of VTAOxtr while daily binge ethanol did not alter the number of VTAOxtr in either males or females. Thus, subtle dysregulation of VTAOxtr function may be related to the social reward deficits caused by daily binge ethanol.

Dataset Information

Sexually dimorphic oxytocin receptor-expressing neurons in the preoptic area of the mouse brain.

Publications

Sexually dimorphic oxytocin receptor-expressing neurons in the preoptic area of the mouse brain.

Similar Datasets

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