Abstract
The current hypothesis to explain the sexual dimorphism of structure and function in the brain of vertebrates maintains that these differences are produced by the interaction of genetic mechanisms and gonadal hormones. In this chapter we summarize the evidence from our laboratory, as well as other laboratories analyzing the mechanisms that control sexually differentiated growth of axons in hypothalamic neurons in vitro.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Herlitz A, Nilsson LG, Backman L (1997) Gender differences in episodic memory. Mem Cognit 25:801–811
Zimmerberg B, Farley MJ (1993) Sex differences in anxiety behavior in rats: role of gonadal hormones. Physiol Behav 54:1119–1124
Kimura D (1996) Sex, sexual orientation and sex hormones influence human cognitive function. Curr Opin Neurobiol 6:259–263
Knoll JG, Wolfe CA, Tobet SA (2007) Estrogen modulates neuronal movements within the developing preotic area-anterior hypothalamus. Eur J Neurosci 26:1091–1099
Grabowski TJ, Damasio H, Eichhorn GR, Tranel D (2003) Effects of gender on blood flow correlates of naming concrete entities. Neuroimage 20:940–954
McCarthy MM (1994) Molecular aspects of sexual differentiation of the rodent brain. Psychoneuroendocrinology 19:415–427
Segovia S, Guillamon A, del Cerro MCR, Ortega E, Pérez-Laso C, Rodriguez-Zafra M et al (1999) The development of brain sex differences: a multisignaling process. Behav Brain Res 105:69–80
Arnold AP, Gorski RA (1984) Gonadal steroid induction of structural sex differences in the central nervous system. Annu Rev Neurosci 7:413–442
Breedlove SM, Cooke BM, Jordan CL (1999) The orthodox view of brain sexual differentiation. Brain Behav Evol 54:8–14
Becu Villalobos D, Gonzalez Iglesias A, Diaz Torga G, Hockl P, Libertun C (1997) Brain sexual differentiation and gonadotropins secretion in the rat. Cell Mol Neurobiol 17:699–715
Kow LM, Florea C, Schwanzel-Fukuda M, Devidze N, Kami KH, Lee A et al (2007) Development of a sexually differentiated behavior and its underlying CNS arousal functions. Curr Top Dev Biol 79:37–59
Davies W, Wilkinson LS (2006) It is not all hormones: alternative explanations for sexual differentiation of the brain. Brain Res 1126:36–45
Morris JA, Jordan CL, Breedlove SM (2004) Sexual differentiation of the vertebrate nervous system. Nat Neurosci 7:1034–1039
Arnold A, Burgoyne P (2004) Are XX and XY brain cells intrinsically different? Trends Endocrinol Metab 15:6–11
Wilson CA, Davies DC (2007) The control of sexual differentiation of the reproductive system and brain. Reproduction 133:331–359
Cahill L (2006) Why sex matters for neuroscience. Nat Rev Neurosci 7:477–484
Becker JB, Arnold AP, Berkley KJ, Blaustein JD, Eckel LA, Hampson E et al (2005) Strategies and methods for research on sex differences in brain and behavior. Endocrinology 146:1650–1673
Arnold AP (1996) Genetically triggered sexual differentiation of brain and behavior. Horm Behav 30:495–505
Xu J, Burgoyne PS, Arnold AP (2002) Sex differences in sex chromosome gene expression in mouse brain. Hum Mol Genet 11:1409–1419
Engele J, Pilgrim C, Reisert I (1989) Sexual differentiation of mesencephalic neurons in vitro – effects of sex and gonadal hormones. Int J Dev Neurosci 7:603–6203
Reisert I, Engele J, Pilgrim C (1989) Early sexual differentiation of diencephalic dopaminergic neurons of the rat in vitro. Cell Tissue Res 255:411–417
Beyer C, Pilgrim C, Reisert I (1991) Dopamine content and metabolism in mesencephalic and diencephalic cell cultures: sex differences and effects of sex steroids. J Neurosci 11:1325–1333
Picon R (1976) Testosterone secretion by foetal rat testes in vitro. J Endocrinol 71:231–238
Weisz J, Ward IL (1980) Plasma testosterone and progesterone titers of pregnant rats, their male and female fetuses, and neonatal offspring. Endocrinology 106:306–316
Carrer HF, Diaz H, Lorenzo A, Cáceres A (eds) (1990) Sexual differences and effects of estrogen on neuronal growth and differentiation. In: Garcia-Austt E, Macadar O, Trujillo-Cenóz O, Velluti R (eds) Fundamental Neurobiology. Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay, pp 27–38.
