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The content of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH), kisspeptin, and estrogen receptors (ERα/ERβ) in the anteromedial hypothalamus displays daily variations throughout the rat estrous cycle

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Abstract

The content of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH), its mRNA, and estrogen receptor alpha (ERα) and beta (ERβ) in the hypothalamus varies throughout the estrous cycle. Furthermore, the abundance of these molecules displays asymmetry between the right and left side. In the present study, we investigated the changes in the content of ERα, ERβ, kisspeptin, and GnRH by western blot in the left and right anteromedial hypothalamus, at four different times during each stage of the rat estrous cycle. The serum levels of the follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) were also measured. ERα and ERβ levels changed depending on the stage of the estrous cycle, meanwhile that of kisspeptin was modified according to both the hour of the day and the stage of the cycle. Except in estrus day, ERβ was higher in the right hypothalamus, while ERα was similar in both sides. During both proestrus and estrus, the content of kisspeptin and GnRH was higher in the right hypothalamus. The highest levels of FSH and LH occurred at 17:00 h of proestrus. But at estrus, the highest FSH levels were observed at 08:00 h and the lowest at 17:00 h. Thus, the current results show that the content of ERα, ERβ, kisspeptin, and GnRH in the anteromedial hypothalamus are regulated as a function of the stage of the estrous cycle and the hour of the day. Furthermore, the content of these proteins is regularly higher in the right anteromedial hypothalamus, regardless of the stage of the cycle or time of the day.

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Abbreviations

GnRH:

gonadotropin-releasing hormone

FSH:

follicle-stimulating hormone

LH:

luteinizing hormone

E2 :

17β-estradiol

ERα:

estrogen receptor alpha

ERβ:

estrogen receptor beta

3 V:

third ventricle

acp:

anterior commissure, posterior part

ADP:

anterodorsal preoptic nucleus

AHC:

anterior hypothalamic area, central part

Arc:

arcuate nucleus

AVPe:

anteroventral periventricular nucleus

DMD:

dorsomedial hypothalamic nucleus, dorsal part

MEE:

medial eminence, external layer

MnPO:

median preoptic nucleus

MPOL:

lateral part of medial preoptic nucleus

opt:

optic tract

ox:

optic chiasm

PaV:

paraventricular hypothalamic nucleus, ventral part

Pe:

periventricular nucleus

RCh:

retrochiasmatic area; sox, supraoptic decussation

VMH:

ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus

VMPO:

ventromedial preoptic nucleus

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Acknowledgments

We thank the Graduate Program in Biological Sciences from National Autonomous University of Mexico for the support provided for this study. This work is part of the academic requirements requested to Esteban Olvera-Juárez for obtaining The Doctor of Philosophy in Biological Sciences degree. We thank to Cristian Ramírez-Guillén, Daniel Torres-Ramírez, and Gilberto García-Hernández for their technical assistance.

Funding

The study was supported by grant from UNAM-DGAPA-PAPIIT No. IN215619 to MEC and Fellowship from the Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología México, CVU-370898 to EOJ.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Neuroendocrinology Laboratory, Reproductive Biology Research Unit, Faculty of High Studies Zaragoza, National Autonomous University of Mexico, 09230, Mexico City, Mexico

    Esteban Olvera-Juárez, Angélica Flores, Roberto Domínguez & María-Esther Cruz

  2. Chronobiology of Reproduction Research Laboratory, Reproductive Biology Research Unit, Faculty of High Studies Zaragoza, National Autonomous University of Mexico, 09230, Mexico City, Mexico

    Carlos-Camilo Silva & Roberto Domínguez

  3. Department of Basic Research, National Institute of Geriatrics, Ministry of Health, 10200, Mexico City, Mexico

    Isabel Arrieta-Cruz & Luciano Mendoza-Garcés

  4. Division of Research, Faculty of Medicine, National Autonomous University of Mexico, 04510, Mexico City, Mexico

    Hilda Martínez-Coria & Héctor E. López-Valdés

  5. Department of Reproductive Biology, National Institute of Medical Sciences and Nutrition Salvador Zubirán, Ministry of Health, 14080, Mexico City, Mexico

    Mario Cárdenas

  6. Department of Biomedical Sciences, School of Medicine, Faculty of High Studies Zaragoza, National Autonomous University of Mexico, 09230, Mexico City, Mexico

    Roger Gutiérrez-Juárez

Author notes

  1. María-Esther Cruz is deceased. This paper is dedicated to her memory.

    • María-Esther Cruz
Authors
  1. Esteban Olvera-Juárez
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  2. Carlos-Camilo Silva
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  3. Angélica Flores
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  4. Isabel Arrieta-Cruz
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  5. Luciano Mendoza-Garcés
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  6. Hilda Martínez-Coria
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  8. Mario Cárdenas
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  9. Roberto Domínguez
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  10. Roger Gutiérrez-Juárez
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  11. María-Esther Cruz
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Contributions

EOJ and MEC designed the research. EOJ, AF, IAC, LMG, HMC, HELV, and MC performed the research. CCS, IAC, RD, RGJ, and MEC participated in the analysis and discussion of the results. CCS, IAC, RGJ, and MEC wrote the manuscript. All authors made critical revision of the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Isabel Arrieta-Cruz.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

The animal research protocol was approved by the local Ethics Committee of Facultad de Estudios Superiores Zaragoza, UNAM (license number: FES/DEPUCI/236/14).

Statement on the welfare of animals

All animal experiments were performed in compliance with the Mexican laws for animal handling, Official Norm NOM-062-ZOO-1999, which instead conforms to international guidelines.

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This article is dedicated to the memory of our beloved colleague, who recently passed away.

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Olvera-Juárez, E., Silva, CC., Flores, A. et al. The content of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH), kisspeptin, and estrogen receptors (ERα/ERβ) in the anteromedial hypothalamus displays daily variations throughout the rat estrous cycle. Cell Tissue Res 381, 451–460 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00441-020-03258-x

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