The features of morphofunctional reactions (changes in the size of the nuclei of neurocytes) were examined in neurons of the arcuate and preoptic nuclei (AN and PON, respectively) of the rat hypothalamus. These reactions were caused by the introduction of nanoparticles (NPs) of gold and silver (AuNPs and AgNPs, respectively) under conditions of activation and blocking of kisspeptin-mediated signaling in one- and six-month-old rat males. The intraperitoneal (i.p.) administration of both AuNPs and AgNPs caused decreases in the size of the mentioned neuronal nuclei in animals of both age groups. These effects indicate that systemic introductions of NPs of both metals suppress the activity of the hypothalamo-pituitary-gonadal axis. Upon combined introduction of NPs with intracerebroventricular injections of an activator or a blocker of kisspeptinergic signaling, independent actions of the applied agents on the PON neurons were observed. Arcuate neurons of young rats in the case of combined injections retained the susceptibility to injections of kisspeptin but not to those of its antagonist; such neurons in adult rats responded in the opposite way. The obtained results demonstrated that both AuNPs and AgNPs exert nonspecific toxic effects on the functioning of the central regulator of the reproductive system in male rats.
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Kalynovskyi, V.Y., Pustovalov, A.S., Grodzyuk, G.Y. et al. Effects of Gold and Silver Nanoparticles on Kisspeptin-Mediated Regulation of the Hypothalamo-Pituitary-Gonadal Axis. Neurophysiology 49, 194–199 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11062-017-9673-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11062-017-9673-3