Cambiasso MJ, Colombo JA, Carrer HF (2000) Differential effect of oestradiol and astroglia-conditioned media on the growth of hypothalamic neurons from male and female rat brains. Eur J Neurosci 12:2291–2298
Beyer C, Wozniak A, Hutchison JB (1993) Sex-specific aromatization of testosterone in mouse hypothalamic neurons. Neuroendocrinology 58:673–681
Beyer C, Green SJ, Barker PJ, Huskisson NS, Hutchison JB (1994) Aromatase-immunoreactivity is localised specifically in neurones in the developing mouse hypothalamus and cortex. Brain Res 638:203–210
Hutchison JB, Beyer C (1994) Gender-specific brain formation of oestrogen in behavioural development. Psychoneuroendocrinology 19:529–541
Raab H, Pilgrim C, Reisert I (1995) Effects of sex and estrogen on tyrosine hydroxylase mRNA in cultured embryonic rat mesencephalon. Mol Brain Res 33:157–164
Tobet SA (2002) Genes controlling hypothalamic development and sexual differentiation. Eur J Neurosci 16:373–376
Simerly RB (2002) Wired for reproduction: organization and development of sexually dimorphic circuits in the mammalian forebrain. Annu Rev Neurosci 25:507–536
Blanco G, Diaz H, Carrer HF, Beauge L (1990) Differentiation of rat hippocampal neurons induced by estrogen in vitro – effects on neuritogenesis and Na, k-ATPase activity. J Neurosci Res 27:47–54
Lorenzo A, Diaz H, Carrer HF, Caceres A (1992) Amygdala neurons in vitro – neurite growth and effects of estradiol. J Neurosci Res 33:418–435
Diaz H, Lorenzo A, Carrer HF, Caceres A (1992) Time lapse study of neurite growth in hypothalamic dissociated neurons in culture – sex differences and estrogen effects. J Neurosci Res 33:266–281
Frankfurt M, Gould E, Woolley CS, McEwen BS (1990) Gonadal steroids modify dendritic spine density in ventromedial hypothalamic neurons – a golgi study in the adult rat. Neuroendocrinology 51:530–535
Lustig RH, Hua P, Wilson MC, Federoff HJ (1993) Ontogeny, sex dimorphism, and neonatal sex hormone determination of synapse-associated messenger RNAs in rat. Mol Brain Res 20:101–110
Shughrue PJ, Dorsa DM (1994) The ontogeny of GAP-43 (neuromodulin) mRNA in postnatal rat brain: evidence for a sex dimorphism. J Comp Neurol 340:174–184
Cambiasso MJ, Diaz H, Caceres A, Carrer HF (1995) Neuritogenic effect of estradiol on rat ventromedial hypothalamic neurons co-cultured with homotopic or heterotopic glia. J Neurosci Res 42:700–709
Gerlach JL, McEwen BS, Toran-Allerand CD, Friedman WJ (1983) Perinatal development of estrogen receptors in mouse brain assessed by radioautography, nuclear isolation and receptor assay. Brain Res 313:7–18
Brown TJ, MacLusky NJ, Toran-Allerand CD, Zielinski JE, Hochberg RB (1989) Characterization of 11B-methoxy 16a-iodoestradiol binding: neuronal localization of estrogen binding sites in the developing rat brain. Endocrinology 124:2074–2088
Funabashi T, Kleopoulos SP, Brooks PJ, Kimura F, Pfaff DW, Shinohara K et al (2000) Changes in estrogenic regulation of estrogen receptor alpha mRNA and progesterone receptor mRNA in the female rat hypothalamus during aging: an in situ hybridization study. Neurosci Res 38:85–92
Shughrue PJ, Merchenthaler I (2001) Distribution of estrogen receptor beta immunoreactivity in the rat central nervous system. J Comp Neurol 436:64–81
Scott CJ, Tilbrook AJ, Simmons DM, Rawson JA, Chu S, Fuller PJ et al (2000) The distribution of cells containing estrogen receptor-alpha (ER alpha) and ER beta messenger ribonucleic acid in the preoptic area and hypothalamus of the sheep: comparison of males and females. Endocrinology 141:2951–2962
