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The Journal of Neuroscience, February 15, 2000, 20(4):1589-1596
Estrogen Selectively Regulates Spine Density within the Dendritic
Arbor of Rat Ventromedial Hypothalamic Neurons
Lyngine H.
Calizo1 and
Loretta M.
Flanagan-Cato2
1 Institute of Neurological Sciences and
2 Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania,
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104-6074
Estrogen acts in the hypothalamic ventromedial nucleus (VMH) to
promote female sexual behavior. One potential mechanism through which
estrogen may facilitate this behavior is by reconfiguring synaptic
connections within the VMH. Estrogen treatment increases the number of
synapses and dendritic spines in the VMH, but how this remodeling
occurs within the context of the local, behaviorally relevant
microcircuitry is unknown. The goal of this study was to localize
estrogen-induced changes in spine density within the VMH and relate
these to dendritic morphology and the presence of nuclear estrogen
receptor. The hypothalami from ovariectomized rats, treated with either
vehicle or estradiol, were lightly fixed, and VMH neurons were
iontophoretically filled with Lucifer yellow. Confocal microscopy was
used to examine neuronal morphology. Estrogen treatment increased
dendritic spine density by 48% in the ventrolateral VMH but had no
effect on spine density in the dorsal VMH. The primary dendrites of VMH
neurons were differentially affected by estrogen. Estrogen treatment
increased spine density twofold on the short primary dendrites but did
not affect spine density on long primary dendrites. Immunocytochemical
staining showed that none of the filled neurons expressed estrogen
receptor- . Thus, although the effect of estrogen on spine density is
localized to a VMH subdivision where estrogen receptor is expressed,
estrogen treatment induces spines on neurons that lack estrogen
receptor. Taken together, our results suggest that the effect of
estrogen on ventrolateral VMH spines is selective within the dendritic arbor of a neuron and may be mediated by an indirect, possibly transynaptic, mechanism.
Key words:
dendritic spines; estrogen; female sexual behavior; lordosis; Lucifer yellow cell filling; VMH
Copyright © 2000 Society for Neuroscience 0270-6474/00/2041589-08$05.00/0
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