Pasterkamp RJ, Yuri K, Visser DTM, Hayashi SJ, Kawata M (1996) The perinatal ontogeny of estrogen receptor- immunoreactivity in the developing male and female rat hypothalamus. Brain Res Dev Brain Res 91:300–303
Donahue JE, Stopa EG, Chorsky RL, King JC, Schipper HM, Tobet SA et al (2000) Cells containing immunoreactive estrogen receptor-alpha in the human basal forebrain. Brain Res 856:142–151
Clarke CH, Norfleet AM, Clarke MSF, Watson CS, Cunningham ML, Thomas ML (2000) Perimembrane localization of the estrogen receptor alpha protein in neuronal processes of cultured hippocampal neurons. Neuroendocrinology 71:34–42
Su JD, Qiu J, Zhong YP, Li XY, Wang JW, Chen YZ (2001) Expression of estrogen receptor (ER)-alpha and-beta immunoreactivity in hippocampal cell cultures with special attention to GABAergic neurons. J Neurosci Res 65:396–402
Harley VR, Goodfellow PN (1994) The biochemical role of SRY in sex determination. Mol Reprod Dev 39:184–193
Clepet C, Schafer AJ, Sinclair AH, Palmer MS, Lovell B, Goodfellow PN (1993) The human SRY transcript. Hum Mol Genet 2:2007–2012
Harry JL, Koopman P, Brennan FE, Graves JA, Renfree MB (1995) Widespread expression of the testis-determining gene SRY in a marsupial. Nat Genet 11:347–349
Lahr G, Maxson SC, Mayer A, Just W, Pilgrim C, Reisert I (1995) Transcription of the Y chromosomal gene, Sry, in adult mouse brain. Brain Res Mol Brain Res 33:179–182
Mayer A, Lahr G, Swaab DF, Pilgrim C, Reisert I (1998) The Y-chromosomal genes SRY and ZFY are transcribed in adult human brain. Neurogenetics 1:281–288
Arnold AP (2004) Sex chromosomes and brain gender. Nat Rev Neurosci 5:701–708
Stavnezer AJ, McDowell CS, Hyde LA, Bimonte HA, Balogh SA, Hoplight BJ et al (2000) Spatial ability of XY sex-reversed female mice. Behav Brain Res 112:135–143
Carruth LL, Reisert I, Arnold AP (2002) Sex chromosome genes directly affect brain sexual differentiation. Nat Neurosci 5:933–934
Parker KL, Rice DA, Lala DS, Ikeda Y, Luo X, Wong M et al (2002) Steroidogenic factor 1: an essential mediator of endocrine development. Recent Prog Horm Res 57:19–36
Dewing P, Chiang CW, Sinchak K, Sim H, Fernagut PO, Kelly S et al (2006) Direct regulation of adult brain function by the male-specific factor SRY. Curr Biol 16:415–420
O’Neill MJ, O’Neill RJ (1999) Whatever happened to SRY? Cell Mol Life Sci 56(11–12):883–893
Pompolo S, Harley VR (2001) Localisation of the SRY-related HMG box protein, SOX9, in rodent brain. Brain Res 906:143–148
Ikeda Y, Luo X, Abbud R, Nilson JH, Parker KL (1995) The nuclear receptor steroidogenic factor 1 is essential for the formation of the ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus. Mol Endocrinol 9:478–486
Dewing P, Shi T, Horvath S, Vilain E (2003) Sexually dimorphic gene expression in mouse brain precedes gonadal differentiation. Brain Res Mol Brain Res 118:82–90
Fitch RH, Denenberg VH (1998) A role for ovarian hormones in sexual differentiation of the brain. Behav Brain Sci 21(3):311
Lephart ED, Lund TD, Horvath TL (2001) Brain androgen and progesterone metabolizing enzymes: biosynthesis, distribution and function. Brain Res Rev 37:25–37
Hutchison JB, Wozniak A, Beyer C, Karolczak M, Hutchison RE (1999) Steroid metabolising enzymes in the determination of brain gender. J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol 69:85–96
MacLusky NJ, Walters MJ, Clark AS, Toran-Allerand CD (1994) Aromatase in the cerebral cortex, hippocampus, and mid-brain: ontogeny and developmental implications. Mol Cell Neurosci 5:691–698
Baron-Cohen S, Knickmeyer RC, Belmonte MK (2005) Sex differences in the brain: implications for explaining autism. Science 310:819–823
Toran-Allerand CD, Singh M, Setalo G (1999) Novel mechanisms of estrogen action in the brain: new players in an old story. Front Neuroendocrinol 20:97–121
Garcia Segura LM, Chowen JA, Naftolin F, TorresAleman I (1999) Steroid effects on brain plasticity – role of glial cells and trophic factors. In: Baulieu EE, Robel P, Schumacher M (eds) Neurosteroids. Humana, Totowa, NJ, pp 255–268
Miranda RC, Sohrabji F, Toran-Allerand CD (1993) Presumptive estrogen target neurons express messenger RNAs for both the neurotrophins and neurotrophin receptors – A. Mol Cell Neurosci 4:510–525
Sohrabji F, Miranda RC, Toran-Allerand CD (1994) Estrogen differentially regulates estrogen and nerve growth factor receptor mRNAs in adult sensory neurons. J Neurosci 14:459–471
Sohrabji F, Greene LA, Miranda RC, Toran-Allerand CD (1994) Reciprocal regulation of estrogen and NGF receptors by their ligands in PC12 cells. J Neurobiol 25:974–988
Miranda RC, Sohrabji F, Singh M, Toran-Allerand D (1996) Nerve growth factor (NGF) regulation of estrogen receptors in explant cultures of the developing forebrain. J Neurobiol 31:77–87
Sohrabji F, Miranda RCG, Toran-Allerand CD (1995) Identification of a putative estrogen response element in the gene encoding brain-derived neurotrophic factor. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 92:11110–11114
Singh M, Setalo G, Guan XP, Warren M, Toran-Allerand CD (1999) Estrogen-induced activation of mitogen-activated protein kinase in cerebral cortical explants: convergence of estrogen and neurotrophin signaling pathways. J Neurosci 19:1179–1188
Labourdette G, Sensenbrenner M (1995) Growth factors and their receptors in the central nervous system. In: Kettenmann H, Ransom BR (eds) Neuroglia. Oxford University Press, New York, NY, pp 441–459
Garcia Segura LM, Chowen JA, Dueñas M, Parducz A, Naftolin F (1996) Gonadal steroids and astroglial plasticity. Cell Mol Neurobiol 16:225–237
Joosten EAJ, Gribnau AAM (1989) Astrocites and guidance of outgrowing corticospinal tracts in the rat: an immunocytochemical study using anti-vimentin and anti-glial fibrillary acidic protein. Neuroscience 31:439–452
Smith GM, Rutishauser U, Silver J, Miller RH (1990) Changing role of forebrain astrocytes during development, regenerative failure, and induced regeneration upon transplantation. J Comp Neurol 251:23–43
Engele J, Shubert D, Bohn MC (1991) Conditioned media derived from glial cell lines promote survival and differentiation of dopaminergic neurons in vitro: role of mesencephalic glia. J Neurosci Res 30:359–371
Jessell TM (1991) Cell migration and axon guidance. In: Kandel ER, Schwartz JH, Jessell TL (eds) Principles of neural science. Prentice-Hall, London, pp 908–928
Hidalgo A, Booth GE (2000) Glia dictate pioneer axon trajectories in the Drosophila embryonic CNS. Development 127:393–402
Chowen JA, Azcoitia I, Cardona Gomez GP, Garcia Segura LM (2000) Sex steroids and the brain: lessons from animal studies. J Pediatr Endocrinol Metab 13(8):1045–1066
Ma YJ, Junier MP, Costa ME, Ojeda SR (1992) Transforming growth factor-alpha gene expression in the hypothalamus is developmentally regulated and linked to sexual maturation. Neuron 9:657–670
Dueñas M, Luquin S, Chowen JA, Torres Aleman I, Naftolin F, Garcia Segura LM (1994) Gonadal hormone regulation of insulin-like growth factor-I- like immunoreactivity in hypothalamic astroglia of developing and adult rats. Neuroendocrinology 59:528–538
Jezierski MK, Sohrabji F (2000) Region- and peptide-specific regulation of the neurotrophins by estrogen. Mol Brain Res 85:77–84
Miranda RC, Sohrabji F, Toran-Allerand D (1994) Interactions of estrogen with the neurotrophins and their receptors during neural development. Horm Behav 28:367–375
Párducz A, Perez J, Garcia Segura LM (1993) Estradiol induces plasticity of gabaergic synapses in the hypothalamus. Neuroscience 53:395–401
Naftolin F, Garcia Segura LM, Keefe D, Leranth C, MacLusky NJ, Brawer JR (1990) Estrogen effects on the synaptology and neural membranes of the rat hypothalamic arcuate nucleus. Biol Reprod 42:21–28
Luquin S, Naftolin F, Garcia Segura LM (1993) Natural fluctuation and gonadal hormone regulation of astrocyte immunoreactivity in dentate gyrus. J Neurobiol 24:913–924
Garcia Segura LM, Dueñas M, Busiguina S, Naftolin F, Chowen JA (1995) Gonadal hormone regulation of neuronal-glial interactions in the developing neuroendocrine hypothalamus. J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol 53:293–298
Cambiasso MJ, Carrer HF (2001) Nongenomic mechanism mediates estradiol stimulation of axon growth in male rat hypothalamic neurons in vitro. J Neurosci Res 66:475–481
Sukovich DA, Mukherjee R, Benfield PA (1994) A novel, cell-type-specific mechanism for estrogen receptor-mediated gene activation in the absence of an estrogen-responsive element. Mol Cell Biol 14:7134–7143
Watters JJ, Campbell JS, Cunningham MJ, Krebs EG, Dorsa DM (1997) Rapid membrane effects of steroids in neuroblastoma cells: effects of estrogen on mitogen activated protein kinase signalling cascade and c-fos immediate early gene transcription. Endocrinology 138:4030–4033
Beyer C, Karolczak M (2000) Estrogenic stimulation of neurite growth in midbrain dopaminergic neurons depends on cAMP/protein kinase A signalling. J Neurosci Res 59:107–116
Nethrapalli IS, Singh M, Guan XP, Guo QF, Lubahn DB, Korach KS et al (2001) Estradiol (E2) elicits Src phosphorylation in the mouse neocortex: the initial event in E2 activation of the MAPK cascade? Endocrinology 142:5145–5148
Zakon HH (1998) The effects of steroid hormones on electrical activity of excitable cells. Trends Neurosci 21:202–207
Hall JM, Couse JF, Korach KS (2001) The multifaceted mechanisms of estradiol and estrogen receptor signaling. J Biol Chem 276:36869–36872
Belcher SM, Zsarnovszky A (2001) Estrogenic actions in the brain: estrogen, phytoestrogens, and rapid intracellular signaling mechanisms. J Pharmacol Exp Ther 299:408–414
Shughrue PJ, Askew GR, Dellovade TL, Merchenthaler I (2002) Estrogen-binding sites and their functional capacity in estrogen receptor double knockout mouse brain. Endocrinology 143:1643–1650
Razandi M, Pedram A, Greene GL, Levin ER (1999) Cell membrane and nuclear estrogen receptors (ERs) originate from a single transcript: studies of ER alpha and ER beta expressed in Chinese hamster ovary cells. Mol Endocrinol 13:307–319
Levin ER (1999) Cellular functions of the plasma membrane estrogen receptor. Trends Endocrinol Metab 10:374–377
Toran-Allerand CD (2000) Novel sites and mechanisms of oestrogen action in the brain. Novartis Found Symp 230:56–69
Thomas P, Pang Y, Filardo EJ, Dong J (2005) Identity of an estrogen membrane receptor coupled to a G protein in human breast cancer cells. Endocrinology 146:624–632
Revankar CM, Cimino DF, Sklar LA, Arterburn JB, Prossnitz ER (2005) A transmembrane intracellular estrogen receptor mediates rapid cell signaling. Science 307:1625–1630
Jacobi JS, Martin C, Nava G, Jeziorski MC, Clapp C, Martinez de la Escalera G (2007) 17-beta-estradiol directly regulates the expression of adrenergic receptors and kisspeptin/GPR54 system in GT1-7 GnRH neurons. Neuroendocrinology 86(4):260–269
Filardo E, Quinn J, Pang Y, Graeber C, Shaw S, Dong J et al (2007) Activation of the novel estrogen receptor G protein-coupled receptor 30 (GPR30) at the plasma membrane. Endocrinology 148:3236–3245
Funakoshi T, Yanai A, Shinoda K, Kawano MM, Mizukami Y (2006) G protein-coupled receptor 30 is an estrogen receptor in the plasma membrane. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 346:904–910
Toran-Allerand CD (2004) Minireview: a plethora of estrogen receptors in the brain: where will it end? Endocrinology 145:1069–1074
Hasbi A, O’Dowd BF, George SR (2005) A G protein-coupled receptor for estrogen: the end of the search? Mol Interv 5:158–161
Kato S, Masuhiro Y, Watanabe M, Kobayashi Y, Takeyama KI, Endoh H et al (2000) Molecular mechanism of a cross-talk between oestrogen and growth factor signalling pathways. Genes Cells 5:593–601
Garcia Segura LM, Naftolin F, Hutchison JB, Azcoitia I, Chowen JA (1999) Role of astroglia in estrogen regulation of synaptic plasticity and brain repair. J Neurobiol 40:574–584
Jordan CL (1999) Glia as mediators of steroid hormone action on the nervous system: an overview. J Neurobiol 40:434–445
Gu Q, Moss RL (1996) 17 beta-estradiol potentiates kainate-induced currents via activation of the cAMP cascade. J Neurosci 16:3620–3629
Zhou Y, Watters JJ, Dorsa DM (1996) Estrogen rapidly induces the phosphorylation of the cAMP response element binding protein in rat brain. Endocrinology 137:2163–2166
Favit A, Fiore L, Nicoletti F, Canonico PL (1991) Estrogen modulates stimulation of inositol phospholipid hydrolysis by norepinephrine in rat brain slices. Brain Res 555:65–69
Beyer C, Raab H (1998) Nongenomic effects of oestrogen: embryonic mouse midbrain neurones respond with a rapid release of calcium from intracellular stores. Eur J Neurosci 10:255–262
Setalo G, Singh M, Guan XP, Toran-Allerand CD (2002) Estradiol-induced phosphorylation of ERK1/2 in explants of the mouse cerebral cortex: the roles of heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) and MEK2. J Neurobiol 50:1–12
Gorosito SV, Cambiasso MJ (2008) Axogenic effect of estrogen in male rat hypothalamic neurons involves Ca(2+), protein kinase C, and extracellular signal-regulated kinase signaling. J Neurosci Res 86(1):145–157
Kimchi T, Xu J, Dulac C (2007) A functional circuit underlying male sexual behaviour in the female mouse brain. Nature 448:1009–1014
Acknowledgments
Work from the authors’ laboratory was supported by grants from Agencia Córdoba Ciencia, Agencia Nacional de Promoción Científica y Tecnológica, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET) of Argentina and the European Commission. H.F.C. and M.J.C are career members of CONICET.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2009 Humana Press, a part of Springer Science+Business Media, LLC
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Carrer, H.F., Cambiasso, M.J. (2009). Sexual Differentiation of the Brain: Genetic, Hormonal and Trophic Factors. In: Janigro, D. (eds) Mammalian Brain Development. Contemporary Neuroscience. Humana Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-60761-287-2_1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-60761-287-2_1
Published:
Publisher Name: Humana Press
Print ISBN: 978-1-60761-286-5
Online ISBN: 978-1-60761-287-2
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesBiomedical and Life Sciences (R0)